Overview
A fever is characterized by a sudden rise in body temperature. It is a small part of the immune system’s overall response. Infections frequently result in fever.
Symptoms
At different times of the day and from person to person, body temperatures fluctuate somewhat. The average temperature is often defined as 98.6 F. (37 C). A temperature of 100 F (37.8 C) or above obtained using a mouth thermometer (oral temperature) is typically regarded as a fever.
Other symptoms and indicators of a fever, depending on the cause, may include:
- Sweating
- Chills and shivering
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Loss of appetite
- Irritability
- Dehydration
- General weakness
Causes
The equilibrium between heat generation and heat loss determines the average body temperature. When your immune system responds to disease, you get a fever.
Fever or a higher-than-normal body temperature might result from:
- A viral infection
- A bacterial infection
- Heat exhaustion
- Rheumatoid arthritis, which causes the lining of your joints to become inflamed, is one example of an inflammatory disorder (synovium)
- A cancerous (malignant) tumor
- Several medications, such as those used for high blood pressure, seizures, and antibiotics
- Some immunizations, such as diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP), pneumococcal or COVID vaccine
Complications
Children between the ages of six months and five years are more likely to experience seizures during a fever (febrile seizure). After having one febrile seizure, one-third of children go on to have another, generally within the following year.
Diagnosis
Your healthcare professional might:
- Ask about your signs and past health issues.
- Perform a physical exam
- To check for respiratory infections, collect samples from the nose or throat.
- Depending on your medical history and physical examination results, order any necessary procedures, such as blood tests or a chest X-ray.
Your baby can be brought to the hospital for evaluation and treatment since a fever in a small newborn, especially one who is two months old or less might signal a dangerous disease.
Fever of unknown origin
When fever persists for more than three weeks, whether continuously or intermittently, and there is no obvious reason, it is typically referred to as a fever of unknown origin. For additional assessments and testing in these situations, you might need to consult a specialist in one or more medical specialties.
Treatment
Your healthcare professional might not advise using drugs to reduce your body temperature if you have a low-grade fever. The number of microorganisms causing your disease might be lowered with the aid of these small fevers. Fever levels exceeding 102 F (38.9 C) are typically uncomfortable and call for urgent medical attention.
IQ Diagnostics provides a wide range of fever panels to diagnose all kind of fevers at affordable prices. The services are available across Noida, Ghaziabad & Greater Noida.