Alcohol is an irritating substance, whether ingested or applied topically. It is often used in sanitary hand disinfection products and is also included in some cosmetics. A practice used to lower body temperature when you have a fever is to apply alcohol directly to the skin, either with cloths or by rubbing it, but is this recommended practice? Can it be used for children and adults?
If you want more information, continue reading this FastlyHealarticle in which we answer in detail the question ” Is it reasonable to lower a fever with alcohol? “. You will also find helpful information about why the fever occurs and what other ways are more advisable to lower the temperature.
Table of Contents
Why does the fever appear
Fever is a reaction of the body against different diseases that generate imbalance. To return to health, the body starts a series of mechanisms, increasing the temperature.
Viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms, other types of blood diseases, or chronic pathologies cause the body’s thermostat to increase, raising the temperature. In this way, the immune system can work more efficiently, and microorganisms find it challenging to increase when the temperature is higher.
From all this, it is concluded that the fever is good and has a purpose. Even if the sensation is not pleasant, one must let it act. A lot of scientific work has been done on this lately. This is different in older adults and young children, who are less resistant to prolonged fevers, as energy consumption is higher.
It is advisable to consult the doctor when :
- The fever lasts more than three days.
- The madness does not subside with household measures or antipyretics.
- This is a small child.
- An older adult has a fever.
In the following articles, you can see how much is fever in babies and how much is fever in adults.
Is it reasonable to use alcohol wipes to lower a fever?
To combat fever, many treatments have emerged, some very useful and others not so much, some practically innocuous but others much more dangerous. There is a home practice that consists of applying or rubbing alcohol on the person’s skin with a fever. It is believed that in this way, the temperature can be lowered effectively, but this is not the case. This is not a recommended practice: it is not good to use alcohol on the skin to reduce fever, and much less when this technique is to be applied to children or older adults. Let’s see why:
- Alcohol is an irritating substance, whether it is applied externally or if it is applied to mucous membranes or is ingested. Therefore, rubbing the skin with alcohol (especially in a child) can cause injuries, dermatitis, and burns.
- Alcohol increases the skin’s permeability to other substances (called xenobiotics) that can be included in creams and cosmetics. Therefore, it is not good to use these types of products that contain alcohol.
- Some of the alcohol that is rubbed can penetrate the body, which is the possibility of alcohol poisoning (even more so in children).
- By evaporating, alcohol can be inhaled, which means that toxicity to the blood can also occur.
- On the other hand, the sensation of freshness that it generates in the skin is something superficial, and it does not reduce the imbalance that exists in the patient.
How to lower a fever
Instead of using alcohol to lower a fever, it is advisable to apply other measures to do it with home or natural remedies:
- Warm/cold water baths.
- Wet clothes on head, armpits, groin. Wet them again when they feel hot.
- Drink a sufficient quantity of water. Avoid drinks with sugar, artificial sweeteners, sodas, preservatives, and alcohol.
- Take rest to give your body a chance to recover quickly and thoroughly.
- Eat only if you are hungry. Eating a lot does not mean that recovery will be faster. In this case, the body needs to use its energy to solve the problem causing the fever and not to digest.
- Eat raw fruits and vegetables: their vitamins will help restore balance more quickly and are easily digestible. Especially useful to lower the temperatures are the lemon (freshly squeezed) and the carrot. Both should be consumed away from other foods (1 hour before or two after).
- There is also a helpful medication to lower a fever: paracetamol is the most effective and has the fewest adverse effects.
In the following article, you can discover more home remedies to lower fever.
This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor if you present any condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Is it reasonable to lower a fever with alcohol? We recommend that you enter our Immune System category.
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.