MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Hi,
visiting girlfriend in finland, she has a high fever (above 39degree celcius). I've been told the following...
you need to cool her down
take a cold shower
but as long as she is not delirious or has seizures it's okay
she has a high fever, but in the lower end (starts counting from 39)
generally, if she has had a fever for four-five days it's time to contact the hospital
that is, if she's not coughing or has a cold
that indicates a general virus infection, i.e. the fly
flu
just make sure she keeps drinking, cool down her forehead with a damn cloth and wait
you can give her some ibuprofen if you have it, it can reduce the fever
the magical limit is 42 degrees, if she reaches it she needs to go to the hospital - but I very much doubt it, it's extremely rare
[b]Any other tips?[/b] Unfortunately, i'm not so near any shops/ pharmacies. I have put towels in the freezer and she's eating lots of oranges and making as big a fuss as i am.
cheers,
HR
Last time I hit 40 degrees I stayed under a nice warm duvet for a day eating nothing and drinking water when I could face it. After 24 hours or so I was pretty much fine, after 48 right as rain.
'Course, she might have something totally different 🙂
Always been a bit confused by the 'cool down' advice (until it gets critical) - the body's raising the temperature to cook the bad stuff until it's dead. Might as well let it cook.
Still, I'm no doctor by any stretch.
Frankly I'm waiting for the punch line here.....
O.K. Failing that check the symptoms for meningitis and work back from there.....
Failing that....Finnish......lots of saunas and birch branches
Ok....
Fever is your bodies response to infection.
It works like a thermostat; the infection resets the body thermostat to a higher temp, so by cooling her down externally you keep her central heating working harder and harder.
Paracetamol can help to reset the thermostat and will help to stop her feeling so rotten.
If you can get her under a cold shower when she feels so bad, she will kill you when she recovers.
afaik a temperature is just one of the body's mechanisms of fighting infection. It slows down the spread of infection. So I'd question the need to cool her down.
Paracetamol and ibuprofen 2 hours apart and 4 hourly each. Lots of fluids.
Http no not quiet the infection causes the temp if the body cant maintain homeostasis then it won't beat the infection.
Half a pound of chedar, toffos and a polo mint. Worth a try.
waiting for the punchline? It was a serious request for advice, not tomfoolery.
I've done some reading and asked a few nurse friends here, they say it's best to keep her head cool and hydrated. Isotonic drinks will help maintain her electrolyte levels (failing that, some cheap pesto and olives will be OK)
thank you drac, i haven't got either of those here, but it seems to be similar advice to that which her family and nurse mates gave me. Unfortunately, they used finnish names, (borunna?) which may or may not be the same.
She's back about 38*C, from nearly hitting 40*C
Apologies HR you can't tell on here
What Drac said and I always start with the worst then work back!
There's a lot of it about at the mo
Good luck