Do I need to cover myself with a blanket when I have a high fever?

After having a high fever, a person's body temperature is generally relatively hot. For this reason, many people do not like to cover themselves with a blanket after having a fever, because covering themselves with a blanket will only make them hotter and hotter. In fact, patients with fever still need to cover themselves with quilts when they sleep. Because many patients with fever are infected with the disease due to the invasion of cold wind, in order to avoid the disease, you must cover yourself with a quilt when sleeping at home. Of course, if it is summer, you don’t need to cover yourself with a blanket.

1. Should babies be covered with blankets when they have a fever at night?

If the baby has a low fever, you can consider covering him with a quilt. If the fever is high and won't go away, don't cover him with a very thick quilt. Just cover the navel slightly to avoid symptoms such as diarrhea caused by cold wind.

If it is winter, when your baby has a fever at night, you can consider covering him with a thin quilt, preferably covering the navel. But don't do as some old people say and cover him with a thick quilt to make him sweat. That is wrong. The purpose of covering him with a quilt is only to prevent the baby from catching cold and causing symptoms such as diarrhea and headache.

But if the indoor temperature is high in summer, you can consider not covering yourself with a blanket.

When covering a baby with a fever with a blanket, make sure it is breathable and protect the navel. Do not cover the baby too tightly and do not dress the baby in too many clothes. Children are not like adults. They have weaker constitutions. If they are covered too tightly, it will be difficult for them to dissipate heat, the fever will not go away, and it may even cause complications of high fever.

2. What are the symptoms of fever?

The normal human body temperature is about 37.2℃. Unless the body temperature exceeds 38.5℃ (adults) or 39℃ (children)

In fact, a high fever itself is not a disease, but a symptom that reminds your body that there may be an illness. In fact, heat dissipation is good for the body. This internal defense measure has the function of eliminating foreign pathogens. If the temperature does not rise too high, you may want to let it cool down naturally, which will help eliminate toxins.

Generally speaking, a sudden outbreak of high fever (38.5℃-40℃) usually means that the body is infected with bacteria: acute inflammations such as colds, pneumonia, meningitis, scarlet fever, etc. are accompanied by high fever; and long-term low-grade fever (37.3℃-38.5℃) means that the immune system has been damaged: tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, lupus erythematosus, cancer, etc. all show symptoms of low-grade fever to varying degrees.

A high fever requires immediate medical attention because it means the infection is getting worse. If the body temperature is too high, it can easily cause brain damage and dehydration, especially if the fever persists.

3. How to deal with a baby's fever

1. Don’t rush to cool down

Having a high fever is one of the body's mechanisms to fight infection. Our body mobilizes its own defense system to kill foreign pathogens by raising body temperature (generally speaking, pathogens will die above 39°C), thereby shortening the duration of the disease and enhancing the effectiveness of antibiotics. If you use medicine to reduce fever at the beginning of a cold (37-38.5℃), the bacteria in your body will be temporarily put into a state of suspended animation and become resistant to the medicine. Once they revive, they are often more difficult to treat.

2. Cold compress

Use cold compresses to help lower your body temperature. Place a cold wet towel on your forehead, wrists, and calves, and cover other parts of your body with clothing. When the cold compress reaches body temperature, it should be changed and repeated until the fever subsides. You can also wrap ice cubes in a cloth bag and place it on your forehead.

3. Hot compress

If the body temperature is not too high, you can use hot compress to reduce the fever. Use a hot, wet towel to repeatedly wipe the patient's forehead and limbs to dissipate heat from the body until the fever subsides.

However, if the body temperature rises above 39°C, do not use hot compresses to reduce the fever. Instead, use cold compresses to prevent the body temperature from continuing to rise.

4. Wipe your body

Evaporation also has a cooling effect. Experts recommend using cool running water to help dissipate excess heat from the skin. Although you can sponge your entire body, pay special attention to areas where your body temperature rises, such as your armpits and groin. After squeezing out excess water from the sponge, wipe one area at a time, keeping the rest covered with clothing. Your body heat will evaporate this water, helping to dissipate the heat.