Fever is also called PYREXIA and defined as a high temperature above the normal range or body temperature when rises more than 96 °F or 38 °C is considered as a fever.
Fever indicates that something is going wrong in your body. It also acts as a defensive mechanism of the body against infectious agents that try to disturb the normal body mechanism like indicating infection, drug reaction and sometimes external factors and sometimes is unknown.
Hypothalamus also called thermostat, which regulates the temperature mechanism through muscle contraction, increases cellular metabolism and fever, occurs when the release of Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) turns on the hypothalamus which creates the sympathetic tone of the body by which heat effect is generated.
Temperature is mostly documented in Celsius and Fahrenheit units.
How to check your fever without a thermometer?
While checking your signs consider these questions;
- Is your forehead warm?
- Do you have muscles aching?
- Do you feel restless or weak?
- Do you have red, sore, and painful eyes?
- Do you have a headache?
- Do you have a poor appetite?
- Are you thirsty or feel your skin dehydrated?
- Feel your neck and underarms lymph node, are they swollen?
How to predict if other people are suffering from fever?
Here are some points that you will notice when seeing any fever patient;
- Pulse will be fast (it is usually considered as tachycardia but it also tells about body temperature)
- Redness of skin or skin rashes
- Redness of eyes and eye flow (shows high fever)
- Thirsty and dehydrated skin
- Hotter body than others
- Shivering
Some signs that you have fever
High fever is also called Hyperpyrexia
- You’ll have immoderate sleepiness
- You’ll have a confused mind
- Maybe you’ll have convulsions
- Feel pain in body or body parts
- Maybe vaginal discharge (because of increasing body temperature)
- Burning micturition
- Your body will be red
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- You’ll have running red eyes
Body parts used to check fever
THROUGH MOUTH OR ORAL METHOD
The tongue is a highly vascular area that reflects the core temperature. Taking oral temperature is better for adults than children. The normal oral temperature at rest is 98.6 °F (36.6 °C).
STEPS:
- Give 3-4 jerks to disinfect the thermometer OR clean the thermometer with a cold alcoholic pad that indicator got down from the normal level.
- Place the thermometer subliminally and wait at least 1 minute.
- After use disinfect the thermometer because the mouth is also the source of infection.
Note: avoid eating 20 minutes prior to the check.
THOUGH ARMPIT OR AXILLARY METHOD:
It is measured at the axilla. Its normal temperature is 97.6 °F (36 °C). It is the best method used fo children older than 6 months.
STEPS:
- Give 3-4 jerks to disinfect the thermometer OR clean the thermometer with a cold alcoholic pad that indicator got down from the normal level.
- Place in the underarm and hold the upper arm in contact with the body to ensure an accurate reading.
- After use, disinfect the thermometer.
THROUGH RECTAL METHOD:
It is best accompanied by a digital thermometer. Instead of using an oral thermometer you can purchase a rectal thermometer that has a small tip usually used by pediatricians. This method is used only when no other method is available. The rectal normal temperature is 99.6 °F (37 °C).
Note: The rectal temperature is more accurate than oral or axillary.
STEPS:
- Clean the thermometer with a cold alcoholic pad that indicator got down from the normal level.
- Insert the thermometer tip into the rectum up to 1/2-1 inch. Turn on and hold.
- After the beep sound, remove the thermometer.
Note: Reading will be inaccurate if the baby moves a lot.
EAR BASED METHOD:
The ear based method is also called a tympanic membrane measuring temperature method. It provides an accurate reading because the tympanic membrane shares its blood supply with the carotid artery. It is an effective method used in children and unconscious patients.
STEPS:
- Use a digital ear thermometer and place its plastic cap on it.
- place and hold the thermometer up to and turn it on(hold tightly because loose holding leads to inaccuracy and don”t insert into the ear canal.)
- After the beep sound, remove the thermometer.
Note: never use plastic caps more than 2 times.
NATURAL REMEDIES FOR FEVER:
- Stay cool and drink water to hydrate yourself helps to lower the temperature, thirst, and internal burning feeling.
- Giving yourself a sponge bath with lukewarm water helps to rehydrate the skin and reduce the redness of the skin of your body and also plays a vital role in decreasing temperature because increased temperature to your head can lead to mental damage or mental illness.
- Medication, use fever-reducing medication like acetaminophen (Tylenol) used as painkiller and fever-reducing, and NSAIDs include ibuprofen (ADVIL or MOTRIN), aspirin (ASPIRIN and ECOTRIN), and naproxen (ALEVE).
- Rest: as activity raises your body temperature, so avoid activity as much as you can.
- Wearing light clothes or pajamas helps you to relax .
- Try avoid using too many blankets when you have chills because sweating helps to reduce fever.
- Avoid eating heavy food because in fever there is a great chance to develop gastric ulcers because of low immune power.
When to see a doctor?
When your temperature exceeds normal temperature, neither reduces nor responds to any medication and elevated associated symptoms like cough, sore throat, ear pain, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
GENERAL QUERIES:
Q. How do you bring down a fever?
If you have a temperature then you should avoid a cold environment, make yourself relax and ease, take fever reducing medicines and drink and take a sponge bath with warm or room temperature water.
Q. How long does the fever last?
Fever duration depends on causes like if fever is associated with common cold, it will go in 2-3 days with rest and sponge baths. If the fever is associated with infection or other medical complications or diseases, it will last long more than a week so you should see a doctor, if the fever lasts more then 3-5 days.
Q. Should medication we use in fever?
Yes, we should use fever reducing drugs (tylenol, motrin, etc) but avoid high gram medicines that can make your fever worse.
Q. why shouldn’t we take a cold bath?
Because cold baths lead to a shivering in your body that gives signals to your brain to increase the mechanism of heat that will lead you to hypertension and fever got high.
Q.what food we should avoid?
First we should use a wash and clean food and don’t take heavy or fast food because your body is in a hyper state that makes your stomach upset and can develop stomach or duodenum ulcer or increase acidity.
Q. How do we prevent fever?
As fever is mostly the source of infection so we should take care of ourselves by avoiding direct contact with affected people, take a healthy and clean diet and make sure your immunization should be strong, if not, avoid things that irritate your health.
Before you Leave!
Fever is not a disease and it’s also a way of communication of our body so we should take care of ourselves when body gives signals. Use right ways to check, because a long period with accuracy in measuring temperature leads to a severe risk like seizures, hallucinations and organ or brain parts damage.