Drink more water when you have a cold and fever. What kind of water should you drink?

Review expert: Wang Xuejiang, professor at Capital Medical University

Recently, influenza has been prevalent, and many of our friends have been affected, with most people having symptoms of fever.

At this time, most people choose to cool down by drinking a lot of water to increase the frequency of urination and sweating, or drink a lot of water to relieve the body's dehydration caused by increased sweating. So, why do you need to drink more water when you have a cold and fever? What kind of water should you drink?

Why should you drink more water when you have a cold or fever?

Whenever we have a cold or a fever, the most common advice we hear is to drink more water. So, can drinking water really relieve fever symptoms?

In fact, drinking more water when you have a cold or fever is really good for your body:

It can speed up the patient's metabolism, increase urine volume, and promote the excretion of toxins through frequent urination.

For people with fever symptoms, drinking more water can dissipate heat through the evaporation of sweat or the excretion of urine, thereby lowering body temperature and helping to relieve fever symptoms.

Replenishing the water lost due to vomiting and diarrhea is beneficial to the body's recovery.

Keeping the oral and nasal mucosa moist can prevent the invasion of cold viruses to a certain extent and relieve the discomfort symptoms caused by colds.

When we have a cold or fever, we should drink enough water intermittently, 200-300 ml each time, slowly drinking in small sips to maintain the balance of electrolytes in the body. However, we should drink enough water, generally not more than 3000 ml.
What kind of water should I drink when I have a cold and fever?
In the previous article, we talked about the benefits of drinking more water when you have a cold or fever. So when you have a fever, should you drink plain water or "hot" electrolyte water?

01

What is electrolyte water?

Electrolyte water refers to a beverage made by dissolving a group of compounds in water. It contains electrolytes needed by the human body, such as sodium ions, potassium ions, magnesium ions, as well as energy substances such as citrate, sucrose, glucose, vitamin C and vitamin B6.

Electrolyte water can be quickly absorbed by the human body. Its main function is to replenish the water and trace elements needed by the human body and maintain the body's electrolyte balance and acid-base balance. In addition to replenishing the body's trace elements, electrolyte water can also promote metabolism and improve the body's immunity.

Under normal circumstances, the human body can maintain a dynamic balance of the body's internal environment of water, ion concentration, pH and osmotic pressure through self-regulation. Once the water, electrolyte and acid-base balance is disturbed, cell function will be affected and diseases will be induced, such as:

Sodium metabolism disorders can cause symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, and muscle aches; potassium metabolism disorders can cause symptoms such as thirst and nausea; calcium metabolism disorders can cause symptoms such as slow reaction and convulsions of the hands and feet; magnesium metabolism disorders can cause symptoms such as dizziness and muscle cramps.

If the electrolyte imbalance is severe, it may be life-threatening.

02

Can electrolyte water help reduce fever?

Since electrolyte water is so powerful, can drinking more of it also help reduce fever? The answer is no.

Fever patients sweat a lot, which can cause dizziness, fatigue and other symptoms of dehydration. In this case, proper electrolyte supplementation is beneficial to the body's recovery. In addition, most fever patients have poor appetite. Many electrolyte waters on the market taste good. Drinking them properly can solve the problem of electrolyte imbalance and maintain normal body functions. On the other hand, because they taste good and make people happy, they are also good for the body's recovery.

But if you want to reduce fever by drinking electrolyte water, it won't work.

Electrolyte water can achieve the so-called "cooling" effect. Its mechanism of action is not that it is electrolyte water, but because the patient will sweat a lot when he has a fever, which takes away a lot of water and electrolytes from the body. When the water is replenished, the metabolism speeds up, which is beneficial to the body's heat dissipation. From this point of view, the effect of drinking electrolyte water is similar to that of drinking boiled water.

03

What symptoms can be treated by drinking electrolyte water?

Wang Boshi, deputy chief physician of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Peking University People's Hospital, said that people who can eat normally after a fever generally do not need to supplement electrolytes. If the high fever lasts for a long time and nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and poor appetite occur, it is recommended to supplement electrolytes appropriately on the basis of drinking boiled water. When the fever persists or is high, low sodium, low potassium, and low calcium may occur. This is because the patient has a continuous high fever, and the body will sweat a lot when the fever subsides, resulting in electrolyte loss. Proper supplementation of electrolytes is conducive to physical recovery.

Pregnant women may experience nausea, vomiting and other early pregnancy reactions. If severe vomiting occurs, or even the inability to eat normally, it will cause insufficient intake of inorganic salts such as potassium and sodium, leading to electrolyte imbalance. If severe morning sickness or inability to eat occurs during pregnancy, you should seek medical attention in a timely manner and supplement electrolytes under the evaluation and guidance of professionals.

Vomiting after drinking will cause the body to lose electrolytes, aggravating the effect of alcohol on liver function. Excessive drinking may also indirectly cause kidney disease and electrolyte and acid-base imbalance.

When diarrhea occurs, a lot of water and electrolytes are lost, which may lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, requiring appropriate electrolyte supplementation.