FEVER - HOME REMEDIES

FEVER - HOME REMEDIES

Fever is the body's natural defense mechanism and a good sign to indicate that the body is fighting against invading organisms, but it can also occur from overexposure to heat or cold. When the body temperature goes over the normal level (which is 98.6 degrees F in the mouth and 97.6 degrees F in the armpit), it is termed as "fever". Some of the other symptoms which indicate that a person is suffering from fever are-hot, dry or flushed skin, chilliness, shivering, a  rapid or slow pulse, malaise, bodyache, decreased appetite, thirst, headache, cold and cough etc.

If the one feels hot and sweaty, taking a lukewarm bath will help the body to cool off slowly. Consult your doctor, if the fever lasts for more than three days or if the temperature is more than 101 degrees F or if the fever is associated with severe headache, stiff neck, rash, confusion, back pain, excessive vomiting, excessive diarrhea, painful urination or in cases where the patient becomes vague or comatose along with the fever.

HOME REMEDIES 

1. Eat minimum if required, but drink more fluids. Light coffee and tea are useful beverages to bring down the fever and increase the perspiration, because of the caffeine content in it. Give more of warm soups (preferably vegetable and onion juice), ginger ale and diluted fresh fruit juices (especially ones made from apples, oranges, grapes, cherries and pineapple).

2. The juice of half a lemon and a tablespoonful of honey when mixed with some warm water provide energy to the person.

3. Orange juice is the ideal liquid food in fevers, since it provides energy, increases the urine output and thus helps to flush out the toxins from the body naturally. In the start of the fever it is useful to keep the patient only on  warm orange juice, given every two hours for a period of twelve hours and then slowly start giving the patient all kinds of fruits for a day or two, followed gradually by a well-balanced food diet.

4. Half a glass of fresh grapefruit (chakotra) juice should be taken with an equal quantity of water twice daily. It not only quenches thirst but will also remove the burning sensation produced by the fever.

5. Soak about twenty-five raisins in half a cup of water and then crush them in the same water. They are then strained and the skin discarded. The raisin-water thus prepared becomes a tonic, to which half a teaspoonful of lime juice is added to enhance its taste and usefulness. This should be taken twice daily.

6. Mix half a teaspoon of turmeric powder in a glass of warm milk and take it twice daily.

7. Tea made from fenugreek (methi) seeds is to be taken twice daily. It acts as a useful cleanser and is a soothing drink during fever.

8. Coriander seed (dhania) decoction with little milk and sugar is also useful.

9. Chew a few garlic cloves or have a little bit of garlic juice three to four times daily to decrease the fever.

10. Cumin seeds (jeera), preferably in the powdered form, in combination with old jaggery are given in the form of small pills at bedtime to induce perspiration.

11. Mix a quarter teaspoonful of pepper powder with a teaspoonful of honey and a teaspoon of ginger juice and give it to the patient three to four times daily.

12. The juice of holy basil (tulsi) leaves mixed with some ginger juice should be taken twice daily for  relief. Adding crushed ginger to tea during its preparation also helps.

13. Mix a few teaspoonfuls of onion juice and honey in equal quantities, and add a pinch of black pepper to it and take it thrice daily.

14. A liberal intake of rice starch (liquid) acts as a diuretic and thus reduces the fever after increasing the urination.

15. The juice of tender leaves of tamarind (imli) tree is useful.