How to Treat a Fever

How to Treat a Fever Dr. Travis Stork: Now we've all had a fever, we know how miserable they are. A lot of us don’t even know why we have them. Well, Sanfrangirl asked this on our doctor’s message board. When you get a fever, why do you get the chills and are blankets okay? Well, believe it or not, fever is your body’s response usually to an infection and what's going on when you have a fever is quite simple. There are substances called pyrogens which are often virus, bacteria and when that enters your system, it actually triggers your body released enzymes, they go to an area called the hypothalamus. Think of your hypothalamus as your thermostat. It raises your body’s thermostat in response to that increased thermostat, you get a fever. Well interestingly, your body starts doing things to increase your own body temperature. Your blood vessels constrict which is why your hands may feel cold even though you're hot. Your liver may produce extra heat. And a lot of people wonder why in the world do I shiver? Believe it or not, shivering those muscles contracting increases heat production in your body and that causes your temperature to rise. Now a lot of people wonder why do I sweat when you're breaking a fever. It’s because your thermostat, your hypothalamus sets the temperature lower, your body is too hot so you actually sweat to decrease your body temperature and that’s why you hear that phrase break of fever. Dr. Jim Sears: That’s a good point. a lot of parents ask about, what cool baths when their child has a fever, and you got to remember unless you change the thermostat, you put your child in a cool bath, they're going to shiver and their body is still going to try to fight to get that temperature up so that’s actually the wrong thing to do. That can make the fever even worse doing a cool bath. What you should do is maybe a nice lukewarm bath a comfortable bath along with a fever reducer medicine that lowers the thermostat, doing both of those together can get the temperature down pretty quickly. Dr. Travis Stork: And often times, doctors will use acetaminophen or ibuprofen to reset the thermostat. The question also is about blankets. You do want to avoid too many hot and heavy blankets right? Because your body is trying to find the temperature that your thermostat is set at and you don’t want to overheat or like you said, submerge yourself in a really cold water. Dr. Jim Sears: Right. And what I like to do if I'm running a fever is just be comfortable. Whether it’s a light blanket just enough to stop the chills that not so much that you're getting too bundled at. Dr. Travis Stork: And a great take home is these fever reducers. If you're having trouble eating, you're having trouble -- your kids are so fuzzy that they won't take in any fluids. Resetting the thermostat with an over-the-counter fever reducer can mean the difference between a really sick child and one that is better within 12 to 24 hours. Dr. Jim Sears: Right because regardless of the illness just staying hydrated and keeping your nutrition up can help fight it a lot faster.