How many days does it usually take for a fever to subside from a cold?

Written by Hu Bai Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on March 19, 2025
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A cold, if accompanied by a fever, is mostly caused by bacterial or viral infections. Under the guidance of a doctor, active symptomatic treatment can usually reduce the fever within two to three days. It is recommended that during the fever period, one should monitor the body temperature closely. If the temperature exceeds 38.5°C, fever-reducing medication should be taken immediately to achieve the purpose of reducing the fever, to avoid febrile convulsions, especially in infants and young children whose nervous systems are not yet fully developed. If a high fever is not treated promptly, it could likely lead to febrile convulsions and may have a certain impact on the child's health. Therefore, it is advised to take fever-reducing medication in a timely manner. If the body temperature is below 38.5°C, physical cooling methods can be used at this time. Let the baby or the patient drink more water to promote excretion and enhance their resistance. Physical cooling methods should also be used regularly.

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How long does it take to recover from a cold?

The common cold is one of the most frequently seen diseases in clinical settings, caused by viral infections. The most prevalent symptoms are nasal, such as sneezing, runny nose, and nasal congestion. Additionally, there can be discomfort in the throat, coughing, and some patients may experience mild fever, chills, and headaches. Generally, the natural course of a cold is about five to seven days, so it's possible to recover from a cold within a week. However, since there are currently no specific medications for treating the common cold, it is important to rest, avoid getting chilled, drink plenty of water, quit smoking, and ensure good ventilation in the room to aid recovery from a cold.

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What are the symptoms of a cold in infants?

Symptoms of a cold in infants generally include less energy and spirit than usual and varying degrees of reduced appetite. Depending on the type of cold, other symptoms may differ. If the cold is caused by a respiratory virus infection, common symptoms include nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, phlegm, and sometimes wheezing. Severe cases may experience shortness of breath. If it's a cold caused by a gastrointestinal virus infection, typical symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea. The severity of the cold and the source of the infection can also lead to varying degrees of fever.

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Gastrointestinal cold and fever, how many degrees?

Gastrointestinal cold is a very common type of cold clinically, mainly caused by viruses invading the respiratory tract, leading to patients experiencing fever, with generally high body temperature during fever. For patients with fever, since the severity of viral infection varies from person to person, the clinical symptoms of fever and the degree of fever also vary. The specific degree of fever in Celsius depends on the detailed condition of each patient. Typically, the fever in a gastrointestinal cold is above 39°C, and the patient may also experience nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, nasal congestion, and a runny nose, among other clinical symptoms.

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Is a cold dangerous for membranous nephropathy?

Patients with membranous nephropathy becoming ill with a cold is indeed quite dangerous. This is because, firstly, a cold often leads to the relapse or aggravation of membranous nephropathy, causing changes in the condition of the disease. Secondly, patients with membranous nephropathy often use corticosteroids and immunosuppressants to control the disease, and a major side effect of these medications is that they suppress the body's immune capability, making infections more likely to occur. Once an infection sets in, it can lead to septic shock and the inflammation of multiple organs, with potentially life-threatening consequences for some patients.

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Symptoms of a cold caused by wind-cold

The so-called common cold, which is often referred to as the common cold, is divided from the perspective of Chinese medicine into heat-type colds and cold-type colds. A wind-cold cold refers to the symptoms that occur when a patient is exposed to wind and cold causing viruses or other pathogens to enter the respiratory tract, characterized by fever, headache, runny nose—often clear mucus—along with coughing and an itchy throat. Thus, in clinical practice, for patients with a wind-cold cold, if symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing occur, it is appropriate to use heat-clearing, detoxifying, and antiviral medications according to the patient's symptoms for symptomatic treatment. The discomfort caused by the wind-cold cold can be effectively controlled.