While acetaminophen and ibuprofen are usually safe if taken correctly, long-term use of acetaminophen can cause liver toxicity. Ibuprofen can cause stomach upset or increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, if taken in excess, particularly on an empty stomach.
Evidence shows that fever is beneficial to the healing process, triggering the immune response and preventing viruses and bacteria from replicating.
One study showed that flu sufferers who suppressed their fevers with medications were sick for more than three days longer than those who took no medication. Often well-meaning parents end up doing more harm than good by giving their feverish children medication to make them feel better and bring down their fever, and then taking their still highly contagious kids out in public where they can infect others.
Researchers estimate that in an average flu season, fever-reducing medications could lead to tens of thousands of extra flu cases and at least a thousand flu deaths. List of Partners vendors. There are a lot of myths surrounding fevers, how dangerous they are and how to get them to come down.
Many people are surprised to learn that it often isn't necessary to try to bring a fever down at all. But if a fever is making you or your child uncomfortable, there are things you can do to bring it down safely—and a lot of things you shouldn't do.
Fevers most often occur when our bodies are trying to fight infections. The internal body temperature goes up as a defense mechanism, trying to make the body hot enough so the germs that are invading won't survive. Of course, they can also make us feel pretty terrible. We often feel achy and miserable when we have fevers and just want to be as comfortable as possible. Children often deal with fevers better than adults do. If your child has a fever but is still playing and for the most part is still acting like himself, there is no need to do anything to bring his temperature down.
Fever-reducing medicine such as Tylenol acetaminophen or Advil or Motrin ibuprofen is one of the simplest and most effective ways to bring down a fever.
These medicines work relatively quickly and can make you feel better for four to eight hours. Acetaminophen can be used in children as young as 2 months old. However, if your baby is younger than 3 months and has a fever , contact your pediatrician before giving any medicine. Ibuprofen can be used in children as young as 6 months old. Aspirin should not be given to kids but can be used in adults over age A higher body temperature can lead to dehydration more quickly.
Drinking cool liquids can decrease the chances that you get dehydrated and can even help cool off your body. Taking a bath can help bring down your fever, but the really important part is that it can't be a cold bath.
Although that might seem like it would help more than taking a warm bath, getting in cold or ice water will cause shivering which can actually increase your internal temperature.
Getting into a bath that is a comfortable temperature for you will help you relax and could bring down the fever as well. A commonly used first aid technique to bring down high temperature, or hyperthermia, is to put cool packs under the arms and in the groin area.
This is most often used in cases where a person is overheated because of outside factors such as exercising or being outside for extended periods of time in high heat but it might also help if a fever is high. It's important to know that the fever may return after removing cool packs. You also shouldn't use ice packs—cool washcloths are sufficient. Unfortunately, many people are fearful of fevers and may make dangerous mistakes attempting to get the temperature down.
These are the things you should never do to try to get a fever down. This old fever-reducing remedy is a really bad idea. If someone recommends that you use rubbing alcohol on yourself or your child to bring down a temperature, please don't.
Not only is it ineffective, it can cause alcohol poisoning. As discussed above, taking a bath is OK as long as it is warm. Taking an ice bath may bring your body temperature down very temporarily but it will quickly cause shivering, which actually makes your core temperature rise.
Taking too much fever-reducing medicine or taking two different kinds at once is not only ineffective, it's dangerous. It can damage your organs and won't bring your temperature down any faster. Tylenol acetaminophen overdose is a common reason kids are seen in the emergency room. Healthcare providers recommend:. It's important to check the ingredients of all of the medicines you are using.
Other types of thermometers, such as ear tympanic membrane or forehead temporal artery thermometers, although convenient, provide less accurate temperature measurements.
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Show references Bennett JE, et al.
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