Fever should not necessarily be treated. Fever is an important signal that there's something wrong in the body, and it can be used to govern medical treatment and gauge its effectiveness. Moreover, not all fevers are of infectious origin.
Even when treatment is not indicated, however, febrile patients are generally advised to keep themselves adequately hydrated, as the dehydration produced by a mild fever can be more dangerous than the fever itself. Water is generally used for this purpose because it is a universal solvent, but there is always a small risk of hyponatremia if the patient drinks too much water. For this reason, some patients drink sports drinks or electrolyte-replacing products designed specifically for this purpose.
Most people take medication against fever because the symptoms cause discomfort. Fever increases heart rate and metabolism, thus potentially putting an additional strain on elderly patients, patients with heart disease, etc. This may even cause delirium. Therefore, potential benefits must be weighed against risks in these patients. In any case, fever must be brought under control in instances when fever escalates to hyperpyrexia and tissue damage is imminent.
Treatment of fever is normally done by lowering the set-point, but facilitating heat loss may also be effective. The former is accomplished with antipyretics such as ibuprofen or paracetamol (USacetominophen). Aspirin can also be given to adults, but can cause Reye's Syndrome in children. Heat removal is generally by wet cloth or pads, usually applied to the forehead, but also through bathing the body in tepid water. This is particularly important for babies, where drugs should be avoided. However, using water that is too cold can induce vasoconstriction, and reduce effective heat loss.
Heat loss may also be accomplished by heat conduction, convection, radiation, or evaporation(sweating, perspiration), or a combination of these.
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