FEVER
It is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set-point.
Types of fever
- Continuous fever
- Intermittent fever
- Remittent fever
- Pel-Ebstein fever
Symptoms
- Temperature greater than 100.4 F (38 C) in adults and children
- Shivering, shaking, and chills
- Aching muscles and joints or other body aches
- Headache
- Intermittent sweats or excessive sweating
- Rapid heart rate and/or palpitations
- Skin flushing or hot skin
- Feeling faint, dizzy, or lightheaded
- Eye pain or sore eyes, weakness
Causes
- Infectious (virus, Bacterial eg URTI, UTI, AGE etc)
- Heat exhaustion
- Extreme sunburn
- Immunological as rheumatoid arthritis, SLE
- A malignant tumor
- Some medications, such as antibiotics and drugs used to treat high blood pressure or seizures
- Some immunizations, such as the diphtheria, tetanus and pneumococcal vaccine
- Various skin inflammations, e.g., boils, or abscess
- Fever of unknown origin
- Tissue destruction as in hemolysis, surgery, infarction, crush syndrome, rhabdomyolysis, cerebral bleeding, etc.
- Blood transfusion
Diagnosis
Along with having generalized symptoms of a fever, taking one's temperature with a thermometer can confirm the diagnosis of a fever. A temperature greater than 100.4 F in adults or children is considered a fever.
Different tests may be done by a doctor, such a blood and imaging tests, to determine the cause of a fever and if the cause of the fever needs to be treated.
Complications
- Severe dehydration
- Hallucinations
- Fever-induced seizure (febrile seizure), in a small number of children ages 6 months to 5 years
Treatment
Fever is not a disease but a manifestation of underlying problem, hence we should always find the cause of fever. Conservative management includes cold sponging while medical management includes antipyretics as ibuprofen, Paracetamol.