Colds without fever: should you see a doctor?

Winter is in no hurry to come to Moscow, and the off-season, which lasts until December, “delights” the townspeople with unpredictable weather. In such conditions, you can very easily become hypothermic and contract a respiratory disease. If ARVI manifests itself as an increase in temperature, the patient will rush to see a family doctor or a paid therapist in Moscow. But in the absence of it, no one, as a rule, seeks professional medical help. And in vain.

In fact, even a mild cold should not be ignored. Patients perceive the absence of fever during ARVI as an opportunity to endure the disease on their feet, without concentrating too much on their well-being. Although in fact it may not be harmless at all, but requires, at a minimum, compliance with the home regime.

Why does ARVI selectively affect people?

Having been chilled outside, we try to warm up at home with hot tea and take a bath, but, unfortunately, these simple but effective procedures do not help everyone. This fact is explained by the general health of a particular person. Hypothermia of the body only triggers the mechanism of a cold, but the nature of the further development of the disease is determined by other reasons.

1. A hypothermic body is easily affected by respiratory viruses, including the influenza virus. Entering into a favorable environment, pathogenic microflora begins to actively multiply.
2. Susceptibility to infection is largely determined by the state of the immune system. For example, chronic diseases significantly weaken the body’s ability to fight viruses and bacteria that have entered it.
3. Patients with enlarged tonsils or with constantly inflamed sinus mucosa are much more likely to be exposed to ARVI. Hypothermia will cause an exacerbation of chronic diseases in them.
4. The state of the gastrointestinal tract also affects the level of immunity. The likelihood of catching a cold increases significantly with dysbiosis caused by taking antibiotics or internal causes.
5. It is no secret that the likelihood of contracting ARVI increases when a person is in a stressful situation and experiences strong psycho-emotional stress.

The body's reaction to the active activity of pathogenic microflora will also be different.

Myth five: if your body temperature is elevated, you can’t wash yourself.

The issue of washing during illness, when the temperature rises, when a person sweats, is acute. Giving up hygiene is not particularly pleasant. However, many do not take risks, fearing that they will catch up even more.

“Washing at a temperature is, of course, possible and even necessary. Moreover, with the help of washing, other problems can be solved, for example, if a person is cold, he can warm up, as well as cool down,” says Anna Shulyaeva.

Naturally, doctors emphasize, it is necessary to approach the issue responsibly, do not splash around in the bath for an hour and do not try to adjust the water incorrectly, then the result of washing will be positive.

Why do cold symptoms vary from person to person?

The manifestations of the disease depend on the combination of the above factors. As a rule, a person may initially have a sore throat, a runny nose and a fever. Most patients consider only a rise in temperature to be a more or less serious symptom, and in its absence, sore throat, runny nose and even cough are ready to endure on their feet. The idea that bronchitis and even pneumonia may be hidden behind a cough occurs to the average patient only at elevated temperatures. Why doesn’t the immune system respond by increasing it in all cases?

• The severity of the reaction is determined by the type of pathogen that has entered the body. Thus, the body almost always reacts to infection by strains of influenza and some other aggressive viruses with an elevated temperature.
• An increase in temperature means that the immune system has begun to do its job, producing antibodies. But in some patients with weakened immunity, an immune response is not formed, and there is no fever during ARVI. This may mean that the body is infected with a rather dangerous virus that it is not able to fight on its own.
• Modern “anti-cold” pharmaceutical drugs based on paracetamol, which people with colds like to prescribe to themselves, quickly relieve cold symptoms, especially quickly coping with elevated temperatures. But they do not destroy pathogenic viruses and do not strengthen the immune system, which means they do not help the body overcome ARVI.

Most common causes of chills

The first thought that appears in a person who notices a headache, chills and weakness is that he has an acute respiratory viral infection or the flu. The patient's body has to produce a large amount of heat, so in most cases the temperature rises in such patients. These symptoms may be accompanied by a runny nose, headache, aching bones and other signs of illness. Under no circumstances should you suffer from discomfort on your legs! Seek medical help and start treatment as soon as possible.

Often the feeling of cold in people with a hypersensitive nervous system is accompanied by severe anxiety. In addition, this may be a consequence of fright. This is a temporary symptom - as soon as a person manages to relax and calm down, he stops freezing. In many cases, chills without fever are a common companion for those people whose working blood pressure is below normal. In addition, in women, the cause of chills can be the first days of the menstrual cycle, as well as the beginning of pregnancy.

Often the cause of chills is all sorts of disturbances in the patient’s peripheral circulation. Especially many of these people live in regions where damp, cold weather is the norm. In such patients, the blood supply to the fingers of the upper and lower extremities is reduced. This can be visually determined by redness and swelling of the skin. Symptoms include severe itching.

People who have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus are familiar first-hand with the unpleasant sensations that accompany chills. In addition, this symptom may indicate that the patient has other types of endocrine diseases. For example, in patients with insufficient thyroid function, the following symptoms may be associated with chills and headaches:

• hair loss up to baldness;
• a sharp increase in body weight up to obesity;
• mood swings from complete euphoria to hysteria and depression;
• excessively dry skin on the face and body;
• weakness, drowsiness, decreased performance, etc.

The feeling of cold is associated with insufficient production of hormones by the gland, which results in impaired thermoregulation. In addition, similar symptoms are often observed in women aged 50 years and older. This is associated with menopause.

Finally, patients with VSD often suffer from chills and weakness. They can be cold even in July, when everyone is wearing light dresses, shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops. The fact is that people suffering from vegetative-vascular dystonia may have seriously impaired thermoregulation. Such patients need to visit saunas and baths more often, and also start each morning with a contrast shower. During the cold season, swimming in an ice hole can help them strengthen blood vessels and improve thermoregulation. Finally, a massage course conducted by a qualified specialist can play the role of an “ambulance” for such people and temporarily relieve them of chills.

Please note that the above methods of healing the body are not suitable for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases.

Features of the course of ARVI without fever

A respiratory viral infection is localized in the nasopharynx and after a couple of days it manifests itself as a certain discomfort. Following tickling and sneezing, copious watery discharge from the nose appears, which after a couple of days becomes mucous, sometimes mixed with blood and pus.

Medical statistics indicate that the main symptom of ARVI, with or without fever, is a runny nose. Four out of ten patients experience a sore or sore throat, and six out of ten subsequently develop a cough, which has certain characteristics associated with a cold.

Dry and superficial, it is rather a reaction to tickling. But with weak immunity, there is a possibility of it spreading to the upper respiratory tract. Having descended into the trachea and further into the bronchi, the infection can finally cause fever. Although recently there have been frequent cases of bronchitis and pneumonia occurring without a significant increase in temperature. Needless to say, when symptoms of ARVI complications appear in children, they should definitely be shown to a good pediatrician?

If the sick person also suffers from muscle pain and aches throughout the body, then his temperature will probably rise greatly, since in this case, influenza will most likely be diagnosed - the most serious of acute respiratory viral infections.

Myth one: heat kills viruses, so you shouldn’t knock it down, let the body fight

“Temperature is indeed one of the first signs of the body’s fight against a pathogen: a virus or bacteria. At the same time, before you give yourself the opportunity to burn out, you need to evaluate a number of parameters. If the temperature is 38 degrees or lower, and you do not feel unwell and it is not difficult to tolerate, for example, there is no sensation of body aches, this temperature does not need to be brought down,” says the immunologist.

But there are exceptions to all rules. “If a person does not tolerate the temperature well, even with a reading of 37, he feels bad, hard, has weakness, lethargy, body aches, feels terrible, in this case it is necessary to bring down even 37,” says Shulyaeva. The fever itself does not kill the virus, the doctor notes.

Extremely low. At what body temperature can a person die? More details

When should a sick person see a doctor?

A healthy body can and should overcome a mild ARVI that occurs without serious symptoms in 5–7 days. If within a week the symptoms do not go away or even worsen, we can almost certainly talk about a complication of a seemingly unimportant disease.

The patient may experience symptoms of laryngitis or pharyngitis, tonsillitis, rhinitis, signs of inflammation of the paranasal sinuses - sinusitis or sinusitis, otitis, tracheitis, bronchitis and even pneumonia. In this case, even if the temperature has not risen, you should definitely contact either your family doctor or a good ENT doctor in Moscow.

Doctors include dangerous symptoms:

• difficulty or increased breathing;
• the appearance of wheezing;
• long lasting cough;
• chest pain;
• significant increase in temperature;
• severe pain in the forehead;
• fainting state;
• confused consciousness, inability to navigate in space;
• severe vomiting.

Myth four: when the temperature is high, you need to wrap yourself up and sweat actively

There is an opinion that you need to let yourself sweat so that your temperature readings go down. However, you should not overheat and increase the temperature further; you can wrap yourself up only if your body requires it.

“A rise in temperature is always a sign of the immune system’s response to fight something, be it a virus, bacteria, or some kind of inflammation. It's a question of how the body reacts. If he responds to an increase in temperature with chills and cold, he needs to be warmed up. This means that there is a spasm of peripheral vessels, the arms and legs should be warmed. If there is a fever, then there is no need to wrap the person up even more and let him sweat,” says the immunologist.

So you need to look at the needs of the body, then the fight against the pathogen will be better and more effective.

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Myth six: you shouldn’t bring down the temperature with the help of drugs, it’s better to use traditional methods

There is no point in experimenting and abandoning what was created in an industrial environment. Moreover, there are quite a few different drugs that have proven their effectiveness: ibuprofen, paracetamol. But you should be more careful with rubdowns, notes the immunologist. “Rubbing in the heat can lead to vasospasm; for example, vasospasm of the heart vessels can develop, which is not only unpleasant, but also dangerous. But it may not be possible to recognize and cope with the consequences at home; you will have to call an ambulance. Herbs, decoctions and infusions can also be fraught with an unpredictable situation, for example, an allergy,” says Anna Shulyaeva.

At the same time, she emphasizes that if you really want to try traditional methods on yourself, then you should do this only under the supervision of a doctor.

There are contraindications, you should consult your doctor