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Common cold
How to reduce a fever when having a cold and headache
Symptoms of a cold such as headache and fever can be treated by applying a cool towel or ice pack to the forehead, or by taking antipyretic analgesic drugs to alleviate the fever. Options include acetaminophen, naproxen, or sodium diclofenac, all of which effectively ease symptoms caused by a cold like headaches and fever. Additionally, drinking more ginger sugar water and using warm water or alcohol to wipe down the palms, soles, neck, and chest can help reduce fever physically.
Can you eat durian when you have a cold?
Wind-heat colds are not recommended for consumption. Traditional Chinese Medicine classifies colds into wind-heat colds and wind-cold colds based on the different external pathogenic factors patients experience. Wind-heat colds are primarily caused by exposure to external heat pathogens. Patients mainly exhibit symptoms including dry mouth, thirst, sweating, and coughing up phlegm, typically presenting with yellow phlegm. Durian is a food that tends to be warming; thus, consuming durian during a wind-heat cold could potentially worsen the condition or prolong the duration of the illness. Therefore, if the patient's symptoms match those described above for wind-heat colds, it is generally not recommended to eat durian. Of course, if the symptoms mentioned above are not present, eating durian is not a problem. Durian is a very nutritious food that can also aid in digestion. It is quite a good fruit.
What should I do if I have a cold and a sore throat?
In cases of colds with sore throats, appropriate measures should be taken based on the specific condition. A cold with a sore throat may be caused by a viral infection. For viral colds, there are usually no specific treatments, and symptomatic pain relief treatment is often needed, along with adequate hydration and proper intake of fruits and other related measures. Additionally, a sore throat from a cold could also be a bacterial infection, such as acute purulent tonsillitis, which is a type of bacterial cold. Patients with acute purulent tonsillitis often experience significant throat pain, swollen tonsils with purulent secretions on the surface, and may also have a fever. For acute purulent tonsillitis, not only is symptomatic treatment necessary, but also the use of sensitive antibiotics is required.
Can you eat onions when you have a cold?
During a cold, it is appropriate to eat some onions. If the onions are cooked, they are easier to digest. If consuming raw onions, eat them in moderation without overdoing it. Because they are spicy food, they have certain stimulating effects. Since onions are spicy, they can irritate the respiratory tract, leading to increased secretion of mucus, which in turn causes more nasal discharge and phlegm production. The expulsion of these secretions can help clear the respiratory pathways. Additionally, onions are rich in vitamins and can enhance the body's immunity.
What are the symptoms of a baby's cold?
Babies with a cold often experience symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, cough, and fever. If the child's cold lasts no more than three days, you can treat it with some antiviral traditional Chinese medicine, as most initial colds are caused by viral infections. In terms of diet, it is important to ensure that the child consumes plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, avoids overly greasy food, and eats light, easily digestible meals. If the cold raises the child's temperature above 39°C, timely fever-reducing treatment is necessary. If the temperature does not exceed 38.5°C, physical cooling methods can be used to help reduce the child's fever. Additionally, it is important to ventilate the room for two hours every day.
What to do when you catch a cold and cough in summer?
During summer, due to the hot weather, air conditioning is often used. If the air conditioning is set too cold, it might cause some people to catch a chill, leading to various symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and sore throat. For patients with such symptoms, the first step is to check if they have a fever and identify any other accompanying clinical symptoms. If the patient simply has a dry cough, it may be appropriate to use some heat-clearing and detoxifying traditional Chinese medicines. Then, depending on the nature of the cough, central cough suppressants should be used as symptomatic treatment. Generally, recovery can happen within a week under such treatment. In cases of a summer cold where the patient starts to produce phlegm in the later stages of coughing, it is then necessary to use some anti-inflammatory medicine for symptomatic treatment, as this may indicate a possible bacterial infection. (The use of medications should be done under the guidance of a professional doctor.)
What should I do about nasal congestion from a summer cold?
There is currently no specific effective medication for colds. If the symptoms are mild, no special treatment is required, and they will improve on their own in a few days. However, if nasal congestion is severe, one option is to use compound cold medicine, or directly use drugs that can constrict the blood vessels in the nasal mucosa, such as certain drops, to alleviate the symptoms of nasal congestion. If nasal congestion is caused by excessive nasal discharge, then the nasal discharge should be cleaned promptly to relieve the symptoms.
How to treat a cold caused by exposure to cold?
In traditional Chinese medicine, the common cold due to exposure to cold, also known as "wind-cold cold," is primarily caused by a decrease in the body's resistance, leading to the invasion of wind and cold. If the wind-cold is not expelled in time, symptoms such as nasal congestion, clear nasal discharge, sneezing, headache, and chills may arise. At this point, consuming warm and heating foods can help dispel the wind and cold, and relieve the body surface. One can drink ginger brown sugar water, as ginger effectively warms the middle, dispels cold, and expels wind, while brown sugar can enhance the body's resistance. Drinking it while it's hot causes the body to slightly heat up and sweat, which can quickly alleviate the symptoms of the cold due to exposure. (Please consult a professional physician before using any medication, and do not self-medicate.)
Why drink more hot water when you have a cold?
A cold, also known as an upper respiratory tract infection, commonly occurs in patients due to a decrease in immune function, exposure to cold, or being infected by other viral colds. Typical symptoms in these patients include nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and may also include an itchy throat and cough. For cold patients with strong resistance to viral infections, medication may not even be necessary as the cold can completely heal on its own. It is advised that these patients drink more hot water, which can help not only by providing hydration but also can serve to reduce fever in patients with mild fevers. Drinking more water can improve symptoms like nasal congestion and also accelerate the recovery from a cold, as increased water intake boosts metabolism. Therefore, for patients with lowered immune function and viral infections, it is recommended to drink an adequate amount of hot water.
Can you eat watermelon when you have a cold?
A cold, also commonly referred to as an upper respiratory tract infection, can generally be categorized into cold-natured and heat-natured types. If it occurs in winter, it is usually a cold-natured cold, and patients with this type are generally not recommended to eat watermelon. On the other hand, a heat-natured cold in summer typically presents symptoms such as runny nose, nasal congestion, fever, headache, sore throat, coughing, and even coughing up yellow phlegm. Patients with such symptoms can eat watermelon, as it can not only hydrate the body but also cool it down and provide some essential nutrients, making it suitable for patients with a heat-natured cold.