Treating cough and fever

The appointment of special means to fight the infection is the responsibility of specialists. There can be no advice and recommendations from outside. Moreover, the uncontrolled use of such potent drugs as antibiotics has led to the fact that many of them have become ineffective in the fight against pathogens that previously showed sensitivity to the drug. Antibiotic resistance is not only the result of the evolution of microorganisms, but also our fault.

Medications

Let's forget for a while about potent drugs and pay attention to symptomatic therapy, since the topic of our conversation was cough and fever as symptoms of an illness in the body. Temperature treatment usually does not cause much difficulty. The choice of antipyretics is relatively small, but this is not necessary, given that drugs based on paracetamol or acetylsalicylic acid are usually used to reduce temperature. Less commonly, ibuprofen is used for these purposes, as one of the most popular and budgetary NSAIDs with analgesic and antipyretic effects.

For the treatment of children and people with diseases of the stomach and intestines, the drug of choice is Paracetamol and its analogues (Anapiron, Eferalgan, Grippostad, Panadol, Piaron, etc.).

"Panadol" - a drug based on paracetamol - a substance with analgesic and antipyretic properties. For the treatment of adults and children over 6 years old, you can use tablets that have a gentle effect on the gastric mucosa due to the protective shell. For children, a suspension with a pleasant taste and strawberry flavor is produced, which can be used to treat infants from 3 months. Under the same name, rectal suppositories are also sold to relieve temperature in children older than six months. The drug is prescribed for colds, flu and other diseases accompanied by pain and fever.

In the acute period of the disease (usually within 3 days), tablets are prescribed up to 4 times a day. The dose for children under 12 years of age is 0.5-1 tablet per dose. Older patients can take 1-2 tablets at a time, but not more than 8 per day.

When taking the medicine, you need to ensure that the interval between taking single doses of the drug is not less than 4 hours.

Children's suspension is suitable for the treatment of children under 12 years of age. For ease of dosing, it is equipped with a measuring syringe. A safe dosage is determined based on the body weight (age) of the patient. Up to 3 months, the suspension can be given to children in doses indicated by the doctor, then they are guided by the table in the annotation to the drug. A single dose of the drug for children should not exceed 15 mg / kg (60 mg / kg per day).

Rectal suppositories in pharmacies can be found in 2 types: for babies up to 2.5 years old and children 3-6 years old. The daily dose in accordance with age is 3-4 suppositories, which are placed at intervals of 4-6 hours. Gently, with clean hands, insert the child into the anus in a position on its side.

When choosing a remedy for temperature, it is necessary to take into account its possible contraindications. For "Panadol" in tablets, such contraindications are severe liver and kidney diseases, a consistently elevated blood bilirubin value, alcoholism, blood diseases, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and anemia, as a result.

The same contraindications for children's drugs. The use of rectal suppositories is not possible if the child had an inflammation of the rectum the day before or in the presence of rectal bleeding.

A common contraindication for all drugs is hypersensitivity to any of the components of the drug.

All possible side effects in the treatment of paracetamol drugs occur very rarely. The most common include nausea and vomiting, epigastric pain. There may be an increased risk of bleeding, allergic reactions, bronchospasm and anaphylaxis in patients with hypersensitivity to the active substance.

Ibuprofen is a popular NSAID that can also be used to reduce fever and inflammation. Today, in addition to film-coated tablets, ibuprofen can be bought in the form of effervescent tablets, capsules, children's suspension and rectal suppositories, used for fever in children up to 2 years.

Tablets and capsules are intended for the treatment of patients over 6 years of age, children's forms of the drug are used from 3 months and earlier (as prescribed by a doctor). Up to six months, the dose of the oral suspension is determined by the attending physician, dosages for older children are reflected in the instructions for the drug: 2.5 ml for infants up to a year, 5 ml for 1-3 years, 7.5 ml for children under 6 years of age, 10 ml for 6- 9 years. Adolescents 9-12 years old take 15 ml of suspension per dose. Multiplicity of reception is standard - 3 times a day for 3 days.

A tablet for children 6-12 years old is given at a dosage of 1 tablet (200 mg) - 2 times a day. Patients weighing more than 30 kg can take 2 tablets per dose. The next dose of the drug can be taken no earlier than 4 hours later.

Rectal suppositories are used 3 times a day if a child is treated for 3-9 months, and 4 times a day if the patient is over 9 months old.

In addition to hypersensitivity to ibuprofen and other NSAIDs, the drug has other contraindications: active gastric and duodenal ulcers, bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, severe heart, kidney and liver diseases. It is undesirable to take the drug and expectant mothers in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

Side effects of "Ibuprofen" usually appear with prolonged use. Treatment of fever and fever for 3 days in the vast majority of cases is without consequences.

Cough treatment for colds aims to make the symptom more productive. For this, expectorants and mucolytics are used.

We will not go far, looking for expensive advertised cough remedies, but we will focus on a drug that doctors favor. "Ambroxol" is an excellent budget tool that facilitates coughing up sputum, diluting it and stimulating the movement of the respiratory tract. Today, the drug can be bought both in the form of tablets and in the form of a syrup, which can be used to treat children over 2 years old.

Tablets are recommended to be taken whole after meals. Patients over 12 years of age take Ambroxol tablets according to the scheme: the first 2-3 days, 1 tablet three times a day, the next - the same single dose, but already 2 times a day.

Syrup is also given to children 2-3 times a day, and there is no need to take the medicine after meals. Until the age of two, the pediatrician prescribes the dose and frequency of taking the medicine. Patients 2-6 years old are given the drug three times a day, 0.5 tsp. Children 6-12 years old with the same frequency of administration can be given 1 tsp. Drug, and for older patients - 2 tsp.

The main contraindication to taking the drug is the presence of individual sensitivity to its components. Caution must be observed with gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, convulsive syndrome, pregnancy (penetrates the placental barrier, but does not have a teratogenic effect). It is not recommended to take the medicine during lactation, since Ambroxol passes into breast milk.

Ambroxol is a drug with a low likelihood of side effects. Nausea is the most common symptom, but gastrointestinal disturbances and decreased taste acuity are also possible. Abdominal pain, vomiting, skin rashes, and some other mild health problems are rare.

Fans of natural treatment to combat a painful cough can be offered syrup and drops (solution) "Gedelix" based on ivy extract. The drug enhances the secretion of the bronchi, dilutes sputum, relieves spasms of the muscles of the respiratory tract. All this makes the cough more productive, and expectoration of sputum relatively easy.

Ivy preparations are allowed for children from 2 years old. Both drops and syrup are consumed undiluted, although children can add it to tea or fruit juice to improve the taste.

For babies 2-4 years old, syrup is given in a dosage of 2.5 ml, a single dose of the solution is 16 drops. Multiplicity of application 3 times a day.

Children 4-10 years old are given the same dose of syrup 4 times a day. The solution can be offered three times a day for 21 drops.

Patients over 10 years of age should take a syrup at a dosage of 5 ml or a solution in the amount of 31 drops three times a day.

The drug should not be taken by patients with hypersensitivity to its components, given to children under 2 years of age without consulting a doctor. Caution should be observed in patients with bronchial asthma, in violation of urea metabolism, increased sensitivity of the respiratory tract, which can occur with severe inflammation.

Side effects from taking Gedelix preparations are usually of 2 types: allergic reactions and symptoms of a digestive system disorder (nausea, vomiting, stool disturbance, epigastric discomfort).

It should be borne in mind that, despite the long shelf life of Gedelix natural preparations (5 years), after opening the vial, they can be used only for six months.

Anti-cough preparations that stop the cough reflex at a temperature indicating acute inflammation are highly undesirable. On the contrary, it is necessary to promote a more active excretion of sputum along with pathogens.

Alternative Treatment

High fever and cough in this combination are always a sign of a pathological process in the body. And although these symptoms are just a response of the body to the damaging effect of pathogens, they must be treated very carefully. It is clear that if we are talking about an infection, then potent antimicrobial agents are often indispensable (unless the infection turns out to be viral), but alternative methods can also be used to reduce the off-scale readings of the thermometer and alleviate the cough, especially if there are no suitable medicines at hand.

The easiest is temperature. Sometimes even well-known antipyretics do not help bring down the temperature by even half a degree. But one has only to wipe the face, hands and feet with cool water and put a cloth soaked in cold water on the forehead, as the temperature on the thermometer begins to decline inexorably.

Rubbing the body can be carried out both with clean water and with water solutions of vodka and vinegar. Vodka for adults can be used in its pure form, and children must be diluted in equal proportions with water. You don’t need to add a lot of vinegar to the water; 1 tbsp is enough for half a liter of water. Vinegar.

A fan can be used to reduce a child's high temperature by directing the air flow towards the baby. If the room is warm and the child is feverish, you can wrap him in a damp sheet.

It is popularly believed that to reduce the temperature it is not bad to sweat well. Any hot drinks and dishes have a diaphoretic effect. But at a temperature of 39 degrees and above, it is better to give preference to warm drinks with linden and raspberries, elderberry and mint tea, juices (lingonberry, cranberry, red or black currant, citrus fruits with a high content of vitamin C), milk with onions or garlic with adding honey if there is no allergy to bee products. Grated jam from fresh berries can also be useful.

By the way, for any cold it is very useful not only to drink juices, but also to eat fresh oranges, lemons, grapefruit, tangerines (this way they retain the maximum amount of vitamin C, which helps to relieve fever). Citrus fruits help not only to saturate the weakened body with vitamins, but also to cope with thirst - a temperature companion.

For those who do not dislike onions, you can offer such a universal recipe for colds and fever: chop the onions and apples on a grater, add honey (1 tbsp each), mix well and take 1 tbsp before main meals. L.

It is a little more difficult to deal with a cough without pharmacy drugs, but it is also possible. If the cough is dry and unproductive (sputum does not go away), you need to transfer it to a productive wet one as soon as possible, which is best done by black radish. It can be applied in different ways:

• grate and add honey
• squeeze the juice from the grated radish, and then mix it with honey and carrot juice,
• make a recess in the root crop, pour honey there and wait until the radish releases juice (it turns out a viscous syrup).

Any of the medicines based on radish is used in 1 tbsp. With an interval of 1 hour.

Another option for the treatment of dry cough is the use of milk up to 3 times a day, in which the onion was previously boiled. Honey helps to improve the taste of the drink and enhances its effect.

Onions can also be used to make sweet syrup for coughs and colds. It is enough to chop the onion, add honey to it and let the juice flow. Onion syrup should be taken in 0.5-1 tbsp. Several times a day.

To increase the productivity of a wet cough, you can take a mixture of honey and vegetable oil (preferably olive oil) 3-4 times a day. The products are mixed 1:1. Take the medicine for 1 tsp.

An unproductive cough with difficult sputum excretion is usefully treated with compresses. For compresses, you can use the following compositions:

• honey (it is better to take liquid, thick is kept in a water bath until dissolved),
• honey, black radish juice and mustard powder (in equal parts),
• warm potato pore, in which vodka can be added to enhance the effect, etc.

Compresses placed on the chest and back have a warming effect, relieve coughing and expel mucus from the bronchi, but to achieve a good effect, after removing them from the body, you need to stay in bed for some time. At high temperatures with such treatment, you need to be careful, because the thermometer can jump even more.

Inhalation has a good expectorant effect. The simplest and most affordable procedures are steam inhalations with soda or over potato broth. Sputum after them departs easily and in larger quantities. But at a temperature, it is better to inhale with a nebulizer (not thermal) or breathe over a cut onion.

Cough in adults and children can be treated with a long-known tasty medicine called eggnog. It is prepared from simple products: a piece of butter, a spoonful of honey, an egg yolk (grind everything well) and a glass of milk (hot, but not boiling).

If the cough is dry, soda is added to this composition at the tip of a teaspoon or the recipe is changed: the milk is removed, but a drop of iodine is added to the pounded butter-honey-egg mass.

Herbal treatment

In the folk treatment of cough and high fever, in addition to food, herbs are also used. We have already mentioned some plants that are useful for relieving fever, talking about healthy drinks. Leaves and flowers of linden, raspberry, currant have antipyretic properties. Useful will be tea from elder flowers and mint leaves, as well as an infusion of willow bark or meadowsweet flowers - plants with a high content of salicylates (remember, aspirin). 1-2 tsp one or another vegetable raw material is poured with a glass of boiling water, insisted and taken 2-3 glasses a day.

Ginger root, which can be grated and mixed with honey (sugar), is good for both cough and fever. Children over 2 years old can prepare a healthy thick syrup. For 1 tsp chopped ginger, take a glass of sugar, add a little water and heat the mixture over low heat (you need to stir all the time) until it becomes transparent and viscous. The syrup is given to children and adults for ½ tsp. Up to 3 times a day.

With a dry and wet unproductive cough, licorice root also helps well, which can be bought in a pharmacy in dry and liquid (syrup) form. Dry raw materials are used as follows: 1 tbsp. Herbs in a glass of boiling water, boil and insist for 2 hours. Take 1 tbsp. Up to 5 times a day.

Increases the productivity of cough marshmallow root, coltsfoot, primrose, plantain, oregano, ivy, wild rosemary, which have an outstanding expectorant effect, which is recognized even by doctors. These herbs have long been used to treat coughs, and their relevance has not been lost to this day.

But if a cough occurs against a background of temperature, then we are talking about an infection, and it is not effective to treat it with expectorants and mucolytics alone. In this case, herbal preparations will be of great benefit, in which it is imperative to add herbs with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects: St. John's wort, calendula, chamomile, sage, eucalyptus, yarrow.

Cough herbs in alternative medicine are taken internally as decoctions and infusions, often flavored with honey, a natural antibiotic effective against most pathogens. The same compositions (without honey) can also be used as a solution for inhalation, and such treatment gives a faster effect. But we must remember that steam inhalation with cough and high fever can worsen the patient's condition.

Homeopathy

Few people do not know what homeopathy is and how its approaches to the treatment of diseases differ from the classical methods of traditional medicine. If the doctor, having found out that the patient has a high temperature and cough, prescribes him separate drugs for the causative agent of the disease, for cough and for fever, then the homeopath can get by with one or two drugs that will have a complex effect. Moreover, this will not be a treatment, but help the body so that it can defeat the disease on its own.

It is known that many homeopathic remedies are able to cope with fever and fever. Examples of such preparations (the full list includes about 267 names of homeopathic remedies) are Aconite, Antimonium tartaricum, Apis melifika, Argentum nitricum, Arnica montana, Arsenicum albumum and Arsenicum iodatum.

Most homeopathic remedies contribute to the normalization of body temperature already by virtue of the fact that they help the body restore impaired functions, including thermoregulation. But the homeopath does not prescribe medicines at random according to the list, but also takes into account other symptoms of the disease, their cause, constitutional and mental characteristics of the patient. It is difficult to achieve a decrease in temperature against the background of stress if you treat only the symptoms of a cold, which means it is very important to get to the bottom of the disease, and not get hung up only on symptomatic therapy.

In the above short list for fever and cough, Apis melifika is most suitable, because these are the symptoms indicated in the description of the homeopathic remedy. But an experienced homeopath will look at the nature of the symptoms, and the condition of the patient, and his reaction to the symptoms, and the physique, before prescribing the appropriate remedy.

For example, with a dry painful cough caused by hypothermia, in the presence of a temperature, the doctor will most likely prescribe not Apis, but Aconite. If the cough is accompanied by a sore throat, Beladonna is more suitable. The combination of a nocturnal dry cough with hoarseness, dryness of the throat and soreness in the chest, indicating the development of bronchitis, will be of great benefit to Bryonia.

Paroxysmal productive nocturnal cough, aggravated by cold, helps to defeat the drug Rumex crispus. But if the attacks are aggravated by warm air, Drosera is more suitable.

The selection of an effective homeopathic remedy is a whole science that cannot be mastered in 5 minutes. But there are not so many real homeopathic specialists, so homeopathic treatment does not always give results. But even if you do not look for a specialist, some homeopathic remedies can be found in a regular pharmacy.

Syrup "Stodal" is a complex homeopathic cough remedy with bronchodilatory, expectorant and mucolytic action. Children over 2 years old are given 1 tsp 3-5 times a day. Of this syrup, adults - 3 tsp.

The syrup has few contraindications. Usually it is not prescribed for intolerance to the components of the drug, including disorders of sugar metabolism. Side effects occur only when contraindications are ignored and manifest themselves in the form of allergic reactions.

Despite the high effectiveness of the drug for the symptomatic treatment of cough, it is still necessary to understand that a high temperature when coughing is most often an indicator of an infectious disease. This means that without consulting a specialist and treating the cause of the disease, it is impossible to do.