Viral Fever

          Viral fever, as the name suggests, is a condition that is transmitted from one person to another through direct contact with the person’s bodily fluids. This is much simpler than you think. When a person coughs, sneezes, yawns or even talks they tend to spray tiny particles of fluid that contain bacteria and viruses from their body. If you are close enough, these bacteria enter your body through your nose or mouth and infect you. Once infected it takes anywhere from 16 hours to 48 hours to turn into a full blown infection.

Other Names:- Elevated temperature,  Hyperthermia,  Pyrexia

Causes :-

  Almost any infection can cause a fever. Some common infections are:

• Infections such as pneumonia, bone infections (osteomyelitis), appendicitis, tuberculosis, skin infections or cellulitis, and meningitis.
• Respiratory infections such as colds or flu -like illnesses, sore throats, ear infections, sinus infections, infectious mononucleosis, and bronchitis.
• Urinary tract infections.
• Viral gastroenteritis and bacterial gastroenteritis.
• Children may have a low-grade fever for 1 or 2 days after some immunizations.
• Teething may cause a slight increase in a child's temperature, but not higher than 100 °F.

  Autoimmune or inflammatory disorders may also cause fevers. Some examples are:

• Arthritis or connective tissue illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
• Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
• Vasculitis or periarteritis nodosa.
• The first symptom of a cancer may be a fever. This is especially true of Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and leukemia.

   Other possible causes of fever include:

• Blood clots or thrombophlebitis.
• Medications, such as some antibiotics, antihistamines, and seizure medicines.

Symptoms :-

           Viral fever symptoms are many but most of them are so common medical conditions like fatigue, cough, sore throat etc. that we tend to neglect them at the initial stages. Whenever a virus enters human body, it takes its incubation period to multiply itself to such number that causes infection. When the body is infected by the virus, the following symptoms may be felt that can establish it to be a viral fever. If you experience one or multiple medical conditions below, do not avoid them as they can be symptoms of viral fever.

• Fatigue
• Body as well as muscle aches
• Low or high fever
• Inflammation of the pharynx
• Running nose
• Nasal congestion
• Sore throat
• Headache
• Redness and burning sensation in eyes
• Cough
• Muscle and joint pains
• Skin rashes
• Diarrhea

         It is not essential that everyone suffering from viral fever will feel all the symptoms. Many viral fevers that are caused by insects like arbovirus can also show bleeding tendency as one of its symptoms. Bleeding from skin and/or other internal organs and can prove fatal if timely treatment is not provided to the patient.

Home Treatment :-

                                    

           If we are able to recognize the viral fever symptoms early, we can always treat it with simple home remedies without taking help of medicines. When talking about medicines, antibiotics are the most common treatment for viral fevers. However, if diagnosed earlier within safe time, one can always opt for viral fever remedies that had been there for years now as this fever- most of the times- require only symptomatic treatment. Some of the viral fever remedies are mentioned here.

• Consume good amount of fluids but not milk. However, if having diarrhea avoid taking fruit juices, salad or raw food.
• Have raw garlic sand onions. You can also use them in cooking, best would be to make soup having lots of garlic and onion.
• Soak Large Sultanas or Currants (munakkas) overnight and have it in the morning.
• Mix honey, fresh lemon juice and ginger juice and have it at least twice or thrice a day.
• Make a concoction by mixing juice of basil leaves (tulsi) ginger juice and honey and have it for treating the symptoms of fever, cough and cold.
• Gargle with lukewarm water after adding a little salt in it to get relief from sore throat caused by viral fever.
• Raw tulsi (basil) leaves can be chewed for getting relief from viral fever symptoms.
• For diarrhea due to viral fever in children, take a pinch full of black pepper powder and mix it in tea and let the kid have few teaspoonful of this.
• Warm the orange juice a little and have it. It helps in getting rid of body toxins and gives energy to the patient.
• Have home cooked food- without spices. Always avoid outside food when suffering from viral fever.

If you do not get relief from these viral fever home remedies, see your doctor to get advanced treatment for your fever.

Ayurvedic Treatment :-

                              

• In viral fever it is strongly recommended to consume soup made up of raw garlic and onion. 
• A mixture of honey, lime juice and brandy is recommended to consume four times daily. 
• The vitamin C in the lime helps in increasing the resistance of the body and helps in reducing the illness. 
• Lukewarm orange juice acts as an energy booster if consumed during the fever. This washes out the body toxin without any artificial treatment. alterey helps in speedy recovery of viral fever. 
• Similarly, drinking juice made out of sweet basil leaves twice or thrice a day is beneficial. 
• You can also boil 2 to 3 tablespoon of dry roasted fenugreek seeds, strain the water and add a drop of clarified butter to it in order to cure viral fever.
• Khichadi is very good with spices like cumin seeds, coriander, turmeric, ginger and salt can be also be added to it. Small amounts of whole grain bread or biscuits can be taken with milk. Heavy foods that are difficult to digest like fried foods, fast foods, meat, chicken, fish, and raw foods should be completely avoided.
• Also gargling with salt and water is helpful, as it helps cure cough and throat related problems. Try using vaporizer in this situation as it soothes both cough and cold. One can also use margosa leaves which act as a natural antiviral and prevent the spread of infection.
• During viral fever, it's very common that the patient loses his appetite. But in this situation, it's very important to take fluid diet and food rich in vitamins and minerals. Apricot juice mixed with one   tablespoon of honey or glucose supplements the body with required minerals and vitamins. Also, you can take grapefruit juice. The extract of raisins is also valuable in case of viral fever.
• Tulsi leaves when chewed directly or taken in water or tea works wonderfully in this case. 
• Make sure you drink boiled water. When suffering from viral fever, always consume clean and fresh fruits and vegetables. Always consume home cooked food to prevent the problem from increasing. 
• You can also take a spoonful of honey mixed with ginger syrup after every meal to cure viral fever.

Homeopathic Treatment :-

                                                             

        Aconitum: It is very effective in the initial hours of the onset of symptoms, and if administered in time it aborts the attack. Three dose of 30c potency can be taken at an interval of 15 minutes each.

        Anas Barbariae: Controlled scientific studies have proved this remedy effective in treating the flu. It is particularly effective if it is taken during the first 48 hours of onset of the flu. Some homeopath consider it a generic homeopathic remedy for the flu.

        Eupatorium Perfoliatum: A characteristic symptom for those who need this remedy is aching in the bones that gets worse with motion. The patient may experience severe chills any time

         Gel semium: Great weakness and heaviness in the body and eyelids. General achiness and a headache in the back of the head. It is also effective for patients who have lingering symptoms, especially fatigue, after having the flu.

Prevention

     Influenzinum: 30 c potency of influenzinum can be taken once a day as a prophylactic (preventive) measure. This is for those whose family is not in the grip of influenza.