Late autumn and winter are the time for a surge in colds and infectious diseases. No one likes to take pills, lie helplessly in bed, gargle and soar their feet. However, none of us is immune from the insidious cold, which, as a rule, is accompanied by a high temperature. Why is it rising? Thus, the body's defenses are activated in response to the appearance of bacteria and viruses.
Rubbing at high temperatures with the help of infusions and decoctions of medicinal herbs has been used by healers since ancient times, when antipyretics were not yet known to people. Many today practice this method of lowering the temperature, arguing that, unlike taking some antipyretic drugs, it is more harmless.
What temperature should I bring down?
Doctors distinguish between several types of fever. These include:
Subfebrile hyperthermia
It ranges from +37up to +38 °C. If it lasts no more than two days, it should not be knocked down, since such an increase may be due to stress, overwork, stuffiness, and hormonal changes in women. Such a temperature that persists for a longer time is called subfebrile condition. It can be caused by the following pathologies:
1. Inflammation and infections caused by pathogens, such as bacterial and viral diseases of the throat, urinary system, stomach and HIV, abscesses after injections and tuberculosis, diabetes and herpes, viral hepatitis.
2. Non-communicable diseases and somatic diseases also lead to subfebrile condition. These include anemia and cancer, thyroid disease and dystonia, the consequences of tooth extraction and postoperative periods, heart attacks and strokes.
Febrile hyperthermia
In this case, the temperature rises to +39 °C. This indicator is typical for solar and heat strokes, frostbite or hypothermia, burns, acute internal infection, for example, pneumonia or hypothermia. This temperature must be brought down.
Pyretic
The thermometer rises above +40 °C. She needs to be knocked down immediately. As a rule, the patient is hospitalized. Such a fever can be a symptom of flu, sore throat, pneumonia.
Hyperpyretic
The most severe and dangerous form when the temperature rises above +41 °C. It poses a serious danger to the life of the patient.
Whytemperature rising?
You should know that people have different reactions to a feverish state. Some patients easily tolerate +38 °C, while others develop a disorder of consciousness at a temperature slightly exceeding +37 °C. Today, scientists continue to argue about the role of elevated temperature in the fight against disease. There is a theory that in this way the body's defenses are activated. In this case, how can one explain that at a temperature exceeding +40 °C, pathological changes, sometimes irreversible, occur in the body? Scientists have not reached a consensus on this issue.
Production by the immune system of pyrogens - special substances - causes an increase in temperature. The impetus for their reproduction is organic internal processes or a reaction to the appearance of pathogenic flora in the body. The production of pyrogens increases the workload on the lungs and heart. For this reason, a fever develops. So that the pathological processes that occur in the body do not become irreversible, it is necessary to bring down the body temperature when a critical level is reached, which is different for each patient. But most often, doctors recommend using rubdown at a high temperature in an adult when its rate exceeds +38.5 ° C. Such procedures are carried out in the so-called classic cases - the patient's body is hot to the touch, the person has a fever, his cheeks are burning (red hyperthermia).
Preparing for a rubdown
In the room where the patient is located, the air temperature should be comfortable: + 20 … + 22 ° C. Wiping at high temperatures is carried out usinga small towel or napkin made of natural (cotton, linen) fabric. First, prepare the necessary solution, which should be warm. Its temperature should not be lower than body temperature, since the heat does not subside from exposure to cold liquid, but when it evaporates from the surface of the body.
The patient is laid on his back. Since the bed linen may get wet during the procedure, it is advisable to spread an oilcloth, and lay a sheet or a large towel on top of it, which are removed after the procedure is completed. Rubbing begins with the limbs. Hands are processed from the palms to the shoulder joints, legs - from the feet to the hips. Then wipe the back and chest.
Vinegar hot rubdown
One of the most effective ways to stop a feverish state. Traditional healers advise using natural apple cider vinegar for this purpose, since it does not have such an aggressive effect as table vinegar. In addition, it has a calming effect on the nervous system, being absorbed through the surface of the skin.
At high temperatures, vinegar wipes involve the use of only a substance diluted with water (1:1). During the procedure, it is necessary to ensure that the solution maintains a temperature of about +37 ° C. After its completion, the patient should be covered with a light sheet and put a napkin on his forehead, which is moistened in a cooled composition for wiping. At high temperatures, it must be changed quite often. Within an hour, the heat drops by one and a half degrees.
Most doctors do not recommend rubbing vinegar on high fever in children. We will talk about the reasons for the negative attitude of pediatricians to this procedure a little later.
Vodka rubdown
Do not recommend sponging with vodka at high temperatures in children, even supporters of this method. For adults, the alcohol-containing composition should be diluted with water in equal proportions. Wiping with vodka at high temperature is carried out according to the traditional method - legs from the feet to the hips, hands from the palms to the shoulders, then the chest and back. After that, for two minutes, the patient's body is fanned with a hair dryer with warm air. After the procedure is completed, the patient is covered with a thin blanket, and the forehead is covered with a napkin soaked in cool water. As it heats up, it changes.
Solutions for rubdowns
This mixture, like all vinegar rubs, is not recommended for children with high fevers. And for adult patients, some dosages and combinations are allowed:
- Vodka and vinegar are mixed in equal proportions and the same amount of water is added.
- For rubdowns, a composition of vodka with analgin is being prepared. In 100 ml of vodka, diluted with the same amount of water, dissolve an analgin tablet.
Water Rubdown
Wiping at high temperature with water is recognized even by opponents of procedures using vodka and vinegar. Interestingly, numerous studies have shown that vinegar and vodka have no benefits as antipyretics.in front of water, which, unlike them, has no side effects.
How to do water rubdown at high temperature? First of all, you should decide on its temperature - cold water is unacceptable, because it will cause severe chills - the body will begin to warm up with an even greater increase in temperature. Not suitable and hot. The ideal water temperature is not too different from normal body temperature (it can be no more than 3 °C below it).
When the temperature is high, wipe down with a small towel. It must be soaked in warm water, squeezed a little and wiped with it all over the body. This procedure can be repeated many times with an interval of half an hour. The patient is put to bed after the procedure, wearing thin cotton pajamas and covering him with a light blanket. The patient's body temperature should be monitored every half hour, the procedure is repeated if it does not decrease within an hour. Water wiping can be done several times a day. They are used as supplementary measures between medications.
Are pregnancy rubdowns dangerous?
When the temperature is high, wiping during pregnancy is best done with warm water. The technique for this procedure is the same, but it is not recommended to wipe the stomach. It is better to limit yourself to the feet, palms, armpits and popliteal cavities. Traditional healers believe that the high temperature in pregnant women can also be brought down with the help of vinegar, but representatives of official medicine say that this should not be done.follows. A pregnant woman should not risk using toxic substances.
How to rub down a baby when the temperature is high?
Unfortunately, little children get sick very often. Their body does not have time to adapt to the environment, and the immune system is still imperfect. The causes of fever in children can be different:
- intestinal infection;
- allergy;
- vaccinations;
- overheating in the sun;
- viral diseases.
When should a child's temperature be brought down? Often, parents, trying to help a feverish child, put him to bed and cover him with warm blankets, thereby making heat transfer difficult. This is a common mistake. It is necessary to create all conditions for increasing heat loss. To do this, you should ventilate the room well, give the child plenty to drink. Decoctions of some plants have antipyretic properties. These include cornflower and cranberries, linden and cranberries, chamomile and raspberries, coltsfoot and string. Such compounds will improve sweating.
We talked about the fact that not every temperature needs to be brought down. If the body of an adult in most cases is able to fight the heat itself thanks to immunity, then the child should lower the temperature, especially if it has risen above +38.5 ° C. Sponging at a high temperature in a child is one of the effective methods of drug-free treatment. It is important to know all the pros and cons of this method, the effectiveness of this method.
This is an effective and safe method,which allows you to quickly eliminate the heat and does not harm the he alth of the baby. You will find out what procedures a well-known pediatrician with vast practical experience recommends to reduce fever - Komarovsky. Wiping at a high temperature in a child, modern pediatrics allows only with the use of warm water. However, many parents also use the recipes of traditional healers.
Soda Treatment
How to rub down a child with a high fever with baking soda? It must be said that soda drink, compresses and rubdown are used to relieve heat with soda. The method of application is the same for both very young patients and adolescents. It used to be practiced to lower the temperature with soda enemas, but this method is not used today.
It is important that the treatment of the child is not only effective, but also as safe as possible. For young children, at a high temperature, soda liquid is prepared according to the following recipe:
Pour half a teaspoon of soda into a dry mug and fill it with hot water (200 ml). Wait until the solution stops hissing and the water cools down to +30 °C. The resulting solution is used for compresses on the forehead and armpits, with strong heat. Wiping at a high temperature in a child with soda is carried out in the same way as with water. Traditional healers recommend taking the same solution orally to relieve intoxication three times a day, 50 ml each
In some cases, oral soda is dissolved with warm fruit juices or milk. For older students,use decoctions of medicinal plants, which include salicylates: lime blossom, raspberries, cranberries, rose hips.
Wraps
Wrappings at high temperatures can be replaced with body wraps. This is an old and very effective, judging by the reviews, method of eliminating heat and cleansing the body. It is known that the skin, like the lungs, breathes: with sweat, it releases harmful metabolic products. This function of the skin is especially well developed in children. For this reason, a full wrap is effective for babies with acute processes. This will require a cotton sheet or diaper, which is soaked in warm water or a decoction of yarrow.
To prepare a medicinal composition, two tablespoons (tablespoons) of yarrow are placed in an enamel bowl, poured with water and boiled in a water bath for a quarter of an hour. Then the composition is filtered and cooled to +35 °C. School-age children during this procedure are given diaphoretic herbs in the absence of allergies. The more sweating occurs, the more effective the treatment.
Sometimes sweating is delayed and only appears after the second or third treatment. However, wraps are not recommended to be done twice a day. This procedure can be repeated the next day if the temperature rises. Once the wrap is complete, prepare a bath with warm water and wash off the baby's sweat. Sometimes the baby is naughty and does not want to take a bath, in this case, wash it under a warm shower. Without wiping, wrap the baby in a sheet, cover with a lightblanket and lay in bed for ten minutes. Then dress the child in clean underwear.
Dr. Komarovsky's opinion on rubdowns at a temperature
What should be the correct rubdown on a child with a high temperature? What does the famous pediatrician think about this? These procedures are still practiced today, although Dr. Komarovsky has already voiced quite a long time ago, referring to the results of research by WHO specialists, that this should not be done. Wiping with vinegar or vodka is especially dangerous. According to Komarovsky, adults should not use these methods either.
A well-known pediatrician explains his position on this issue. Cooling rubdowns at a temperature are dangerous for children. On the surface, the skin cools, the vessels constrict reflexively, and hot tissues do not give off heat to the outside. This can cause internal overheating. In a hospital setting, doctors who fight high temperatures practice injections that dilate blood vessels (for example, No-Shpu). This protects the child's body from overheating from the inside.
Dr. Komarovsky categorically rejects rubdowns with vodka or vinegar at high temperatures in children. Such procedures threaten the baby with severe intoxication. Children's skin is somewhat different in structure from an adult. It is thinner, it has more fat on the surface, which is why any substances in contact with it penetrate deeper more actively.
Only wiping with water at a high temperature in children recommends using a famous doctor. This method should be considered as a means of emergencyassistance to facilitate the well-being of the baby before the arrival of the ambulance team. Eliminate psychological discomfort and ensure the correct start of treatment preventive measures:
1. Prepare fruit drink, dried fruit compote, rosehip infusion and let the baby drink in doses, two or three sips every ten minutes.
2. The child can be given weak tea or simply boiled water. It is important to ensure a constant supply of fluid at high temperatures. Warm the drink up to +30°C for the liquid to be absorbed faster. The amount of liquid should be increased by adding 10 ml per kilogram of the child's weight to the daily allowance.
3. It is necessary to reduce the air temperature in the room where the sick child is located to +18 °C. Ventilate the room more often by moving the child to another room during this time.
Contraindications for rubdowns
It should be said again that official medicine does not use rubbing with vodka and vinegar. Those who prefer traditional medicine methods need to know that this method of lowering the temperature has age restrictions. Acetic rubdowns are not used to reduce fever in children under seven years of age.
- Vinegar rubdowns should not be used by children or adults with respiratory symptoms or chronic pathologies of the respiratory system. Vapors of vinegar will aggravate the situation and worsen the condition of the patient.
- A serious contraindication to the procedure is an individual intolerance to vinegar or alcohol. In addition, such procedures should be abandoned if there areirritation and damage to the skin.
- Wiping with warm water has no contraindications, but if a patient with a high fever is pale, his limbs are cold to the touch (symptoms of white hyperthermia), then any wipes are contraindicated for him and, in addition to antipyretics, antispasmodics are recommended.
- The consequences of alcohol/vodka procedures can cause coma in children, especially young children, and in some cases even death. Back in the 50s of the last century, leading pediatricians from the United States began to warn parents about the dangers of using alcohol to rub down children at high temperatures. Inhalation of alcohol and vinegar fumes can provoke a spasm of the larynx.
- Too rapid decrease in the temperature of the skin can lead to narrowing and spasm of blood vessels, which will cause a violation of heat transfer, as well as heat stroke (overheating of internal organs).
