Running a fever: any advice?

I’ve come down with this nasty flu and my head feels like it's absolutely throbbing, plus my nose and eyes are all red and irritated. I was wondering, do you think applying some lard compresses to my chest might actually help clear this out?

you’re gonna have to head over to the doctor's office to get a prescription for some Lyrica...

Look, I can't exactly make it down to the doctor's office right this second, so maybe someone could just suggest some old-school, home remedy type of fix?

Man, I don't know... maybe try some aspirin? I've got a feeling it actually works.

Man, I feel like I just poured my heart out there, and honestly, I popped a couple of Tylenol about two hours ago

You might be dealing with a sinus infection yourself...

I remember this one time when I was just a little kid, my grandma used to make these homemade compresses using some cheap whiskey and sliced potatoes. I was so small back then, and I remember running such a high fever—probably hitting 104 or something—and we just couldn't get anyone to an urgent care or an ER at that hour, plus the standard over-the-counter stuff wasn't doing a thing.
Now, whether it was actually the medicine kicking in overnight or those potato wraps that did the trick... I guess it's hard to say for sure. All I know is that I got better.
I realize this is just old-school folk remedy stuff, but my grandma lived out in rural America, so she really knew her way around those kinds of home fixes.
That being said, I’d probably suggest seeing a doctor instead; it's definitely the safer bet.

slybison6 said:I've got the flu and my head feels like it's burning up—my nose and eyes are all red. Can I use some lard if I put it on my chest as a compress?

First off, there’s no such thing as having a "temperature in your head." You probably just mean you have a fever. When your body is running hot, pretty much everything is going to feel warm, even if your hands or feet feel cold for a second.

Second, spreading lard on your skin isn't going to do anything chemically to fight whatever bug is causing the fever. Any effect it has is purely physical; since fat acts as an insulator, it actually traps heat against your body, making it harder for that extra warmth to escape. Plus, it clogs your pores, which stops you from sweating, and sweating is how your body tries to dump heat.

If your fever hasn't hit 100.4°F, don't try to force it down. A fever is actually your immune system doing its job.