It is believed that high temperature can be knocked if you rub the skin with medical alcohol or vodka. We decided to check whether the use of this popular method is reasonable.
Tips to wrap with alcohol -containing liquids of a patient with high temperature, as well as instructions on how to do this, can be found on many Information And entertainment Portals. Write About this and specialized resources About alcohol products. Sometimes such recommendations are found even in the agility sites. Parents Discuss on forums O childrenIs it worth it apply Such funds with malaise in the child. Sometimes instead of vodka or alcohol for wiping Consult Use vinegar.
Increased body temperature, or fever, Is not a disease, but a normal reaction of the body to an infection that helps it cope with pathogens. There is no strict consensus between the doctors, what temperature is considered a fever: for example, a Harvard medical school calls an indicator of 38 ° C and above, and National Health Service Great Britain (NHS) - in 37.8 ° C. Specialists Department of Health Moscow is called a fever of any temperature above 37 ° C, but you should not panic due to an indicator of 37.1 ° C. "Checked" already It wrote The fact that 36.6 ° C is considered in many countries the absolute norm is erroneous - judging by existing research, the spread of normal temperatures in a healthy person is much wider.
In most cases, fever is not dangerous and does not require specific treatment, and body temperature below 42 ° C does not lead to irreversible consequences. The same Moscow Depzdrav advises to shoot down the temperature in adults and children over three months only if it reached 39 ° C. Similar recommendations Give Specialists of the authoritative research clinic Mayo (USA). With fever in children under two years old, you should immediately contact a doctor who will give recommendations. Also to a specialist costs Contact more adult patients if the thermometer shows from 40 ° C or fever is accompanied by loss of consciousness, severe pain in any part of the body, edema and inflammation or some other symptoms.
Experts of the Mayo clinic advise using acetaminophen and ibuprofen to reduce temperature, and adults also aspirin. The large American academic Cleveland clinic, in addition to taking the antipyretic, Offers A few more ways to deal with fever: to relax more, drink a lot of liquids, dress in warm comfortable clothes, but do not wrap up and not overheat. You can also, on the contrary, cool slightly, for example, using cool compresses or a shower at room temperature.
It is for cooling that they use wiping with medical alcohol. This effect is it Provides Due to evaporation from the skin, as if blowing it with the wind. However, the action of this effect is very short and only one or two minutes lasts. Moreover, such quick and sharp cooling can cause chills, which, in turn, will give the body a signal about the need to develop additional heat, that is, fever. For rubbing it is better to use warm water - it evaporates slower alcohol, and the patient's skin is cooled gradually. “Verified” could not find recommendations to use wiping alcohol to combat fever on any authoritative medical resources. Some experts (for example, from Medical school Stanford University and Hospital at University of John Hopkins) They directly indicate that in this way, alcohol should not be used in the treatment of fever, especially if it comes to children.
Alcohol is absorbed through the skin, and when it is evaporated, it can also be inhaled - all this can lead to alcoholic poisoning. Known Caseswhen babies They fell into coma After parents' attempts to knock them down the temperature with alcohol wipes or compresses. In adults, apparently, such severe consequences of this procedure are not observed. Although the compilers of the authoritative medical leadership of Merck (outside the United States and Canada, better known as the MSD reference book) Markthat the absorbed alcohol has a negative effect on an adult organism. The short duration of the surface cooling effect also makes this tool simply ineffective.
It is worth noting that all cases of severe poisoning of children found as a result of wraps or wiping have occurred using medical alcoholcontaining isopropanol. However, it often uses and Ethanolas in alcoholic beverages - in particular, in vodka, which is sometimes used for rubbing during fever for lack of medical alcohol (for example, in Russia its free sale Forbidden). Eat grounds To believe that ethyl alcohol can also have a toxic effect on the body, especially in children.
In addition, some dermatologists express fears that ethyl, And Isopropyl Alcohols, even in cosmetics, can lead to dryness and irritation of the skin, and with frequent use - violate its protective barrier. Any ethyl alcohol is, in fact, an aqueous solution, because the so -called Absolute alcohol (close to 100 percent concentration) is extremely hygroscopic (that is, it is able to absorb water vapors from the air). Usually it concentration in the form of a drug - from 70% to 90%, in vodka - 40%, although this indicator may differ in both smaller and more depending on the manufacturer. Isopropanol is more stable in high concentrations, but if we are talking about medical alcohol, then this is also a solution - usually about 70%. In any case, this is much more than in the cosmetic industry. So, such a folk remedy can cause skin irritation and lead to even greater discomfort for the patient.
As for vinegar, which is sometimes advised as an alternative, no authoritative medical organization also advises using it to reduce temperature. Because A boiling temperature Vinegar, which is usually sold in grocery stores, is close to the boiling point of water, the speed of their evaporation is also approximately the same. Compared to alcohol, vinegar carries a much less danger - after a sharp cooling, it does not cause an increase in temperature and cannot lead to alcoholic poisoning. However, if you wipe the skin or make compresses with a solution of vinegar of too high concentration, you can get chemicals burns. At the same time, “verified” could not detect scientific studies that would confirm that a solution of vinegar during wiping is more effective for combating fever than ordinary water.
Thus, moderate physical cooling, for example, with the help of rubbing, is one of the means of combating high temperature. However, alcohol is not very good for this - it quickly cools the surface of the skin, but the effect lasts only a couple of minutes and can provoke even greater temperature growth. In addition, alcohol is able to dry the skin and only aggravate discomfort. Finally, this tool is simply dangerous for children-there are cases when infants flowed into whom after such treatment methods due to alcohol poisoning.
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Read on the topic:
- Mayo Clinic. Fever Treatment: Quick Guide to Treating a Fever
- Is it true that the body temperature of a healthy person should be 36.6 ° C?
- Is it true that Fahrenheit took the body temperature of his sick wife for 100 degrees?
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