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Health

Vinegar rubbing at high temperature: correct proportions

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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You can bring down the fever with the help of medications (there are many antipyretic drugs in pharmacies now), but the effect of taking them appears at least after half an hour. But in some cases, an immediate result is required, and even the highest quality drugs do not always manage to bring down the fever. In this case, a simple folk remedy can help - table vinegar for fever.

Does vinegar help bring down a fever?

Rubbing with vinegar can give an instant effect - the heat goes away immediately after the procedure. This happens because acetic acid has a degreasing effect on the skin, thereby reducing the tension of sweat drops on its surface. Water provides additional moisture. Together with sweat, they quickly evaporate, removing the heat.

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Advantages and disadvantages

Benefits of rubbing with vinegar during extreme heat include:

  • This remedy acts very quickly, which can be very important in a critical situation;
  • after calling a doctor, while waiting for his arrival, you can bring down the temperature in the absence of medications or in a situation where they do not help;
  • When treating with vinegar, there is no need to combine it with medications, as it acts independently. This may be necessary in cases where the patient has already taken the maximum daily dose of antipyretic drugs.

But this method also has some disadvantages:

  • some of the vinegar is absorbed from the skin into the blood, and its vapors penetrate the respiratory tract - as a result, mild intoxication occurs. This is why doctors do not recommend wiping children with vinegar, especially those under 3 years old;
  • vinegar reduces the temperature only on the surface of the body, and this can provoke vascular spasms, which are quite difficult to stop, especially in children with elevated temperatures;
  • The duration of action of this drug is quite short and its use is associated with considerable risk.

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Vinegar for fever in adults

An adult needs to be wiped with vinegar using the following algorithm:

  • First, you need to treat your feet and palms;
  • then wipe the areas where large vessels are located: the neck, armpits, areas under the knees;
  • wrap your body in a sheet soaked in vinegar or make a compress on your forehead.

Vinegar for fever in children

When wiping babies, the procedure must be performed with great caution - to minimize the risk of side effects, it is better to wipe only the legs and arms of babies, without rubbing vinegar into the skin. For children aged 3-4, wiping is done in approximately the same way as for adults, but without wrapping the torso in a sheet.

Preparation

You need to take 50 ml of warm (not hot and not cold) water, then add vinegar to it (a simple table solution with a concentration of 6-9%). To prepare the medicine, it will be enough to add 1 tbsp. vinegar. After combining the components, the solution must be thoroughly mixed.

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Technique vinegar rubdowns at a temperature

When wiping with vinegar, you need to follow some rules that will allow you to get the maximum effect from the procedure:

  • The patient must be completely undressed;
  • It should be wiped with a cotton swab, which is first moistened in the solution;
  • Rubbing should be gentle, without pressure, with mandatory treatment of areas where large blood vessels are located;
  • Rubbing vinegar in with force is strictly prohibited;
  • To ensure unhindered evaporation of vinegar, the patient should be covered not with a blanket, but with any thin fabric.

It is also necessary to take into account that sometimes when the temperature rises, the skin becomes pale and the extremities become cold - in such a situation, rubbing cannot be done, since the patient has a vascular spasm. An ambulance should be called and the patient should be given an antipyretic.

How to dilute vinegar for fever?

The main rule when diluting vinegar is to mix the components in the right proportions. If you add too much vinegar, it can be dangerous for the patient. A highly concentrated solution can cause intoxication, because its acidic substances penetrate the blood very quickly.

Vinegar proportions depending on temperature

To avoid burns, you need to maintain the correct proportions of water and vinegar. The acceptable dosage is 0.5 liters of warm water, as well as 1 tbsp. of vinegar with a concentration of 9%. You should also remember that you cannot use vinegar essence.

Apple cider vinegar for fever

A solution based on apple cider vinegar is used as an antipyretic (1 teaspoon per 0.5 cup of warm water is enough). This medicine is mainly used to reduce high temperatures in children, since apple cider vinegar is safer for the body than regular table vinegar.

Rubbing with vinegar for fever

You should not treat areas of skin with blisters, wounds, scratches, or various pustules with vinegar solution - in such places, vinegar will seep directly into the blood, thereby causing discomfort and poisoning the body.

It is also wrong to use a terry towel for rubbing - it strongly irritates the skin, and due to strong friction, on the contrary, it increases the heat even more. You should use a soft cloth, which acts more gently and carefully on the skin.

Compress for fever with vinegar

Vinegar compresses also help well with fever. To prepare them, dilute about 15-17 ml of vinegar in 200 ml of water, then stir the solution. Then soak a soft towel or piece of cloth in it and place it on the patient's forehead.

Contraindications to the procedure

Rubbing with vinegar is contraindicated if the patient is very pale - this may be a symptom of vascular spasms, and in such a situation rubbing will only worsen the situation. This procedure should also not be performed on infants under 6 months and on elderly people.

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Consequences after the procedure

Vinegar for fever is quite an effective remedy, but its irrational use can cause very serious complications. For example, vinegar intoxication. This problem can lead to very serious consequences, so you should use this remedy with precautions, observing all the required rules.

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