What foods can you eat when you have a cold and a fever?

Written by Hu Bai Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on January 16, 2025
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Generally, when experiencing a cold or fever, it is important to focus on eating light and easily digestible foods. This is because our gastrointestinal function tends to decline during the cold and fever stages. Consuming spicy, greasy, and indigestible foods at this time may add extra burden to the stomach and intestines, leading to indigestion. Additionally, there might be symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, or even diarrhea. Therefore, it is advisable to consume warm, well-cooked foods such as porridge, millet porridge, vegetable porridge, noodles, or dishes like wonton soup, vegetable soup, and dragon whisker noodles. Moreover, it is essential to drink plenty of water during a fever to promote metabolism and enhance the body's resistance. It is also appropriate to eat some fresh fruits and vegetables to replenish vitamins. Vitamin C can help boost metabolism and aid cellular repair, which is significantly helpful in recovering from colds and fevers. At the same time, it is recommended to maintain a positive mood, and if the body temperature exceeds 38.5℃, it is important to take antipyretic medicine promptly.

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Can you eat onions when you have a cold?

During a cold, it is appropriate to eat some onions. If the onions are cooked, they are easier to digest. If consuming raw onions, eat them in moderation without overdoing it. Because they are spicy food, they have certain stimulating effects. Since onions are spicy, they can irritate the respiratory tract, leading to increased secretion of mucus, which in turn causes more nasal discharge and phlegm production. The expulsion of these secretions can help clear the respiratory pathways. Additionally, onions are rich in vitamins and can enhance the body's immunity.

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Can you eat watermelon if you have a cold from catching a chill?

In clinical practice, there are cases of colds classified as "hot" or "cold" types. Even patients suffering from a "hot" type cold can experience nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, and fever when they catch a chill. For some patients who catch a cold in summer due to being chilled, it is appropriate to eat some watermelon, as watermelon is a cooling fruit. It can somewhat relieve the heat for patients suffering from a "hot" type cold. Therefore, for patients experiencing nasal congestion, sore throat, or even coughing due to a "hot" type cold, eating watermelon can help adjust and soothe, although it is not recommended to eat frozen watermelon.

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Should you cover yourself with a thick blanket if you have a cold caused by wind-heat?

Generally, it is not advisable to cover oneself with heavy blankets when suffering from a wind-heat cold, as this type of cold is caused by externally contracted wind-heat, commonly occurring in the summer. Covering with heavy blankets after contracting a wind-heat cold may hinder the body's ability to dissipate heat, which is not conducive to the dispersion of body heat. If a wind-heat cold occurs during the autumn or winter seasons, it is acceptable to use blankets, otherwise, it may lead to the invasion of wind-cold, exacerbating the cold's condition and adversely affecting the treatment of the wind-heat cold. In daily life, one should pay attention to resting more and avoid eating raw, greasy, or strongly spicy foods; drinking more water; and consuming fresh fruits and vegetables.

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What to do if you have a cold and inflammation during pregnancy?

If you have inflammation symptoms with a cold, it's likely due to bacterial or viral infection causing the inflammation. It's advisable to take anti-inflammatory and anti-infection medications under a doctor's guidance. Before taking any medication, it's best to get a routine blood test to identify the cause of infection and then use the appropriate medications. During pregnancy, the situation is quite special, and it's recommended not to take medications blindly as it may worsen the situation. Therefore, it's important to treat the symptoms accurately. You should also ensure to drink plenty of water, rest adequately, avoid staying up late, and ensure sufficient sleep to boost your immune system. Additionally, if the condition is serious, it's best to be hospitalized for observation and active symptomatic treatment.

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Will a cold with nasal congestion get better on its own?

Cold, also known as upper respiratory tract infection, manifests clinically in patients with varying degrees of nasal congestion, runny nose, and sneezing. It's important first to identify the upper respiratory tract infection, which is mainly caused by a viral infection that leads to symptoms like nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and sometimes a sore throat. For viral infections causing inflammatory lesions in the respiratory tract, in cases where the patient's immune function is strong, the symptoms of nasal congestion caused by the viral cold can resolve on their own. However, in infants or elderly people with lower immune function, when a viral cold occurs, symptomatic treatment with antiviral drugs can lead to a quicker recovery.