How long does it take to recover from a cold and fever?

Written by Li Jian Wu
Pulmonology
Updated on February 22, 2025
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If medication is not used, the general course of the illness is about three to seven days. With medical intervention, recovery can generally be achieved in one to three days. If the fever exceeds 38.5°C, it is advisable to take measures to reduce fever to prevent complications such as febrile convulsions. Physical methods can be used to reduce fever. Fever can also be treated with oral antipyretics. During the treatment period, it is advisable to eat light meals, avoid staying up late, and avoid consuming large portions of meat and fish.

Other Voices

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Written by Wang Chun Mei
Pulmonology
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Do you need to take medicine for a cold with nasal congestion?

Nasal congestion due to a cold is very common in clinical practice. The need for medication depends on the type of cold and the patient's own immune function. If the patient has a cold caused by a viral infection and the symptoms are not severe, or if the patient generally likes to exercise and is young, a mild cold may not require medication and can heal on its own within about a week. For children or elderly individuals with weaker resistance, when an upper respiratory infection occurs, it is advisable to administer some medication for symptomatic treatment to prevent the condition from worsening and to avoid unnecessary complications.

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Written by Chen Xiao Jun
Emergency Department
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How to deal with heatstroke, cold, and fever?

In summer, due to the high temperatures, the human body can intake too much heat, leading to weakened immunity and symptoms such as colds and fevers, including sore throat, pain in the throat, runny nose, chills, and feverish symptoms. In such cases, symptomatic treatment can be carried out, starting with controlling the indoor temperature, which should not be too high or too low, and can be in an air-conditioned room, but the room temperature should not be set too low. Also, drink more water and appropriately take some cold medicine for symptomatic treatment. If the body temperature reaches above 38.5°C and physical cooling methods are not controlling it, fever-reducing medications might be needed. It is best to visit a hospital for relevant examinations, such as routine blood tests, liver and kidney function tests, and electrolytes, to rule out serious damage to internal organs caused by heatstroke.

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Written by An Yong Peng
Pulmonology
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What should I do if I have a heavy nasal voice due to a cold?

Cold with nasal voice, in most cases, does not require special treatment. A cold can cause symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, sore throat, and coughing. These symptoms can lead to a nasal voice in patients, and this condition usually does not require special treatment. If the symptoms of runny nose, sneezing, and nasal congestion are particularly severe and affect the patient's daily life, some compound cold medicines can be used to alleviate the symptoms, such as compound cold medicines like Ammaminamide tablets. Additionally, for a heavy nasal voice due to a cold, it is also necessary to assess the patient's condition. If the patient has a lot of purulent nasal discharge and is accompanied by headaches, it is important to be alert to the possibility of sinusitis, which also needs to be treated. (Please use medication under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Yuan Qing
Pulmonology
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Is tearing a symptom of a severe cold?

Tearing during a cold is not an indicator of a severe cold; a severe cold actually refers to more serious general symptoms in the patient. The common cold, also known as an upper respiratory tract infection, involves the respiratory tract from the cricoid cartilage of the trachea up to the nasal cavity, which is called the upper respiratory tract. An upper respiratory tract infection is essentially an infection in this part of the respiratory tract. If an infection occurs, the primary symptoms include nasal congestion, a runny nose, sore throat, and coughing. However, some patients may experience severe general symptoms, including fever, joint pain in the limbs, muscle soreness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These symptoms often indicate a severe cold. Tearing alone during a cold is quite common and can also be seen in milder cases of the common cold. Therefore, it is not a significant indicator for diagnosing a severe cold.

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Written by Hu Bai Yu
Pulmonology
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Cold symptoms also include diarrhea.

Colds may involve symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, coughing, and phlegm. If there are also symptoms like diarrhea and watery stools, it is possible that it might be a gastrointestinal type of cold. Besides the common cold symptoms, there might also be gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, acid reflux, or burping. It is recommended that in such cases, in addition to taking anti-cold medicine, one should also take medicine to regulate the spleen and stomach for treatment, such as other traditional Chinese medicines that adjust the spleen and stomach functions. It is also important to maintain a light diet, eat smaller meals frequently, and if the diarrhea is severe, anti-diarrheal medication should be taken for treatment. (The specific use of medications should be under the guidance of a doctor.)