Treatment of cough and fever

Prescribing special means to combat infection is the responsibility of specialists. There can be no advice or recommendations from the outside. Moreover, the uncontrolled use of such potent drugs as antibiotics has led to many of them becoming ineffective in combating pathogens that were previously sensitive to the drug. Antibiotic resistance is not only the result of the evolution of microorganisms, but also our fault.

Medicines

Let's forget about potent drugs for a while and pay attention to symptomatic therapy, since the topic of our conversation is cough and fever as symptoms of a disease of the body. Treatment of fever usually does not cause any particular difficulties. The choice of antipyretics is relatively small, but this is not necessary, considering that drugs based on paracetamol or acetylsalicylic acid are usually used to reduce fever. Less often, ibuprofen is used for these purposes, as one of the most popular and budget NSAIDs with analgesic and antipyretic effects.

For the treatment of children and people with diseases of the stomach and intestines, the drug of choice is Paracetamol and its analogues (Anapiron, Efferalgan, Grippostad, Panadol, Piaron, etc.).

"Panadol" is a drug based on paracetamol, a substance with analgesic and antipyretic properties. For the treatment of adults and children over 6 years old, you can use tablets that have a gentle effect on the gastric mucosa due to the protective shell. For children, they produce a suspension with a pleasant taste and strawberry aroma, which can be used to treat infants from 3 months. Rectal suppositories for reducing fever in children over six months are sold under the same name. The drug is prescribed for colds, flu and other diseases accompanied by pain and fever.

In the acute period of the disease (usually for 3 days), tablets are prescribed up to 4 times a day. The dose for children under 12 years is 0.5-1 tablet per dose. Older patients can take 1-2 tablets at a time, but no more than 8 per day.

When taking the medicine, you need to ensure that the interval between taking single doses of the drug is not less than 4 hours.

The children's suspension is suitable for treating children under 12 years of age. For ease of dosing, it is supplied with a measuring syringe. The safe dosage is determined based on the patient's body weight (age). Up to 3 months, the suspension can be given to children in doses prescribed by the doctor, then follow the table in the annotation to the drug. A single dose of the drug for children should not exceed 15 mg/kg (60 mg/kg per day).

Rectal suppositories can be found in pharmacies in 2 types: for babies up to 2.5 years old and children 3-6 years old. The daily dose according to age is 3-4 suppositories, which are placed at intervals of 4-6 hours. Carefully insert into the child's anus with clean hands in a side position.

When choosing a remedy for fever, you need to consider its possible contraindications. For Panadol in tablets, such contraindications are severe liver and kidney diseases, consistently elevated bilirubin levels in the blood, alcoholism, blood diseases, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and anemia as a result.

The same contraindications apply to children's preparations. The use of rectal suppositories is impossible if the child has suffered from inflammation of the rectum the day before or if there is rectal bleeding.

A general contraindication for all medications is hypersensitivity to any of the components of the drug.

All possible side effects during treatment with paracetamol preparations occur very rarely. The most common include nausea and vomiting, pain in the epigastrium. There may be an increased risk of bleeding, allergic reactions, bronchospasms and anaphylaxis in patients with hypersensitivity to the active substance.

"Ibuprofen" is a popular drug from the NSAID category, which can also be used to reduce fever and inflammation. Today, in addition to film-coated tablets, ibuprofen can be purchased in the form of effervescent tablets, capsules, children's suspension and rectal suppositories used for fever in children under 2 years of age.

Tablets and capsules are intended for the treatment of patients over 6 years old, children's forms of the drug are used from 3 months and earlier (as prescribed by a doctor). Up to six months, the dose of oral suspension is determined by the attending physician, the dosages for older children are reflected in the instructions for the drug: 2.5 ml for infants up to one year, 5 ml for 1-3 years, 7.5 ml for children under 6 years, 10 ml for 6-9 years. Teenagers 9-12 years old take 15 ml of suspension per dose. The frequency of administration is standard - 3 times a day for 3 days.

Children aged 6-12 years are given a tablet in a dosage of 1 tablet (200 mg) -2 times a day. Patients whose weight exceeds 30 kg can take 2 tablets per dose. The next dose of the medicine can be taken no earlier than 4 hours later.

Rectal suppositories are used 3 times a day if treating a child aged 3-9 months, and 4 times a day if the patient is over 9 months old.

In addition to hypersensitivity to ibuprofen and other NSAIDs, the drug has other contraindications: active gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, severe heart, kidney and liver diseases. It is also undesirable for expectant mothers to take the drug in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

Side effects of Ibuprofen usually appear with prolonged use. Treatment of fever and heat for 3 days in the vast majority of cases is without consequences.

Treatment of cough during colds aims to make the symptom more productive. For this purpose, expectorants and mucolytics are used.

We will not go far, looking for expensive advertised cough remedies, but will focus on a drug that doctors are favorable to. "Ambroxol" is an excellent budget drug that facilitates expectoration of phlegm, liquefying it and stimulating its movement through the respiratory tract. Today, the drug can be purchased both in tablet form and in syrup form, which can be used to treat children over 2 years old.

It is recommended to take the tablets whole after meals. Patients over 12 years of age take Ambroxol tablets according to the following scheme: the first 2-3 days, 1 tablet three times a day, the following days - the same single dose, but 2 times a day.

Children are also given the syrup 2-3 times a day, and there is no need to take the medicine after meals. Up to the age of two, the pediatrician prescribes the dose and frequency of taking the medicine. Patients 2-6 years old are given the drug three times a day, 0.5 teaspoon. Children 6-12 years old can be given 1 teaspoon of the drug with the same frequency of administration, and older patients - 2 teaspoons.

The main contraindication to taking the drug is individual sensitivity to its components. Caution should be exercised in case of gastric and duodenal ulcers, convulsive syndrome, pregnancy (it penetrates the placental barrier, but does not have a teratogenic effect). It is not recommended to take the drug during lactation, since ambroxol penetrates into breast milk.

"Ambroxol" is a drug with a low probability of developing side effects. The most common symptom is nausea, gastrointestinal disorders and decreased acuity of taste perception are also possible. Abdominal pain, vomiting, skin rashes and some other mild health disorders occur rarely.

Fans of natural treatment for fighting a painful cough can be offered syrup and drops (solution) "Gedelix" based on ivy extract. The drug increases bronchial secretion, liquefies phlegm, relieves spasms of the respiratory tract muscles. All this makes the cough more productive, and expectoration of phlegm is relatively easy.

Ivy preparations are allowed for children from the age of 2. Both drops and syrup are used undiluted, although for children it can be added to tea or fruit juice to improve the taste.

For children aged 2-4 years, the syrup is given in a dosage of 2.5 ml, a single dose of the solution is 16 drops. The frequency of use is 3 times a day.

Children aged 4-10 years are given the same dose of syrup 4 times a day. The solution can be offered three times a day, 21 drops at a time.

Patients over 10 years of age should take 5 ml syrup or 31 drops solution three times a day.

The drug should not be taken by patients with hypersensitivity to its components, given to children under 2 years of age without consulting a doctor. Caution should be exercised by patients with bronchial asthma, with impaired urea metabolism, increased sensitivity of the respiratory tract, which may occur with severe inflammation.

Side effects from taking Gedelix drugs are usually of 2 types: allergic reactions and symptoms of digestive system disorders (nausea, vomiting, bowel disturbances, discomfort in the epigastrium).

It should be taken into account that, despite the long shelf life of natural Gedelix preparations (5 years), after opening the bottle they can only be used for six months.

Anti-cough medications that suppress the cough reflex at a temperature indicating acute inflammation are highly undesirable. On the contrary, it is necessary to promote more active removal of sputum along with pathogens.

Folk remedies

High temperature and cough in such a combination are always a sign of a pathological process in the body. And although these symptoms are just the body's response to the damaging effects of pathogens, they need to be treated very carefully. It is clear that if we are talking about an infection, then we often cannot do without strong antimicrobial agents (unless the infection turns out to be viral), but you can lower the off-scale thermometer readings and relieve the cough with folk methods, especially if there are no suitable drugs at hand.

The easiest thing is with temperature. Sometimes even well-known antipyretic drugs do not help to bring down the temperature by half a degree. But it is worth wiping your face, hands and feet with cool water and putting a cloth soaked in cold water on your forehead, as the temperature on the thermometer begins to inexorably decrease.

Rubbing the body can be done with either clean water or solutions of vodka and vinegar in water. Vodka can be used in its pure form for adults, but for children it must be diluted in equal proportions with water. You don't need to add a lot of vinegar to the water; 1 tablespoon of vinegar is enough for half a liter of water.

To reduce a child's high temperature, you can use a fan, directing the air flow towards the baby. If the room is warm and the child has a fever, you can wrap him in a damp sheet.

It is commonly believed that a good sweat is a good way to reduce the temperature. Any hot drinks and dishes have a diaphoretic effect. But at a temperature of 39 degrees and above, it is better to give preference to warm drinks with linden and raspberry, elderberry and mint tea, juices (lingonberry, cranberry, red or black currant, citrus fruits with a high content of vitamin C), milk with onion or garlic with the addition of honey, if there is no allergy to bee products. Jam made from fresh berries can also be useful.

By the way, with any cold it is very useful not only to drink juices, but also to eat oranges, lemons, grapefruit, tangerines fresh (this way they retain the maximum amount of vitamin C, which helps to reduce fever). Citrus fruits help not only to saturate the weakened body with vitamins, but also to cope with thirst - a companion of temperature.

For those who do not have an aversion to onions, we can offer this universal recipe for colds and fever: grate the onion and apples, add honey (1 tbsp each), mix well and take 1 tbsp before main meals.

It is a bit more difficult to fight a cough without pharmaceutical drugs, but it is also possible. If the cough is dry and unproductive (the phlegm does not come off), you need to turn it into a productive wet cough as soon as possible, which is best done by black radish. It can be used in different ways:

• grate and add honey,
• squeeze the juice out of the grated radish and then mix it with honey and carrot juice,
• make a hole in the root vegetable, pour honey into it and wait until the radish releases juice (you get a viscous syrup).

Any of the radish-based medications are taken 1 tbsp at intervals of 1 hour.

Another option for treating dry cough is drinking milk with an onion boiled in it up to 3 times a day. Honey helps improve the taste of the drink and enhances its effect.

Onions can also be used to make a sweet cough and cold syrup. Simply chop the onion, add honey and let it release juice. Onion syrup should be taken 0.5-1 tbsp several times a day.

To increase the productivity of a wet cough, you can take a mixture of honey and vegetable oil (preferably olive oil) 3-4 times a day. The products are mixed 1:1. Take the medicine 1 teaspoon at a time.

An unproductive cough with difficulty in removing sputum is usefully treated with compresses. The following compositions can be used for compresses:

• honey (it is better to take liquid, thick honey is kept in a water bath until dissolved),
• honey, black radish juice and mustard powder (in equal parts),
• warm potato soup, to which you can add vodka to enhance the effect, etc.

Compresses placed on the chest and back have a warming effect, relieve coughing and remove mucus from the bronchi, but to achieve a good effect, after removing them from the body, you need to stay in bed for some time. At high temperatures, you need to be careful with such treatment, because the thermometer reading can jump even higher.

Inhalations have a good expectorant effect. The simplest and most accessible procedures are steam inhalations with soda or over potato broth. After them, phlegm comes off easily and in large quantities. But at a temperature, it is better to do inhalations with a nebulizer (not thermal) or breathe over a cut onion.

Cough in adults and children can be treated with a long-known tasty medicine called "egogol-mogol". It is prepared from simple products: a piece of butter, a spoonful of honey, an egg yolk (all well ground) and a glass of milk (hot, but not boiling).

If the cough is dry, add a teaspoon of soda to this mixture or change the recipe: remove the milk, but add a drop of iodine to the ground butter-honey-egg mixture.

Herbal treatment

In folk treatment of cough and high temperature, herbs are used in addition to food products. We have already mentioned some plants that are useful for reducing fever, talking about healthy drinks. Leaves and flowers of linden, raspberry, currant have antipyretic properties. Tea made from elder flowers and mint leaves will be useful, as well as an infusion of willow bark or meadowsweet flowers - plants with a high content of salicylates (remember, aspirin). 1-2 teaspoons of one or another plant material are poured with a glass of boiling water, infused and taken 2-3 glasses a day.

Ginger root, which can be grated and mixed with honey (sugar), helps well with both cough and fever. For children over 2 years old, you can prepare a useful thick syrup. For 1 teaspoon of crushed ginger, take a glass of sugar, add a little water and heat the mixture over low heat (you need to stir it all the time) until it becomes transparent and viscous. The syrup is given to children and adults ½ teaspoon up to 3 times a day.

For dry and wet unproductive cough, licorice root is also very helpful. It can be bought in a pharmacy in dry and liquid (syrup) form. Dry raw materials are used as follows: 1 tbsp. of the herb per glass of boiling water, boil and leave for 2 hours. Take 1 tbsp. up to 5 times a day.

The productivity of cough is increased by the root of marshmallow, coltsfoot, primrose, plantain, oregano, ivy, wild rosemary, which have an outstanding expectorant effect, which is recognized even by doctors. These herbs have long been used to treat cough, and their relevance has not been lost to this day.

But if the cough occurs against the background of a temperature, then we are talking about an infection, and expectorants and mucolytics alone are not effective in treating. In this case, herbal infusions will be of great benefit, to which it is necessary to add herbs with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory action: St. John's wort, calendula, chamomile, sage, eucalyptus, yarrow.

Cough herbs in folk medicine are used internally in the form of decoctions and infusions, often flavored with honey - a natural antibiotic effective against most pathogens. The same compositions (without honey) can also be used as a solution for inhalation, and such treatment gives a faster effect. But it is necessary to remember that steam inhalations for cough and high temperature can worsen the patient's condition.

Homeopathy

Few people do not know what homeopathy is and how its approaches to treating diseases differ from the classical methods of traditional medicine. If a doctor, having found out that a patient has a high temperature and cough, prescribes separate drugs for the pathogen, cough and fever, then a homeopath can get by with one or two drugs that will have a complex effect. And this will not be a treatment, but help to the body so that it can defeat the disease on its own.

It is known that many homeopathic medicines are able to cope with heat and fever. Examples of such medicines (the full list contains about 267 names of homeopathic medicines) are Aconite, Antimonium tartaricum, Apis mellifica, Argentum nitricum, Arnica montana, Arsenicum album and Arsenicum iodatum.

Most homeopathic remedies help normalize body temperature already because they help the body restore impaired functions, including thermoregulation. But a homeopath does not prescribe medications at random from a list, but takes into account other symptoms of the disease, their cause, constitutional and mental characteristics of the patient. It is difficult to achieve a decrease in temperature against the background of stress if you treat only the symptoms of a cold, which means it is very important to get to the bottom of the disease, and not to focus only on symptomatic therapy.

In the short list above, Apis mellifica is the most suitable for fever and cough, because these are the symptoms indicated in the description of the homeopathic remedy. But an experienced homeopath will look at the nature of the symptoms, the patient's condition, his reaction to the symptoms, and his body type before prescribing the appropriate remedy.

For example, with a dry, painful cough caused by hypothermia, in the presence of a fever, the doctor will most likely prescribe not Apis, but Aconite. If the cough is accompanied by a sore throat, Belladonna is more suitable. The combination of a nighttime dry cough with hoarseness, dry throat and chest pain, indicating the development of bronchitis, will be greatly helped by Bryonia.

A paroxysmal productive night cough, which is aggravated by cold, can be overcome with the drug Rumex crispus. But if the attacks are aggravated by warm air, Drosera is more suitable.

Selecting an effective homeopathic remedy is a whole science that you can’t master in 5 minutes. But there are not many real homeopathic specialists, so homeopathic treatment does not always give results. But even if you don’t look for a specialist, some homeopathic remedies can be found in a regular pharmacy.

Stodal syrup is a complex homeopathic cough remedy with bronchodilating, expectorant and mucolytic action. Children over 2 years old are given 1 teaspoon of this syrup 3-5 times a day, adults - 3 teaspoons.

The syrup has few contraindications. It is usually not prescribed for intolerance to the components of the drug, including sugar metabolism disorders. Side effects occur only when contraindications are ignored and manifest themselves in the form of allergic reactions.

Despite the high efficiency of the drug for symptomatic treatment of cough, it is still necessary to understand that high temperature with cough is most often an indicator of an infectious disease. This means that you cannot do without consulting a specialist and treating the cause of the disease.