Hot Showers Ease Cold and Flu Symptoms Clearing stuffy nasal passages with moisture. Warming you up when you have “the chills” Relieving headaches by dilating blood vessels. Relaxing your mind and muscles for better sleep.
Yes, a warm bath can help relieve cold and flu symptoms to some extent, with bath water coverage across the chest area particularly helpful. In effect a hot soak in a home bathtub will assist in relaxing aching muscles, breaking a fever, and offering some relief to congestion in the chest and sinuses especially.
Taking a hot shower or a bath can really help to quell your various pains. The warmth from the bath can help soothe your lungs, and the steam will moisturize your throat and nasal passages that have been dried out from your sickness.
Going from a hot to cold shower — even for a couple of minutes — might protect you from circulating viruses. The shock of cold water can stimulate the blood cells that fight off infection (leukocytes).
Lukewarm Bath or Shower: Other remedies to help you feel better include taking a lukewarm bath or shower. The key is to keep it lukewarm. Don't make it cold, never use ice, and if you start to shiver, warm the water up and then get out and rest. Stay hydrated: It is also important to drink plenty of water.
Reality: False. People often do everything they can to try to lower a fever, to no avail. You should never take a shower or a warm or cold bath, which would cause a sudden change in temperature that prompts the body to recover its thermal balance.
To help you cure the flu faster and protect you from severe complications, you may take an antiviral like Tamiflu or Relenza. But antivirals need a prescription and are most effective when taken closer to the onset of symptoms.
Most symptoms go away in 4 to 7 days. The cough and tired feeling may last for weeks. Sometimes, the fever comes back. Some people may not feel like eating.
Suranjit Chatterjee, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi says one can even take a head bath during fever but then they must dry their hair properly. Leaving the hair wet may make the situation worse.
Increased humidity can help thin the mucus in your sinuses which is why steamy solutions provide relief for clogged noses. For immediate relief, take a hot shower, or do a facial steamer for 10 to 12 minutes. To enjoy the benefits of humidity all day, use a humidifier at home.
Although it's a common misconception, scientists disagree with the idea that sweating can help an illness leave your body more quickly. Making yourself work up a sweat won't hasten your recovery. Instead, it could exacerbate your symptoms and perhaps make you ill.
There's no way to cure a cold—or sweat it out. Breathing in warm, moist air can help alleviate cold symptoms, like congestion. Light exercise can increase blood flow, which also might help with congestion. However, there's no quick fix.
Don't be tempted to overheat the room because you have a cold. Keep the temperature at a comfortable level (69F – 72F) and bundle up with blankets that can be shoved off if you begin to overheat. The humidity in the room is important too. Dry air can worsen your cold symptoms and parch your nose and throat.
The CDC recommends baloxavir marboxil (Xofluza), oseltamivir (Tamiflu), peramivir (Rapivab), or zanamivir (Relenza). The drugs work best when you get them within 48 hours of your first symptoms. They may shorten the time you are sick and make your symptoms milder if you take the medicine early on.
Research suggests that these viruses may survive and reproduce more effectively at colder temperatures, making it easier for them to spread and infect more people. Cold weather may also reduce the immune response and make it harder for the body to fight off germs.
Cold weather may not be the only reason you get chills. Low temperatures can increase the likelihood of getting sick. The body is not as effective at fighting a virus when cold air enters the nose and upper airways, so viruses such as the common cold, the flu and COVID-19 often spread more easily in the winter.
Eating nutritious foods and staying hydrated may help relieve symptoms of the flu. Good foods to eat when you're sick include broth as well as foods rich in vitamin C and probiotics. And be sure to avoid foods that can make you feel worse or dampen your immune system, like alcohol, refined sugar, and processed meats.
Drinking cold water lowers the body temperature and takes a fever down. Staying hydrated at any time is important, but when the body is in distress, using the cold water helps tremendously. Adding a squeeze of lemon and a little bit of sea salt during a fever can replace electrolytes that may have been lost.
However, experts are of the opinion that it can actually have a good epidermal effect. The warm water leaves the skin moist for a longer time and prevents it from drying up and getting cracked. Hot water increases the body temperature and relaxes the muscles in the body. This soothes us physically and mentally.
Best Temperature for Showering
Cold showers can help reduce inflammation, relieve pain, improve circulation, lower stress levels, and reduce muscle soreness and fatigue. Hot showers, meanwhile, can improve cardiovascular health, soothe stiff joints, and improve sleep.