Are You Feeling Sick?

How are you feeling?

Your body is maintained at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and can go as low as 96.0 degrees Fahrenheit and still be considered perfectly normal.

Body Temperature by Degrees Fahrenheit (for teenagers and adults)

No fever is present: 96.0 to 98.6

If you are feeling that you might be getting sick it is recommended that you rest and drink plenty of fluids, especially water (about 64 oz a day) and wait about 8-12 hours before returning to regular activity.

Very Low temperature: 98.9 degrees

Get plenty of rest and eat foods that are cold

Drink about 64 oz of water throughout the day

Wait 12 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

Low temperature: 99.2 degrees

Get plenty of rest and eat foods that are cold

Drink about 64 oz of water throughout the day

Wait 12 to 18 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

Climbing temperature: 99.8 degrees

Get plenty of rest and eat foods that are cold

Drink about 64 of water throughout the day

Wait 24 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

Medium temperature: 100.2 degrees

Get plenty of rest and eat foods that are cold

Drink about 64 of water throughout the day

Wait 24 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

High Medium temperature: 101.2 degrees

Get plenty of rest eat foods that are cold

Drink about 96 of water throughout the day

Wait 24 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

High temperature: 102.2 degrees

Get plenty of rest eat foods that are cold

Drink about 96 of water throughout the day

Wait 30 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

High temperature: 103.2 degrees

Get plenty of rest and eat foods that are cold

Seek medical opinion of what to do

Drink about 96-128 of water throughout the day

Wait 36 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

Dangerously High temperature: 104.0 degrees

Soak in lukewarm shower and/or rinse forehead with lukewarm washcloth

Seek medical opinion of what to do

Wait 30 to 48 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

Dangerously High temperature: 105.0 degrees

Seek medical help now!

Soak with lukewarm washcloth until EMS arrives or until you get to the hospital

Wait 48 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

Maximum temperature: 106.0 degrees

Seek medical help now!

Soak with lukewarm washcloth until EMS arrives or until you get to the hospital

Wait 72 hours before returning to regular activity without any fever present

Note: A good rule of thumb is to wait for 24 hours without any fever present even if you had a low temperature in your body to resume regular activity. It is highly recommended that you do not participate in any vigorous activity (sports/working out) or drink any amount of alcohol when sick. If you smoke it is recommended that you stop for the duration for when you are sick as it may irritate your throat. If you are an athlete it is recommended that you wait an additional 24 hours without having a fever before returning to workouts or competitions.

Note: A dangerously high temperature for children (12 and under) is 103.00 degree Fahrenheit.

Taking your temperature

The most effective and easy way to take a persons temperature is by sticking the thermometer tip under the middle part of the tongue. Make sure to wait about 3 to 5 minutes if you ate or drank something hot or cold before you take your temperature to ensure that the read is accurately reflecting your current body temperature. After you are done using the thermometer wipe it off thoroughly with a clean tissue and then throw that tissue away and store the thermometer properly. If other people are using the same thermometer it is recommended that you sanitize it before it is used again. It is recommended that the thermometer be sanitized everyday when in use and thoroughly wiped down with a tissue before being used for the first time.

How to tell if you are sick

The common symptoms are headache, runny nose, congestion, sore throat, stomach pain, aches in body, the chills which usually accompanies a fever of some sort. Usually viral infections are passed through the air into your nasal cavity and stay in your nose and when you lay down it will drip back into your throat thus making you have a sore throat which can lead to you getting sick. Strep throat (mononucleosis) is caused by bacteria with none of the cold and flu symptoms initially.

Phlegm: In your saliva

Clear – no infection is present

Light Yellow – infection is small and may not show symptoms

Darker Yellow – you have a infection which means that you are sick

Mixture of yellow and green – you may have a deeper infection such as bronchitis (go to your doctor)

Note: Try and get as much out as possible to help prevent any further matriculation of the infection so your recovery time can be much quicker.

When to use antibiotics

This depends whether it is a viral or bacterial infection so check with your doctor. Viral infections usually have to run their course until you get better. Rest and lots of fluids is the way to go. Although medications may make you feel better it is only a mask on your infection and symptoms will come back after a while. If you are sick stay home and rest and do not try and push through it. Taking medications such as NyQuil and Tylenol are fine just make sure you are taking the correct amount and that you are getting lots of rest and water.

Cold and Flu – viral – Treatment – rest and lots of fluids and possibly Tamiflu to help speed up recovery

Strep Throat (mononucleosis) – bacterial – penicillin (adults) or amoxicillin (children) if not allergic

With strep throat you are still contagious for 24 hours upon taking any antibiotics.

Sinus Infection – bacterial – drink lots of fluids, especially water – use over the counter decongestants – penicillin (adults) or amoxicillin (children) if not allergic

Using Vitamins

Vitamins do not directly make you better when you are sick with the cold and/or flu. They may help in the recovery time, but are mainly used as preventatives to getting sick. Vitamins C can help speed up the recovery process by taking 1,000 mg to 4,000 mg daily until you feel better. After you feel better try taking a multi-vitamin to help prevent yourself from getting sick. A good idea would be to get a flu shot yearly to help preventing you from getting sick.

Note: Eating dark chocolate may help in the recovery as well by slowing down the free radicals in your body and is a great way to suppress your cough.

More home remedies to help aid your recovery

Sore throat – gargling with salt and warm water

Coughing – eating dark chocolate

Speed up recovery of cold and flu – taking higher amounts of vitamin C that are usually around 4,000 mg daily until you feel better

Keeping your temperature down – eating Popsicles or other cold foods and remember to rest

Reducing any aches/headaches or pains – using ibuprofen as directed on bottle or eating a banana or a banana/strawberry smoothie

Slightly blurred vision – Gatorade will help this, but if it does not go back to normal contact your doctor (vision should return to normal in about 30 minutes, maybe less)

What to drink – A Gatorade mixture is a good idea to help in the recovery process when you are sick because of the electrolytes it provides – your stomach may hurt if you drink too much too fast and if this happens you can mix half Gatorade and half water

What to avoid – dairy products such as milk and cheese as they can irritate your throat

Stomach Pains – If your stomach hurts or is upset try drinking some Gingerale to settle it down. The ginger and carbonation help to settle your stomach acids.

What to eat – Eating foods higher in protein can help in the recovery process as well because your body will use protein immediately which gives your body energy to help fight the infection.

Note: When you eat foods hot or cold or drink liquids that are cold your body temperature may rise a bit because your body heats up when processing food or heating up the liquid for use in the body.

Why do you get the chills?

The reason you get the chills or feel really cold is because when your sick your body is heating you up by shaking your muscles which will help get rid of the infection. Remember that your body is not actually cold it’s trying to heat itself up. This may be the cause of some aches in your body when you are sick. Also, when you have a fever the normal air temperature may feel colder to you because your core temperature is higher than normal. The chills is a good thing to help get rid of an infection (heating up the body) although it does not feel great when it’s happening to you.

In most cases sweating occurs when you have the chills because you pile on the blankets. When sweating occurs it mean that your body has gotten way too hot and needs to cool itself down. At this point you will most likely wake up in a pile of sweat if you were sleeping. This is not a bad thing and you have most likely turned the corner in feeling better. It is recommenced to rest for at least 24 hours when no fever is present before resuming regular activity.

Note: Your muscles may be slightly sore after you have recovered from the cold and/or flu.

What should the room temperature be?

The room temperature should be anywhere from 72 degree Fahrenheit to 82 degrees Fahrenheit so it’s not too hot or too cold. This will help you recover when conditions are close to these temperatures. If your house gets too cold you may get sick again and if it gets too hot you may not feel well throughout recovery.

Recovery time frame

Cold – 2 to 5 days (contagious throughout)

Flu – 7 to 14 days (contagious throughout)

Strep Throat (mononucleosis) – 4 to 6 weeks (usually not contagious when symptoms occur)

Sinus Infection – 2 to 5 days (contagious throughout)

Note: Antibiotics are not needed to recover from the cold and/or flu (viral infection) because your body will fight the infection itself. Getting a flu shot is a good way for you body to better fight off viral infections and may significantly help in the recovery time of the flu or cold. Also, viruses that cause the cold and flu can live outside of the body for about 48 hours so that means if someone sneezes on a cup of water and you drink out of the same cup of water without washing it you will most likely contract the virus through your mouth. Contracting the virus of the cold and flu may make you sick, but this depends on the strength of your immune system and your health status.