Cold Compress or Warm Compress?
Who does not know the fever? Almost everyone must have a fever. When we get fever, the body feels uncomfortable, head aches, no appetite, and sleep is not restful. Anyway, the body feels very uncomfortable. When the fever, there was an increase in body temperature above normal body temperature. This is what makes your body feel uncomfortable. Fever is caused by an infection in the body, either by bacteria or viruses. Fever can also occur when the body suffers from lack of fluids or dehydration.
There are many ways in which to treat fever. The most frequently used of course taking a fever-lowering drugs such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. Besides, of course, to treat the cause of fever, when due to infection by bacteria are given antibiotics to kill bacteria. But drugs are not enough, so that is sometimes used a compress to help reduce fever.
For a long time, compress has been used to help reduce fever, both in traditional and modern medicine. This method is proven to help to reduce fever. Also compresses can be used continuously because it has no side effects, unlike drugs which can not be consumed continuously when the fever does not go down. But here the question arises, which water used in a compress?
There are two opinions on this, there is an opinion, its better compressed with cold water and there is an opinion with warm water (not hot water ). Logically, we certainly think that compress should use a cold water. So if we get fever then compressed using cold water. But this is not the right way because in our bodies there is such thing as central regulator of temperature (thermoregulator). The center that regulates our body temperature. The way it works, when the temperature surrounding our body is cool then the temperature control center will catch this signal and then raise the temperature of our body to compensate, so our bodies were warm; and vice versa.
Well, if we compressed with cold water, what happens is the cold water to make cold temperature around the thermostat so that the center will raise your body temperature. Therefore, when compressed with cold water, which occurs instead of decreased body temperature even our bodies will be the higher temperature.
On a warm compress that happens is the central thermostat will catch the signal that a warm body around the central thermostat will lower the body temperature to compensate. Response to the body will occur vasodilatation. This vasodilatation that causes disposal or release of heat from the body through the skin so the body temperature will decline. This is the desired effect in the use of compression is to reduce fever.
So, if you get fever, do not use a cold water compress, use a warm water compress!
