How long does it take to recover from a cold and fever?

Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
Updated on February 22, 2025
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If medication is not used, the general course of the illness is about three to seven days. With medical intervention, recovery can generally be achieved in one to three days. If the fever exceeds 38.5°C, it is advisable to take measures to reduce fever to prevent complications such as febrile convulsions. Physical methods can be used to reduce fever. Fever can also be treated with oral antipyretics. During the treatment period, it is advisable to eat light meals, avoid staying up late, and avoid consuming large portions of meat and fish.

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Written by Wang Lin Zhong
Pediatrics
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How to treat a baby's cold fever

Children's heat colds generally occur in the summer when the weather is hot, and the following methods can be used to manage it: First, give the child an appropriate amount of warm water to drink. When a child catches a cold, they will consume too much water from their body. At this time, replenishing water can improve the child's symptoms. Second, take some antipyretic and heat-clearing drugs. These drugs are effective in alleviating symptoms such as fever, nasal congestion, and cough caused by heat colds. Third, if the child develops throat inflammation, nasal congestion, and yellow nasal discharge after catching a cold, this might be a bacterial infection. Cephalosporin antibiotics can be used, but it is best to take the child to the hospital for tests like a complete blood count and other examinations. Only after confirming the indications for antibiotic use should antibiotic treatment be administered.

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Written by Liu Ying
Cardiology
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What should I do if I have a cold with heart failure?

Infections are a primary cause of worsening heart failure. Patients with heart failure who catch a cold should treat the cold, and if the cold exacerbates the heart failure, they should also treat the heart failure simultaneously. Patients with heart failure should always try to avoid infections by regularly ventilating their living spaces, avoiding crowded places prone to cross-infections, and dressing appropriately for the weather. Additionally, patients should engage in appropriate exercise to boost their immune system, but they must balance activity and rest.

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Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
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Is it good to sweat when you have a stomach flu?

Gastrointestinal cold is a very common type of cold. In addition to various degrees of upper respiratory tract symptoms, patients also experience gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly common ones such as decreased appetite, abdominal bloating, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Some patients may also have varying degrees of fever. For such patients, if they have both fever and severe diarrhea, they are prone to sweating because the body needs time to cool down to normal temperature after a fever, which often results in sweating. Moreover, patients may experience sweating due to severe dehydration. If these factors are present, the situation is generally not good, so it is important to provide timely symptomatic treatment based on the symptoms exhibited by the patient.

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Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
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What should a girl do if she catches a cold?

What should a woman do if she catches a cold? Clinically, the treatment of colds does not differ by gender, and the principles of treatment are the same. It mainly involves symptomatic treatment, drinking plenty of water, and using antiviral medications as needed. If a woman is on her period, she should take extra precautions, keep warm, avoid eating cold-natured fruits such as pears, grapes, and watermelon, and drink more ginger and brown sugar water. If fever is present, she can choose to take antipyretic analgesics for symptomatic treatment.

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Written by Guo Xiao Yun
Pulmonology
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Is a sore throat caused by a cold with wind-cold or a cold with wind-heat?

Sore throat may be caused by a cold due to wind-cold or wind-heat, which are terms used in traditional Chinese medicine. However, from a Western medicine perspective, both wind-cold and wind-heat colds are caused by viral infections, and in rare cases, bacterial infections. When bacteria or viruses invade the respiratory tract's mucous membranes, especially the mucous membranes of the throat, it leads to congestion and swelling of the throat mucosa, increased exudation of inflammatory secretions, resulting in symptoms such as sore throat, throat discomfort, and coughing up phlegm. Therefore, a sore throat could be due to a cold caused by wind-cold or wind-heat. In such cases, it is appropriate to take some anti-cold medications or some Chinese patent medicines to alleviate the symptoms.