Maximum High Fever In Adults
  There are several reasons that account for a maximum high fever in adults. The reality is that if you have a fever that exceeds 102 degrees then you need to visit a physician and have this dealt with immediately. Normally you would be prescribed some form of drug. Even the form in which the drug is compounded tablets, capsules, liquid, spray or jelly is a consideration. Some cold pills are timed-release tablets, many containing combinations of several drugs. Designed to release small doses over a period of several hours, the timed-release products work well as bedtime medicines, giving modest but sustained relief through the night. In the daytime, when rapid relief is what is wanted, their delayed action may make them less desirable than similar drugs in more conventional forms.
The best place to start your short course in self-medication is in the labels on cough and cold products. Though the language there may seem foreign or arcane, you can easily decipher it, and virtually everything you need to know is available. Here are some items of information that American and some European manufacturers provide, though not necessarily in this order:
• The registered name of a patent medicine and a category in which a medicine may be classed, such as decongestant, nasal spray or aspirin. Use this item to tell the kind of product you are buying as well as its better-known trade name.
• The symptom or symptoms the product is alleged to relieve. Though manufacturers’ claims are not always reliable, this item can help you choose a product that acts on the symptoms you have rather than those you are free of. This helps to alleviate maximum high fever in adults.
• An expiration date for drugs that have a limited shelf life. By law, all over-the-counter drugs that lose their effectiveness over a period of time must have an expiration date stamped on the label. (Products that do not have a limited shelf life, such as cough drops and rubbing alcohol, are not affected by the law and do not bear an expiration date.) Do not use any drug after its expiration date.
• The chemical names and quantities per tablet or spoonful of the active ingredients—that is, the chemical substances that do the actual work of the medicine. Measurements are given in metric units: milligrams, or mg., for tablets; cubic centimeters, or cc., for liquids. An exception is some brands of aspirin or aspirin substitutes, which in the United States may be measured by the grain, or gr., a traditional apothecaries’ unit equal to 64.8 milligrams. Non-therapeutic binders such as salt, sugar and water need not be listed but often are. Use this item to choose the safest, most effective ingredients, as described in the next section of this chapter. Use it, too, if you are sensitive or allergic to specific ingredients, and do not ignore the non-therapeutic ingredients if they are listed. For example, many medications contain large amounts of non-therapeutic sodium—a fact of great importance to anyone suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure or any other condition calling for a sodium-restricted diet.
• Directions for use, including the method of taking the medication (chewing, swallowing, spraying and so forth) and the recommended dosages. Follow these directions exactly; never overdose and, if special directions are given for children, never treat a child with an adult dosage. Use this item, too, to help determine whether the quantity you buy will be sufficient for the probable duration of the illness.
• Warnings, including the maximum daily dosage, the limit on the duration of continuous treatment, possible adverse side effects, and circumstances that require a doctor’s supervision in taking the medicine, such as a history of diabetes or high blood pressure. The label also includes any appropriate precautions against adverse interactions with other drugs the user may be taking. Read all of this information with special care: No drug, remember, is completely safe. Because cold medicines at best relieve symptoms without curing the infection, you may well want to weigh the risks of taking them against the temporary benefits they bring. This can help with dealing with the maximum high fever in adults. |
