What should you avoid eating when you have a cold and fever?

Written by Hu Bai Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on February 28, 2025
00:00
00:00

There are many foods that should not be consumed during a fever caused by a cold, such as spicy foods including chili peppers, black pepper, mustard, onions, ginger, and garlic. Avoid these items, as well as fried foods, foods high in fat, overly sweet foods, and overly sour foods, for example, fried foods, pork belly, pig head meat, or some candies, creams, cheeses, and pastries. Furthermore, attention should also be given to avoiding carbonated drinks, alcoholic beverages, strong tea, and coffee. The diet should be light with the option to consume things like millet porridge, vegetable porridge, or some freshly squeezed juices to provide vitamins and enhance body resistance, helping to expedite recovery from cold and fever symptoms. During a fever, it is important to monitor body temperature. If it exceeds 38.5°C, fever-reducing medication should be taken; otherwise, physical cooling methods can be sufficient.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wu Shu Jie
Traditional Chinese Medicine
59sec home-news-image

How to use moxibustion for wind-heat cold?

Patients with colds caused by wind-cold can choose moxibustion at the Fengchi point, located 1.5 cm lateral to the midline in the depression formed by the occipital bone and cervical spine at the back of the head. The Dazhui point is located on the neck, in the depression below the seventh cervical vertebra, and the Hegu point is located at the tiger's mouth on the back of the hand. Moxibustion uses the warmth of the moxa fire to stimulate the Dazhui, Hegu, and Fengchi points to accelerate local blood circulation, promote cell metabolism, invigorate blood to dissolve stasis, expel wind and disperse cold, accelerate the expulsion of cold from the body, regulate endocrine functions, harmonize qi and blood, improve body functions, and increase the patient's immunity. This can effectively alleviate the patient's cold symptoms caused by wind-cold. It is recommended to keep warm and rest after treatment.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Xian Hua
Pediatrics
38sec home-news-image

Symptoms of a baby's cold and fever

Infant colds and fevers are categorized as respiratory infections, typically caused by pathogens such as respiratory viruses, bacteria, mycoplasma, and chlamydia. The initial symptoms usually manifest as varying degrees of fever. Subsequent general symptoms include appearing slightly less lively than usual, possibly accompanied by a reduced appetite, nausea, and even abdominal discomfort. The third category of symptoms affects the upper respiratory tract, commonly presenting as nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and in some cases, coughing and excessive phlegm.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
35sec home-news-image

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

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.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
1min 6sec home-news-image

Itchy throat and coughing, is it a wind-heat cold or a wind-cold cold?

When patients present with symptoms such as itchy throat and cough in a clinical setting, it is generally difficult to distinguish between a wind-heat cold and a wind-cold cold based solely on these symptoms. Distinguishing between wind-heat and wind-cold colds requires combining other clinical symptoms to accurately differentiate. Typically, patients with wind-heat colds are more common during the hot summers. These patients experience varying degrees of nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing, along with fever, chills, sore throat, and often cough up yellow sputum. On the other hand, wind-cold colds tend to occur more often in winter. These patients exhibit varying degrees of itchy throat and cough, nasal congestion, and also experience different degrees of fever, but generally do not have chills. Therefore, it is generally difficult to specifically distinguish the type of cold based on the solitary symptoms of itchy throat and cough in a clinical setting.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
36sec home-news-image

Types and Symptoms of Common Cold

From the perspective of Western medicine, there are primarily two types of colds: the common cold and influenza. The symptoms of the common cold are different and mainly include nasal congestion, runny nose, dry and sore throat, tearing, sneezing, and other symptoms. In contrast, influenza mainly manifests as weakness in the limbs, muscle soreness, and some may experience fixed joint swelling and pain. It can also cause complications such as nausea and vomiting, mainly due to infections caused by different pathogens, thus the symptoms vary.