[chupster]

Four nights ago I started having an itchy throat and dry cough. I woke up the next day to mucus mania (and a stopped up nose, I'll never understand that), a fever of 102.5 (and the accompanying shakes) and a cough that has sense attempted to cave my chest in via my back, as well as the occasional sneeze or two that make my head want to explode.

Basically I don't get sick a whole lot, but when I do, it's bad. It's that way with my whole family; if we get a fever, at some point we're going to be delirious and sweating, and that's not an exaggeration- I once went to the hospital with a temperature over 105 and I was rambling and afraid I was going to die.

Now that I'm a stay-at-home dad, my wife is gone a lot, and my son isn't here today (thank God; he went with the grandparents right before I got sick, and he's five so it isn't like he knows what I'm about to ask), and here I sit, freshly out of a superhot tub after waking up with shakes that were trying to dislodge something, like say, my ribs or lungs.

My question is, my mom would always throw me in a cold bath and I would shiver uncontrollably the whole time I was in it. But my understanding is that a fever is the body's way of trying to literally burn out an infection. So (as long as you don't go insane with the temperature), wouldn't it make more sense to jump in a hot bath and soak/stew for a bit (which also makes me feel tons better- I mean, I'm able to type, and trust me, that wasn't the case earlier) to try to eak up your body's core temperature than throw yourself in a cold bath and cause yourself possible muscle damage while you shake to death, and bring down the core temperature? (Or maybe the shaking would cause your core temperature to go up higher, it was just my understanding that since she did it for like a half hour or so, it was to bring my temperature down, but then she would throw me under a bunch of blankets and make me sweat to death.)

I really feel like crap at this point and just want to know so I can get this over with by even the smallest margin of time, because ATM I'm so miserable I can't see straight, but I can't sleep anymore and my dreams have officially hit David Lynch's nightmares-level.

[angelic_ky]

yes a fever is your body trying to burn off infection, but i don't think it's a good idea to raise your body temp, you could send it too high

[chupster]

Right- that's why I added the part about not going overboard with it. I'm not going to boil myself, but I don't want to shiver until I tear muscles either, and as badly as I've been shaking every morning, the bathtub is the quickest way I have to keep myself from that- I just wanted to know if my mom was loonier than I already think she is.

[angelic_ky]

no, i don't think your mum is being loony, not unless my mum is loony too

[mollymae]

You shouldn't have a cold bath as this could do the same as a too hot bath your body will heat up more in response to the cold water.

A tepid bath is the recommended thing to reduce a fever.