Do you know the benefits of drinking more water when you have a cold?

In our daily lives, we often hear people say that we should drink more water when we have a cold. In fact, this statement has scientific basis. If it is a mild cold, drinking more water can help the body excrete excess waste in time and keep the body's internal environment in a balanced state.

When we have a cold or fever, doctors and family members often tell us to drink more water. When taking antipyretics, you should drink more water because doing so has the following three benefits.

Benefit 1: Prevent dehydration . Antipyretic drugs such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen (paracetamol) mainly reduce fever by acting on the hypothalamic temperature regulation center. Taking them will accelerate sweating, causing water loss in the body and posing a risk of dehydration. Drinking plenty of water after taking antipyretic medicine can effectively prevent this phenomenon from occurring.

Benefit 2: Helps antipyretic drugs take effect. Sweating and urinating both help the body remove some heat. Drinking more water can increase sweating and urination, and work synergistically with antipyretics to reduce fever.

Benefit three: Reduce the damage of antipyretic drugs to the liver and kidneys. Antipyretics such as ibuprofen are mainly metabolized in the liver, with 60% to 90% excreted in the urine via the kidneys. Drinking more water at this time can accelerate the excretion of drugs, reduce the burden on the liver and kidneys, and achieve the effect of "diluting" the toxicity of drugs.

When taking medicine, it is generally recommended to take it with 200 ml of warm water. Drinking more water when taking medicine means drinking 2 to 2.5 liters of water every day during the medication period. It is recommended to drink it in multiple times and do not drink too much at one time. For some special groups of people, special attention must be paid to the amount of water they drink. For example, for patients with edema, heart failure, and renal failure, drinking too much water will increase the burden on the heart and kidneys and affect their condition. These people should listen to the doctor's specific advice on how much water they should drink every day while taking medication based on their condition.