What should I do if I have a cold and a high fever that won’t go away? It has such a big impact on the fetus

A high fever caused by a cold is extremely harmful to pregnant women. If in the early stages of pregnancy, some pregnant women will have a fever that lasts for several days. If the body temperature does not exceed 37.5 degrees, it may be due to physiological changes caused by the pregnancy itself, rather than a fever caused by a cold. As long as you pay attention to rest and drink plenty of boiled water, your body temperature will gradually return to normal. However, if the body temperature exceeds 37.5 and is accompanied by symptoms such as sore throat and cough, seek medical attention promptly and take medication under the doctor's guidance.

1. What should pregnant women do if they have a cold and a high fever?

1. In the early stages of pregnancy, some pregnant women will have a fever that lasts for several days. If the body temperature does not exceed 37.5 degrees, it may be due to physiological changes caused by the pregnancy itself, rather than a fever caused by a cold. As long as you pay attention to rest and drink plenty of boiled water, your body temperature will gradually return to normal. However, if the body temperature exceeds 37.5 and is accompanied by symptoms such as sore throat and cough, seek medical attention promptly and take medication under the doctor's guidance.

2. In addition to finding out the cause of the fever, it is necessary for pregnant women to reduce the fever moderately. Fever often increases the metabolic rate and is accompanied by many uncomfortable symptoms such as headache, loss of appetite, general fatigue, palpitations, and even dehydration, which increase the burden on the cardiopulmonary function of pregnant women.

3. Therefore, you should choose moderate fever reduction. Generally speaking, if the pregnant woman's body temperature is not higher than 38.5 degrees Celsius and there are no obvious discomfort symptoms, you can consider using physical methods to help reduce fever, such as ice pillows, heat dissipation patches, warm water wiping, such as wiping the body repeatedly with a warm towel, placing ice packs in the armpits, forehead and groin, etc.

4. Try not to use antipyretics. As for when to consider using medication, it varies from person to person. However, if the body temperature is above 38.5 degrees Celsius and accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms, you can consider using medication under the guidance of a doctor, otherwise it will harm the fetus.

2. Does a fever in pregnant women affect the fetus?

If it is only a short-term mild fever, it generally does not cause harm to the mother or fetus. However, some studies have found that during the 5th to 6th week of pregnancy (34th week of conception), which is the period of neural tube development, if the pregnant woman's body temperature is higher than 38.9 degrees Celsius and lasts for more than 24 hours, it will increase the chance of neural tube defects (such as anencephaly) in the fetus. But it must be emphasized that very few pregnant women will allow their body temperature to rise so high and last for such a long time without treatment. Therefore, the harm caused by fever to the fetus or mother will not be greater than the harm caused by the cause of the disease itself. For example, if the fever is caused by German measles infection, the harm caused by the virus to the fetus (such as deformity) will far exceed the heat damage caused by the fever itself.

After the first trimester, a fever caused by the flu will not cause direct harm to your baby. However, pregnant women can become very ill from the flu, so pregnant women should get a flu vaccine to prevent it. But if the pregnant woman is in good health, common colds and fevers during pregnancy will not have much impact on the pregnant woman or the fetus.

It must be reiterated that the pathogen that causes fever is more harmful to the mother and fetus than the fever itself. Therefore, when a pregnant woman has a fever, it is important to find out the cause of the fever and prescribe the right medicine, which is more important than simply reducing the fever.