Fever: what need to know?

The fever is the bodily temperature increase above normal considered figures. There are variations individual of temperature linked to nature of each person.

Usually him accompanies a state of malaise, uneasiness and sometimes stupor.

• Subfeverish or slight fever: axillary temperature between 37.5 and 38 ºC.
• Moderate fever: axillary temperature between 38 and 39 ºC. 
• Tall fever: axillary temperature between 39 and 40.5 ºC. 
• Very tall fever or hyperpyrexia: axillary temperature higher than 40.5 ºC. It is a situation of commitment vital that it can cause major damages in the person.

General measures

During the phase of chills:

• Limit the physical activity and sources of emotional stress.
• Maintain the environmental temperature between 21-22ºC.
• Not withdrawing the clothes and to offer supplementary blankets and clothes.
• Moisturize with water and juices.
• Give a bland diet and rich in nutrients. 

During the phases of plateau and declension

• Limit the physical activity and sources of emotional stress.
• Maintain the environmental temperature between 21-22 ºC.
• Avoid the excess of coat without causing chills.
• Maintain dry article of clothings and the bed linen.
• Moisturize with water and juices.
• Give a bland diet and rich in nutrients.
• Maintain the mucosae of the clean mouth and moist.

Médidas physics

• Baños of lukewarm water: 2ºC under the body temperature that has the person.
• Sprinkle the skin with annealed water.
• Apply on the skin surface towels or soaked sanitary napkins in lukewarm water.
• Apply sources of air (fan).

Pharmacological measures

Medicines that are used to discuss the fever are denominated antithermal or antipyretics.

• Higher temperature of 40 ºC.
• Fever that it does not disappear with recommended pharmacological measures after three days of use.
• When there are illnesses previous (heart illnesses, liverworts, renal, tumour processes, illnesses of the immune system, (for example, HIV), endocrine illnesses (for example, diabetes), etc.
• When drug therapies of the type are done corticosteroid drugs.
• During the pregnancy or in period of breastfeeding
• When together with the fever appear other symptoms as:
  • Very strong pain of head. 
  • Constant vomits.
  • Difficulty when breathing.
  • Stiffness of occiput.
  • Non usual sensitivity to the light, disorientation or changes in its usual behaviour.

Ventilate the room:

• Ventilated and atmosphere room untroubled and relaxed.
• Give broad spaces or that there is a reduced number of people.

Maintain a good hydration and nutrition:

• Maintain an adequate hydration with water and juices to prevent the dehydration.
• They should not use stimulants as the coffee, the tea or the tail, since these are diuretic and they can promote to the dehydration. 
• Maintain a balanced nutrition with energetic foodstuffs of tall content vitamínico and protean (for example, yoghurt, egg, fruit shakes, etc.), in small and frequent intake.
• Maintain hydrated and clean the oral mucosa to maintain the oral hygiene: dental brush, dentifrice, colutorios and water.

Promote changes of position:

• Decrease the physical activity and to promote the periods resting.
• Use comfortable and light clothes to promote the movement and to decrease the sudoración. 
• If the person is prostrate in bed, to promote changes of posture
• Try to rest and to sleep the maximum thing possible
• Increase the comfort of the person with following activities according to the general measures, physics and pharmacological indicated.

Prioritise activities of the day by day:

• Understand the importance of the repose to discuss the fever. 
• Recognise that the fever is a faddish situation in most cases.
• Try to decrease the anxiety that sometimes generates the work absenteeism or the fact of not being able to to carry out everyday activities. 
• Make good use of moments without fever and great comfort to carry out those activities that the situation allows and they produce satisfaction.

• The fever is not an illness in if same; it is a symptom of defense of the organisation before certain external agents.  
• Is owed to avoid the application of ice on the skin, bathrooms with cold water and frictions with community or alcohol.
• They should not take antibiotics without medical prescription.
• The non treated fever does not go up anymore of way incontrolada. With processing, the temperature not cancellation until normal limits, but instead that the antithermal ones achieve a reduction of temperature out of 1 ºC and 1.5 ºC.
• The disappearance of fever after the administration of an antithermal one does not indicate the disappearance of the cause.
• The tall fever is present does not indicate necessarily that the cause is serious.