High Temperature Causes and Treatments

Written by Rick Ansorge

• What Is a Fever?
• Fever Symptoms
• Fever Causes
• Fever Diagnosis
• Fever Treatments

A fever is a body temperature that’s higher than is considered normal. It’s also called a high temperature, hyperthermia, or pyrexia, and it’s usually a sign that your body is working to keep you healthy from an infection. Normal body temperatures are different for everyone, but they lie within the range of 97 to 99. A temperature of 100.4 or higher is considered a fever.

A part of your brain called the hypothalamus controls your body temperature. In response to an infection, illness, or some other cause, the hypothalamus may reset the body to a higher temperature. So when a fever comes on, it’s a sign that something is going on in your body.

Fevers themselves generally aren’t dangerous, but you should check in with your doctor if:

• An adult’s temperature is 103 or higher
• A very young infant (under 3 months) has a rectal temperature 100. 4 or higher (call your doctor or go to an emergency room immediately)
• A 3-6-month-old has a higher than normal rectal temperature and is also irritable or sleepy (call your doctor right away)
• A 3-6-month-old has a 102 or higher rectal temperature
• A 6-24-month-old has a fever higher than 102 for more than a day or with other symptoms such as a cough or diarrhea
• A child older than 2 has a fever that comes with rash, real discomfort, irritability, listlessness, headache, stiff neck, or repeated diarrhea or vomiting
• An infant or child has a seizure
• Any temperature over 104 in a child, which could cause a seizure
• Any fever that starts after someone has been in hot temperatures, which could be a sign of heat stroke
• The fever doesn’t go down after taking over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen in the appropriate doses
• You’ve been in contact with someone who has COVID-19

Fevers are signs of some sort of illness or infection. When you have, you may also notice these symptoms:

• Chills or shivering
• Sweating
• Headache
• Feeling weak
• Being irritable
• Losing your appetite
• Being dehydrated

A fever can be a sign of several health conditions, which may or may not need medical treatment.

The most common causes of fever are infections such as colds and stomach bugs (gastroenteritis). Other causes include:

• Infections of the ear, lung, skin, throat, bladder, or kidney
• Heat exhaustion
• COVID-19
• Sunburn
• Conditions that cause inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis
• Side effects of medications
• Vaccines and immunizations
• Blood clots
• Autoimmune conditions such as lupus and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS)
• Cancer
• Hormone disorders such as hyperthyroidism
• Illegal drugs such as amphetamines and cocaine
• Teething in babies can cause a mild, low-grade fever (not over 101 degrees)

Although a fever is easy to measure with a thermometer, finding its cause can be hard. Besides a physical exam, your doctor will ask about symptoms and conditions, medications, and if you’ve recently traveled to areas with infections or have other infection risks. A malaria infection, for example, may cause a fever that typically comes back. Some areas of the U.S. are hot spots for infections such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Your doctor may ask if you have been around someone with COVID-19 or have any other symptoms of COVID-19.

Sometimes, you may have a “fever of unknown origin.” In such cases, the cause could be an unusual or not obvious condition such as a chronic infection, a connective tissue disorder, cancer, or another problem.

Fever is usually associated with physical discomfort, and most people feel better when a fever is treated. But depending on your age, physical condition, and the underlying cause of your fever, you may or may not require medical treatment for the fever alone. Many experts believe that fever is a natural bodily defense against infection. There are also many non-infectious causes of fever.

Treatments vary depending on the cause of the fever. For example, antibiotics would be used for a bacterial infection such as strep throat.

The most common treatments for fever include over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen. Children and teens should not take aspirin because it’s linked to a condition called Reye’s syndrome.

Stay comfortable by: 

• Drinking a lot of clear liquids such as water, broth, and juices or a rehydration drink.
• Taking a lukewarm bath.
• Resting.
• Keeping yourself cool with lightweight clothing and bed coverings.

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High Temperature Causes and Treatments

Written by Rick Ansorge

• What Is a Fever?
• Fever Symptoms
• Fever Causes
• Fever Diagnosis
• Fever Treatments

A fever is a body temperature that’s higher than is considered normal. It’s also called a high temperature, hyperthermia, or pyrexia, and it’s usually a sign that your body is working to keep you healthy from an infection. Normal body temperatures are different for everyone, but they lie within the range of 97 to 99. A temperature of 100.4 or higher is considered a fever.

A part of your brain called the hypothalamus controls your body temperature. In response to an infection, illness, or some other cause, the hypothalamus may reset the body to a higher temperature. So when a fever comes on, it’s a sign that something is going on in your body.

Fevers themselves generally aren’t dangerous, but you should check in with your doctor if:

• An adult’s temperature is 103 or higher
• A very young infant (under 3 months) has a rectal temperature 100.4 or higher (call your doctor or go to an emergency room immediately)
• A 3-6-month-old has a higher than normal rectal temperature and is also irritable or sleepy (call your doctor right away)
• A 3-6-month-old has a 102 or higher rectal temperature
• A 6-24-month-old has a fever higher than 102 for more than a day or with other symptoms such as a cough or diarrhea
• A child older than 2 has a fever that comes with rash, real discomfort, irritability, listlessness, headache, stiff neck, or repeated diarrhea or vomiting
• An infant or child has a seizure
• Any temperature over 104 in a child, which could cause a seizure
• Any fever that starts after someone has been in hot temperatures, which could be a sign of heat stroke
• The fever doesn’t go down after taking over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen in the appropriate doses
• You’ve been in contact with someone who has COVID-19

Fevers are signs of some sort of illness or infection. When you have, you may also notice these symptoms:

• Chills or shivering
• Sweating
• Headache
• Feeling weak
• Being irritable
• Losing your appetite
• Being dehydrated

A fever can be a sign of several health conditions, which may or may not need medical treatment.

The most common causes of fever are infections such as colds and stomach bugs (gastroenteritis). Other causes include:

• Infections of the ear, lung, skin, throat, bladder, or kidney
• Heat exhaustion
• COVID-19
• Sunburn
• Conditions that cause inflammation, such as rheumatoid arthritis
• Side effects of medications
• Vaccines and immunizations
• Blood clots
• Autoimmune conditions such as lupus and inflammatory bowel disease (IBS)
• Cancer
• Hormone disorders such as hyperthyroidism
• Illegal drugs such as amphetamines and cocaine
• Teething in babies can cause a mild, low-grade fever (not over 101 degrees)

Although a fever is easy to measure with a thermometer, finding its cause can be hard. Besides a physical exam, your doctor will ask about symptoms and conditions, medications, and if you’ve recently traveled to areas with infections or have other infection risks. A malaria infection, for example, may cause a fever that typically comes back. Some areas of the U.S. are hot spots for infections such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Your doctor may ask if you have been around someone with COVID-19 or have any other symptoms of COVID-19.

Sometimes, you may have a “fever of unknown origin.” In such cases, the cause could be an unusual or not obvious condition such as a chronic infection, a connective tissue disorder, cancer, or another problem.

Fever is usually associated with physical discomfort, and most people feel better when a fever is treated. But depending on your age, physical condition, and the underlying cause of your fever, you may or may not require medical treatment for the fever alone. Many experts believe that fever is a natural bodily defense against infection. There are also many non-infectious causes of fever.

Treatments vary depending on the cause of the fever. For example, antibiotics would be used for a bacterial infection such as strep throat.

The most common treatments for fever include over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen. Children and teens should not take aspirin because it’s linked to a condition called Reye’s syndrome.

Stay comfortable by: 

• Drinking a lot of clear liquids such as water, broth, and juices or a rehydration drink.
• Taking a lukewarm bath.
• Resting.
• Keeping yourself cool with lightweight clothing and bed coverings.

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what to do, what temperature is considered high and why it is dangerous, causes and symptoms

Fever, fever – this is what we call an increase in body temperature. This is the most important defense mechanism of the human body and one of the main symptoms of infection. Most often, we encounter a fever with colds and flu. High temperatures cause some discomfort, but it helps to cope with the disease faster. We will tell you why adults have a fever, when it is necessary to bring down the temperature, and in what cases it is not worth it.

Why the temperature rises

¹

Body temperature can rise for various reasons: due to overheating, inflammation, hormonal imbalance. The processes of heat transfer in the human body are regulated by a small part of the brain – the hypothalamus. The temperature rises with any physical or chemical impact on it.

An increase in body temperature associated mainly with infections is called a fever. It develops when biologically active substances, cytokines, act on the hypothalamus. The immune system releases them into the blood in response to the inflammatory process. The production of cytokines is also enhanced by the waste products of microbes.

Fever is one of the main symptoms of an acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI). But it is also a protective reaction of the body, aimed at fighting the virus. When the temperature rises, the immune system synthesizes more leukocytes, which destroy or inactivate pathogenic microbes, and interferons, natural antiviral substances.

What temperature is considered high

^2.3

A temperature above 37˚C measured in the armpit is considered elevated. When measuring temperature in the oral cavity, a temperature of more than 37.2˚C is considered elevated, and in the rectum – more than 37.8˚C.

Types of fever:

● Subfebrile – 37.5–38˚C. Accompanies a chronic or easily flowing acute infection.

● Febrile – 38-39˚C. A frequent companion of most acute inflammatory processes – infectious and non-infectious.

● Pyretic (high) – 39-41˚C. This is one of the signs of a moderate flu. High fever is accompanied by symptoms that worsen well-being.

● Hyperpyretic (critically high) – more than 41˚C. It occurs in a severe form of influenza, causes life-threatening disorders of body functions.

What symptoms accompany fever

^{4, 5}

Subfebrile temperature is accompanied by weakness, feeling of weakness, headache, drowsiness, chills. At a temperature of 38˚C, the skin becomes hot, the cheeks turn red, the patient feels intense heat, dry mouth. Lips dry out and crack. With pyretic fever, nausea and vomiting may join. Hyperpyretic temperature is often accompanied by a disorder of consciousness, delirium.

Fever increases blood pressure and heart rate. An increase in temperature by one degree increases the pulse by 10-15 beats per minute.

What diseases occur with fever

⁶

The most common cause of fever in adults is acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI):

● Coronavirus, rhinovirus infection. This is SARS, affecting mainly the mucous membranes of the nasal cavity and pharynx. Symptoms: runny nose, redness and sore throat, sneezing, coughing. The temperature is subfebrile (37–38˚С) or febrile (38–39C).

● Influenza. Influenza viruses can immediately affect the lower respiratory tract and cause a deep chest cough. Infection is most often accompanied by severe intoxication, which is manifested by headache, aching throughout the body, and severe weakness. The temperature can reach pyretic (39-41˚C) and hyperpyretic (over 41˚C).

● Respiratory syncytial virus infection. It often affects the trachea and bronchi, in a quarter of the patients it leads to pneumonia. Symptoms are similar to the flu, with the difference that intoxication is less pronounced, signs of inflammation of the lower respiratory tract come to the fore – a deep cough with pain behind the sternum.

● Parainfluenza. The virus infects the nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx. The infection is accompanied by a runny nose, bouts of painful coughing, hoarseness, and sometimes a short-term loss of voice.

● Adenovirus infection. Runs with severe runny nose, sneezing, conjunctivitis. The eyes turn red, watery, there is pain and burning in the area of ​​​​the eyeballs and eyelids. Unlike other acute respiratory viral infections, adenovirus infection is often infected in spring and summer.

Other causes of fever:

● any infectious disease of a viral, bacterial, parasitic nature;

● non-infectious inflammations: acute pancreatitis, aspiration pneumonitis;

● allergic and autoimmune diseases: reaction to vaccination, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus;

● diseases of the thyroid gland, adrenal glands;

● oncological diseases: malignant tumors of internal organs, leukemia, lymphogranulomatosis;

● neurological pathologies: traumatic brain injury, cerebral hemorrhage;

● thermal (solar) stroke;

● psychogenic: prolonged emotional stress, neuroses, hysteria.

When temperature rise is dangerous

Fever poses a threat to health with a strong rise in temperature, when the thermometer shows 40˚C or more. This condition leads to dehydration, disruption of vital organs, and significantly increases the risk of thrombosis.

For healthy adults, an increase in temperature during SARS by 3˚C from the norm (36.6˚C) is not dangerous. However, for some people, even a febrile temperature can be harmful. At risk:

● Elderly people. After 65 years, it is more difficult for the body to adapt to an increase in temperature due to the age-related decrease in the ability to thermoregulate, the acquisition of chronic diseases.

● People with chronic diseases of internal organs: kidneys, cardiovascular, nervous system. Fever increases the load on these organs and can lead to an exacerbation of the disease.

What to do when the temperature is high

⁷

Fever helps to defeat the infection faster. With ARVI without fever, the infection takes longer, is accompanied by a pronounced deterioration in well-being, and is more often complicated. Therefore, it is worth suffering malaise for 2-3 days and not bringing down the temperature, provided that the body temperature does not exceed 38.5˚C. To make it easier to transfer the condition, avoid any physical activity, drink plenty of fluids, do not wrap yourself in blankets and excessively warm clothes that impair heat transfer.

But there are times when it is better to bring down the temperature:

● The thermometer reads over 39˚C.

● The rise in temperature is accompanied by a strong deterioration in the condition: loss of strength, poor sleep, nausea, vomiting.

● The patient is at risk.

Fever above 40˚C in adults requires emergency medical attention.

Non-drug methods. Wiping with a damp cloth or a weak vinegar solution will help to reduce the temperature. It is recommended to drink more warm drinks, such as tea with raspberry jam. Raspberries contain natural salicylates – substances that reduce fever. Drink should be moderately warm. Excessively hot or cold drinks and foods should be avoided.

Antipyretics. If non-drug treatments do not help, take an antipyretic medication. The safest drugs are paracetamol-based, which can be taken even by small children and pregnant women. Paracetamol is included in most combined anti-cold complexes, which additionally relieve nasal congestion and symptoms of intoxication in acute respiratory viral infections.

Antivirals. Lowering the temperature is not an end in itself in the treatment of SARS. Antiviral therapy should fight the causative agent of the infection. To do this, develop specific antiviral drugs that prevent the reproduction of the virus and infection of healthy cells. In the treatment of colds and flu, enisamium iodide has proven itself well. Its use reduces the acute clinical manifestations of viral intoxication. ⁸

Enisamia iodide at a dosage of 500 mg is part of the drug Nobasit ^® Forte ⁸ . Nobasit ^® Forte begins to act within 2 hours after taking the tablet ^8. In addition to the direct antiviral effect, enisamia iodide has a pronounced anti-inflammatory activity ^{9, 10} . The combined action leads to a 3-fold decrease in the severity of fever and other symptoms of intoxication (headache and muscle pain), starting from the second day of treatment ¹¹ . Also Nobasit ^® Forte helps to reduce the duration of the disease. ⁸

Briefly about the main

● Elevated is defined as a temperature above 37˚C measured in the armpit. If it is caused by an infection, this temperature is called a fever.

● The most common cause of fever in adults is SARS. Other causes – infections, non-infectious inflammation, heat stroke, stress, malignant tumors – are much less common.

● Fever brings recovery closer, but often it greatly affects well-being: it is accompanied by weakness, headache, body aches. In the elderly and people with common chronic diseases, fever often causes dangerous complications.

● Cool down in healthy adults should be above 38.5˚C and in at-risk people above 38˚C. If the temperature rises above 40˚C, it is worth calling an ambulance.

● First, try to bring down the temperature with home remedies – cool body wraps, tea with raspberry jam. If that doesn’t help, take an antipyretic medicine.

● Antipyretics will ease the fever but will not speed up recovery. To defeat the infection as soon as possible, take antiviral drugs, for example, Nobasit ^®
Forte.

¹ Tatochenko V.K., Uchaikin V.F. Fever // Pediatric pharmacology – 2006 – https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/lihoradka

² Fugol D.S. An increase in body temperature in children and approaches to its correction // BC – No. 24, 2013 – https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=20603056

³ Vasilenko V.V. Measurement of body temperature // RMJ. – No. 29, 2008, S. 1948. https://www.rmj.ru/articles/istoriya_meditsiny/Izmerenie_temperatury_tela/

⁴ Dvovetsky L.I. Fever: to treat or not to treat // BC – No. 14, 2003 – https://www.rmj.ru/articles/obshchie-stati/Lihoradka_lechity_ili_ne_lechity/

⁵ Cheshik S.G., Vartanyan R.V. Respiratory syncytial viral infection: clinic, diagnosis, treatment // Children’s infections – No. 1, 2004 – https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/respiratorno-sintsitialnaya-virusnaya-infektsiya-klinika-diagnosti…

⁶ Kalyuzhnaya L.I., Zemlyanoy D.A. Heat transfer disorders and fever // Pediatrician – T.6, No. 1, 2015 – https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/narusheniya-teploobmena-i-lihoradka

⁷ Didkovsky N.A., Tanasova A.N. Fever. breast cancer. 2003; 4:189.

⁸ Instructions for medical use of Nobasit® Forte LP-006416.

⁹ Zyryanov S.K., Butranova O.I., Gaidai D.S., Kryshen K.L., Pharmacotherapy of acute respiratory infections caused by influenza viruses // Therapeutic archive – 2021, (1): p. 17-27.

¹⁰ Kareva E.N., Fedotcheva T.A., Semeikin A.V., Kochina N.A., Krasnoshchok E.V., Shimanovsky N.L. Enisamia iodide – influence on the key components of the inflammatory process in acute respiratory viral infections // Therapeutic archive – 2022; 94 (11): pp. 1233 – 1238

¹¹ Lioznov D.A., Karnaukhova E.Yu., Zubkova T.G., Shakhlanskaya E.V. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the ARVI treatment regimen, including etiotropic (enisamia iodide) and symptomatic therapy // Therapeutic archive No. 3 – 2020 G.

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High temperature? When should you see a doctor? — Into-Sana

Causes of fever

An increase in body temperature is most often a protective reaction of the body to infections, it contributes to the death of pathogenic microorganisms, accelerating the response of the immune system. It is for this reason that doctors do not recommend taking antipyretics if the temperature is subfebrile, i.e. does not exceed 38C – you need to give the body the opportunity to “fight” the infection.

At higher numbers, medication temperature control (taking antipyretics) is necessary. This is due to the fact that high temperature significantly increases the load on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and can contribute to the development of shock-like conditions and convulsive syndrome (especially in children).

Rarely, fever occurs in the absence of inflammatory processes in the body. This can be observed when there is a violation of the processes of thermoregulation in the brain due to its focal lesions, with hormonal disorders (hyperthyroidism), taking certain medications, poisoning with certain substances, neuroses, systemic diseases of the connective tissue, tumor processes, etc.

How to react to elevated temperature?

• If fever is combined with other symptoms of SARS (runny nose, sore throat, cough, etc. ), self-treatment is possible, the main points of which are bed rest and heavy drinking. When the temperature rises above 38C, it is necessary to take an antipyretic.
• Preservation of elevated temperature on the 5th-7th day of acute respiratory viral infections or a repeated increase in temperature after several days of its normalization is a reason to see a doctor. This situation most often indicates a complication.
• With an increase in body temperature against the background of the absence of symptoms characteristic of SARS, a visit to the doctor is mandatory.

Immediately (within 24 hours) seek medical help in the following situations:

• Body temperature 39-40C, headaches, muscle aches, pain when moving the eyes (suspicion of flu).
• High body temperature against the background of symptoms that are not characteristic of a common cold: shortness of breath, profuse sweating at night, pain when breathing and coughing, pain in the lumbar region, pain when swallowing, etc.
• Increased body temperature after medical manipulations and operations.
• High temperature in a person who returned from another country.

Call an ambulance in the following situations:

• High body temperature, severe headaches that worsen when bringing the chin to the chest. In this case, it is necessary to exclude meningitis.
• Fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. These symptoms are characteristic of intestinal infections.
• Fever, acute abdominal pain. These signs are characteristic of acute surgical pathology – acute appendicitis, acute cholecystitis, pancreatitis, etc.

Routinely (within a week from the moment of appearance) it is necessary to consult a general practitioner in case of subfebrile body temperature (37-38C) in the absence of other pronounced symptoms. A condition in which subfebrile body temperature persists for a long time, and the reasons for this increase are unclear, is called a fever of unknown origin.