What to do with excessive sweating from a cold?

Written by Hu Bai Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on March 20, 2025
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When you have a cold and experience excessive sweating, this situation is fairly normal and there is no need to worry excessively. Your body is in a state of rest and is metabolizing at a higher rate to combat the invading cold viruses or bacteria. During this time, it is important to keep warm and avoid exposure to wind or cold. After waking, it's advisable to drink an adequate amount of water to stay hydrated and prevent dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Additionally, under the guidance of a doctor, you should take the appropriate anti-inflammatory and anti-infection medication, or antiviral drugs to treat the condition and alleviate symptoms like sweating. It is recommended to maintain a light diet and avoid spicy, greasy, cold, or irritating foods. It is also essential to follow the doctor's instructions regarding the accurate timing and dosing of medications. Overmedication should be avoided as it could potentially weaken the body and exacerbate symptoms like excessive sweating.

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How to treat a cold and fever?

Patients with the common cold can experience fever, and accompanying symptoms such as chills and headaches. So how should a fever from a cold be treated? First, consider the severity of the fever. If it's a mild fever, antipyretics are generally not needed; rest, avoiding cold exposure, and drinking plenty of water are recommended. If the temperature exceeds 38 degrees Celsius and there is significant discomfort, antipyretic medications can be used, commonly antipyretic analgesics. Besides medication, physical cooling methods like sponge baths or applying ice packs can also be employed. If sweating occurs during the fever, it's important to dry off with a clean towel promptly and change any sweat-soaked underwear to avoid getting chilled again, which can impede recovery from the cold.

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Is wind-heat cold contagious?

"Wind-heat cold" is a term used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and diagnosed through TCM methods; from a Western medicine perspective, it could also be a viral infection. Viral colds can be contagious, so sometimes, wind-heat colds may be contagious as well. Therefore, it is necessary to take certain measures to prevent the spread of the disease, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children, and pregnant women. It's advisable for these groups to avoid contact with individuals who have a wind-heat cold to prevent infection. There is also a need to be cautious of the possibility of bacterial infections in such cases. If the patient has a bacterial infection, active treatment, potentially including antibiotics, may be required.

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Can babies spit up milk when they have a cold?

After a baby catches a cold, symptoms such as vomiting milk can occur. Following a cold, the secretion of digestive enzymes decreases, which can lead to gastrointestinal symptoms including sudden nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. When cold-induced vomiting is severe, it's important to feed the child a light, easily digestible diet and administer antiemetic medications, such as Vitamin B6, compound rennin, or aluminum phosphate gel, which can effectively stop the vomiting. Additionally, it is crucial to actively treat the cold, primarily through symptomatic treatment, increased fluid intake, and taking cold medicine.

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Should you cover yourself with a thick blanket if you have a cold caused by wind-heat?

Generally, it is not advisable to cover oneself with heavy blankets when suffering from a wind-heat cold, as this type of cold is caused by externally contracted wind-heat, commonly occurring in the summer. Covering with heavy blankets after contracting a wind-heat cold may hinder the body's ability to dissipate heat, which is not conducive to the dispersion of body heat. If a wind-heat cold occurs during the autumn or winter seasons, it is acceptable to use blankets, otherwise, it may lead to the invasion of wind-cold, exacerbating the cold's condition and adversely affecting the treatment of the wind-heat cold. In daily life, one should pay attention to resting more and avoid eating raw, greasy, or strongly spicy foods; drinking more water; and consuming fresh fruits and vegetables.

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Is a cough with phlegm due to a cold caused by wind-cold or wind-heat?

Coughing is a very common symptom among patients, with numerous and complex triggering factors. Determining the specific cause of a cough requires analyzing the nature of the cough, such as whether it is productive or dry, and considering other related clinical manifestations. Clinically, symptoms can help distinguish whether a cough is caused by a cold due to wind-cold or wind-heat. Typically, colds due to wind-cold often occur in winter. Symptoms include nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, itchy throat, varying degrees of fever, and primarily a dry cough. Conversely, colds due to wind-heat are more common in summer and are accompanied by more pronounced general symptoms. These include sore throat, fever, chills, nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing. Thus, simply having a productive cough does not confirm whether it is due to a wind-cold or wind-heat cold. If the cough produces yellow phlegm and occurs in summer, it generally indicates a wind-heat cold.