Home remedies for fever

This is the simplest and easiest thing you can do while suffering from fever. It demands almost zero effort. You don't need to get up and prepare certain potions or complex preparations in an attempt to drop your body temperature down to normal. All you have to do is grab a bowl of cold water and a cotton handkerchief. You can also ask your family or friends to apply a cold pack on you while following these steps:

• Take a bowl of cold water and cotton, soft handkerchief
• Wet the piece of cloth with water, squeeze the excess liquid out
• Put it over your forehead, cheeks, neck, chest, abdomen or lower leg
• Repeat the cold pack application for at last 15 minutes for relief

Tips:

• Avoid using chilled water or ice cubes for a cold pack, as it may cause shivering thereupon elevate your core body temperature., This could lead to further adverse effects.
• Another option is taking lukewarm water bath (water temperature between 29 to 32 °C) in order to bring some comfort. However, this should only be done 30 minutes after taking medicine, otherwise, you may end up with an even higher fever. Taking lukewarm water bath may not necessarily decrease the temperature but it certainly eases the discomfort and give you a relaxed feeling. This is called treating symptoms or symptomatic treatment.

Do you know calcium fights infections? This could be surprising for you, but according to a book by Dr Bernard Jenson, fever tends to draw ionizable calcium from your bones and make it available in the blood to fight against infections. This is the reason why when you do a blood test while having a fever, your calcium level will show some spike. Hence, to help your body fight against infections, nourish your body with an extra dose of calcium rather than getting your bones invaded for stored calcium.

An article published in the ‘Proceedings of The Western Pharmacological Society’ suggests that oral supplements of calcium and vitamin D is effective in improving the symptoms and overall condition of dengue patients.

(Read more: Dengue treatment)

So, if you want to get better, feed your body with calcium-rich foods like milk, egg, yoghurt, and cheese. Moreover, you can also take calcium supplements if you don't feel like eating or are suffering from the loss of appetite.

However, there is a caveat: you should never devoid yourself from food during sickness as food is the only source of energy and nutrients, which help strengthen your immune system, leading to quick recovery from illness.

Another healthy option to get over your fever troubles is having the bowl of ultimate goodness in the shape of chicken broth or soup, that is of course if you are a non-vegetarian.

You may have heard about this healthy food remedy through your grandmother or ancestors. Well, it seems like they are absolutely right in their assessment. A bowl of chicken soup contains almost every nutrient your body needs for rapid healing. And yes, it is rich in calcium too. Chicken soup is especially beneficial for you if you are suffering from fever that arises from upper respiratory tract infection, cold or flu.

Studies demonstrate that chicken soup inhibits neutrophil (a white blood cell) migration and has anti-inflammatory activity. This could be the reason behind the potential medicinal value of chicken broth.

(Read more: Chicken, health benefits and side effects)

Basil tea is probably the most favourite decoctions of every Indian mother. No matter if it is a sore throat, cold or a fever, this one formulation is a single solution to all seasonal infections. Tulsi plants also have value when it comes to religious beliefs in Hindu mythology. One look at all the therapeutic benefits of basil and you’ll realise that it truly is a plant worth the importance accorded to it. When it comes to fever, basil leaves are a shining hero again.

This is due to the fact that tulsi possesses broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and thus efficiently fights infections that cause feverish temperature rise. Along with this, it also decreases metabolic and psychological stress on the body and mind, which just makes your immune system work faster and more effectively.

To gain all the goodness basil leaves provides, follow the below mentioned steps:

1st method:

• Take 20 tulsi leaves and put it in a blender with 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
• Blend to prepare the mixture
• Add 1 tablespoon of honey to the mixture
• Your decoction is ready to consume

2nd method:

• Take 20 leaves of tulsi and 1 cup of water
• Bring them to boil and add a ⅓ teaspoon of black pepper into it
• Switch of the gas, add 1 tablespoon of honey into it
• Sip the drink concoction slowly

Apple cider vinegar may not be as common a remedy as basil but this sour and sweet liquid is found in almost every other household these days. Plus using apple cider vinegar to get rid of fever is an effortless job. Drinking apple cider vinegar is considered to be helpful in improving health in general, but when it comes to fever, it is usually used in the form of a compress. Research published in the International Journal of Nursing Science on comparison of vinegar compress with cold water compress concluded vinegar compress to be more effective in reducing fever as compared to cold water.

How to use vinegar?

There are multiple ways of using vinegar but here are a couple of the most effective ones:

1st method:

• Take a bowl of apple cider vinegar and a cotton handkerchief
• Dip the piece of cloth in water and apply it on forehead, chest, abdomen or leg
• Keep doing this for at least 15 minutes in order to effect a drop in temperature

2nd method:

• Add 1 cup of vinegar to a bucket of lukewarm water
• Take a bath with this water to ease the discomfort and distress

If you are not into alternative medicine chances are you might have never heard about this bitter herb before. Also known as chirayata, it is an Ayurvedic herb that is used for the treatment of various health conditions like liver disorders, diabetes and malaria. The traditional system of medicine identifies chirata as an antipyretic herb, meaning it decreases fever.

It contains several bioactive compounds which help in decreasing the microbial load in your body thereby alleviating infections. If you read about the medicinal benefits of this plant, you will get amazed by its enormous potential and range of action.

How to use?

Here is the procedure to consume it for best results:

• Take a handful of chirata and 2 cups of water
• Boil the water with chirata
• When the water gets reduced to half, switch off the heat
• Strain the water and drink it slowly
• You can add sugar or honey if you find the bitter taste unpalatable

It is a common spice in most kitchens and it possesses plenteous medicinal and culinary properties to boot. It is a well-established fact that the use of black pepper will reduce the body's temperature thereby providing you with the utmost relief from distress. It is very much versatile in use, so you can incorporate black pepper in many different ways as a remedy. To help you further here is how to use it:

• Take 1 cup of water and bring it to boil
• Add a ½ teaspoon of black pepper powder into water
• Add 1 tablespoon of honey (optional)
• Drink the infused water slowly

Sandalwood oil carries a unique sweet fragrance that has a calming and relaxing effect on the body and mind. But it is not just another aromatic oil. Sandalwood oil works like a charm for reducing body temperature. When applied directly, it induces perspiration or sweating and calms down heart rate, which, in turn, subsides fever. Being a natural sedative, it helps you rest so you can retain all that strength and recover quickly.

Sandalwood oil also contains disinfectant and antibacterial properties, which helps suppress the growth of harmful pathogens and aid the immune system in alleviating infections. In order to get the benefits of sandalwood oil while on fever, follow these steps:

• Take a few drops of sandalwood oil and apply it on your forehead
• You can also massage your body with sandalwood oil to bring the overall temperature down
• The sweet fragrance of sandalwood oil will also uplift you psychologically and soothe your mind and soul

(Read more: Sandalwood benefits and side effects)

Garlic may have a pungent smell but it also contains enormous medicinal potential so you need to learn to ignore the smell if you want to reap all its benefits. A list of studies has been done to assess the medicinal properties of garlic and most of them confirm the fact that not only it contains healing properties but also has preventive effects against various diseases like respiratory tract infections. Garlic is also antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory in nature. Moreover, if you consume garlic in any form, you are going to get a plethora of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, cellulose, lipids and organic acids. All these compounds help in improving your immune function in fighting against infections causing fever.

How to use?

Follow the below mentioned steps to savour the benefits of garlic:

• Take one garlic bulb, peel it
• Take 1 cup of lukewarm water and ingest 1 or 2 garlic cloves
• You can also crush garlic and add to the vegetable soup or salad

Ginger is a herb and spice commonly used in several Indian cuisines. But have you ever thought about the health benefits 1 teaspoon of ginger can provide? If no, now is the perfect moment for you to know how ginger can help you in fighting fever and gain the relief you are craving for.

Ginger consists of several bioactive compounds called gingerols and shogaols that attribute to its various beneficial effects. It possesses antioxidative (elimination of harmful radicals) and anti-inflammatory (reduction of swelling) properties, which protect the body from infection-induced breakdowns and bodily destruction.

How to use?

Here are some simple steps that you can follow in order to reap the benefits of ginger:

• Take 1 tablespoon of crushed ginger and 1 cup of water
• Bring the water to boil with ginger in it
• Strain the water
• Add 1 tablespoon of honey to it
• Enjoy a soothing cup of ginger-infused water