Signs and complications of viral fever in adults

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Associate Professor, Doctor, Doctor Hoang Dang Mich - Head of Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital

Viral fevers are usually caused by many viruses, the most common being respiratory viruses. The cause of the disease is the erratic sunny and rainy weather that creates favorable conditions for the virus to thrive. When having a viral fever, adults are often subjective in treatment and care because they think it is a normal fever. The following article will clarify the causes, signs and complications of the disease if not treated properly.

1. What are the signs of viral fever in adults?

Viral fever in adults includes the following symptoms:
Body fatigue: When infected with a virus, the human body begins to fall into an imbalanced state, causing fatigue, sluggishness, and discomfort. This is considered a specific symptom of adult viral fever. High fever: This is also a recognizable manifestation of viral fever. At the onset of the disease, there is only a slight fever, then the body temperature gradually increases from 39 - 41 degrees Celsius. High fever can cause many dangerous complications. Therefore, when the fever is too high, it is necessary to find measures to reduce the fever as quickly as possible. Body aches: Viral fever will make the body tired, the body temperature will also increase rapidly. Causes pain in the whole body, especially the muscles. Nasal congestion, difficulty breathing: Viral fever causes cough and runny nose in humans, nasal secretions can block the nasal cavity causing difficulty breathing. Headache: This is a symptom that comes after fever and body aches. Patients need to avoid stress and need rest and relaxation. Eye pain: People with viral fever will feel a burning sensation, sometimes pain in the eyeball, red eyes, creating a very uncomfortable feeling. Rash rash on the skin: This expression will appear after 2-3 days of fever. Due to prolonged fever, body temperature is always high. The patient's skin will appear many tiny red rashes all over the body. Most viral fevers in adults have this manifestation.

Appearance of lymph nodes: This is a symptom when viruses and bacteria enter the respiratory tract, small nodes will appear in the head and neck and can be felt with the hands. In general, viral fever symptoms are quite similar to the common cold. However, the fever in viral fever will last longer. The body is more tired many times. If the patient has the above basic symptoms, it is necessary to immediately go to a reputable medical facility for timely examination and treatment.

2. Dangerous complications of adult viral fever

Viral fever is a fairly benign disease, common in all ages. How long does viral fever take to go away? The disease will be completely cured after 7-10 days of illness. However, if not treated properly and promptly they always cause dangerous complications. And viral fever in adults is no exception.
Some serious and dangerous complications:
Pneumonia: A serious complication of adult viral fever, when pneumonia is present, the virus' infection path becomes easier. It can form a widespread and difficult to control epidemic. Laryngitis: The patient's larynx may swell and narrow the larynx. Causing difficulty breathing, stridor, even lack of oxygen to the body. In this case, you need to be assisted to breathe with an oxygen tank. Myocarditis, arrhythmia and cardiac arrest: After the fever is gone, many cases of complications, the body is still tired. Occurrence of pain in the heart due to inflammation of the heart muscle. The patient's heart rate is erratic, even cardiac arrest causes fainting. Brain complications: This is the most dangerous complication of viral fever in adults. This complication is more likely to occur in younger children. Manifestations of complications in the brain are convulsions, deep coma. If not treated promptly, it can cause death or leave serious sequelae later.

3. Viral fever and effective treatment

Currently, there is no specific medicine to treat viral fever in adults, but only drugs and supportive treatments. The doctor will base on the condition of each patient to give the appropriate treatment.
Effective support methods in the treatment of viral fever in adults include:
Provide enough water for the body: The constant high fever causes the body to lose water, so the first and easiest thing to do when If you have a viral fever, drink a lot of water. Reduce fever: You need to bring down your fever quickly so that your body temperature does not rise too high, causing extremely dangerous brain complications. You can take Paracetamol or other medicines to reduce fever. However, you must follow the dosage prescribed by your doctor. Combine with warm compress (Note: do not use ice to apply). Stay in a warm room, wear cool, clean and sweat-wicking clothes. Avoid the wind, do not let the temperature be too low compared to body temperature. Clean body to prevent superinfection, have a reasonable diet during and after viral fever. It is recommended to add a variety of fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C to increase the body's resistance. If you are wondering if viral fever will come back, the answer is that it is completely possible to have fever again in adults and children. Therefore, to prevent the return of viral fever, each person should actively strengthen the body's resistance by having a healthy diet, a reasonable labor and rest regime.

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