Hello everyone, after sometime pondering of what to share to you here on hive community after my very first Introduction post, finally I decided to write about the different medications you can take if you have fever. This is very basic but I’m sure a lot of us didn’t know about medications other than Paracetamol which is the most popular and widely used when someone has a body temperature higher than 37.5

Before going further, one important thing we should know is that a fever itself is not harmful. It even helps our body fight against infections and generally doesn’t need medication. When someone is sick the main objective is to relieve discomfort.

When your children is sick and they are uncomfortable there are a lot of home remedies that you should do before letting them take a medicine. One effective home remedy to alleviate discomfort is to let them drink a lot of fluids then take a good rest.

Perhaps if the symptom persist that’s the time that they will take medicine, and when the high temperature still do not subside like the fever already last for 5 days that could mean other thing, like there is infection so he or she need to take antibiotics, in this case you need to bring the child to the doctor for prescription and proper medication.

Anyhow, it would be different if your baby is still 3months old or below, it is best to bring them to a doctor immediately whenever they have a fever especially when there is a sign of dehydration, abdominal pain or rashes.

For adults, they can take medication (except antibiotics) if sick, there are a lot of over the counter drugs that are safe to take when someone has a fever. Although for those who are taking maintenance drugs for hypertension, diabetics, severe renal impairment, liver problem or some other illness, it is still best to see a doctor first before taking any medication at home.
Here are some over the counter drugs that one could take if you are sick or has fever:

PARACETAMOL

I remember when I was working as a Pharmacy Assistant in one of the biggest drug chain of store in the Philippines, the most sought fever medication is Paracetamol, of course it comes with different brand names to choose from, here in the Philippines we have Biogesic, Tempra, Calpol, Panadol and a lot of generics which you can buy in very much less price.

Paracetamol is generally safe and well tolerated although there are side effects too. It can also cause a rash or swelling, though these are isolated cases. If taken in normal dosage paracetamol metabolized easily and normally safe to the liver.

This can also be taken before or after meals, although for the elders, they recommend taking any medicines after meals. And yes it is also safe to be taken by pregnant women.

Available Preparations:

Paracetamol Drops for 6 months and below
Paracetamol Syrup for kids
Paracetamol 500mg for adult
All of them should be taken every 4 to 6 hours if needed.

The following thermometer readings generally indicate a fever:

• Rectal, or ear temperature of 100.4 (38 C) or higher
• Oral temperature of 100 F (37.8 C) or higher
• Armpit temperature of 99 F (37.2 C) or higher

ASPIRIN

Aside from Paracetamol, we can also take Aspirin to reduce fever. Although normally people buy aspirin for purposes other than to reduce fever. It is used to prevent heart attack or stroke, so there’s a need for a lot of precautions when you take aspirin together with other medications.

Personally I prefer paracetamol over Aspirin if you want to lower your body temperature or relieve discomfort during fever.

IBUPROFEN

Although Ibuprofen is used to reduce inflammation it can also be used to treat fever. Ibuprofen is a type of drugs called a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory it’s not really the same with paracetamol but it is used in very similar way to paracetamol.

In the Philippines Ibuprofen is normally taken by those who are suffering from arthritis, to relieve pain and inflammation.

Again for me, I recommend to take paracetamol if you have fever over Ibuprofen even if both of them are approved as over the counter drugs.

There are a lot of other medications used to treat fever like Naproxen, acetaminophen, etc. but the safest and widely available is paracetamol. I know a lot of doctors recommend paracetamol over the others, this is evident in a number of prescriptions I used to receive when I was still working in a drug store and even during this time, I knew it because my wife is also working in a pharmacy for more than 20 years now and my daughter is also a pharmacist. We used to discuss about it at home.