What is fever?
by Louis Kuhne† Warmth is always generated by fermentation; the more violent the fermentation, the greater the increase in temperature. This warmth is produced by the friction of the masses against each other and against the body, and likewise by the process of fermentation itself, and the changes in the fermentation accompanying it. Under proper conditions, every process of fermentation can be caused to retrogress upon its own course; and this applies to all the changes in form caused by such fermentation. This is a fact which has hitherto never been properly understood. But I need merely remind you how Nature melts ice into water, how the latter is transformed by great warmth and wind into vapour, and how this, vaporised and invisible, then again condenses and appears to the eye as cloud, pouring down as rain, snow, or hail to refill the rivers and streams, and by severe cold to be again congealed to ice. And all this has been brought about by differences in temperature. Constantly i
Lynn W. Herzog, M.D. Division of Ambulatory Pediatrics Children’s Hospital Department of Pediatrics Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts Lauren J. Coyne, M.S. Division of Ambulatory Pediatrics Children’s Hospital Department of Pediatrics Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts To determine the normal temperature of healthy infants, we studied 691 infants less than 3 months of age being seen for regularly scheduled well-baby visits. All temperatures were taken rectally with an electronic thermometer. The mean temperature was 37.5°C ± 0.3°C. Using a cutoff of 2 standard deviations (SD) above the mean, fever would be defined as a temperature 38.1°C. The 95th percentile was 38.0°C, and 38.1°C would correspond to values above the 95th percentile. The most widely used definition of fever at present is a temperature 38.0°C; by this definition, 6.5% of these well infants would be considered to have a fever. A significant rise in temperature with age was noted. For infants from bir
Fever occurs when the body’s internal “thermostat” raises the body temperature above its normal level. This thermostat is found in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus knows what temperature your body should be (usually around 98.6° Fahrenheit, or about 37° Celsius) and will send messages to your body to keep it that way. Most people’s body temperatures even change a little bit during the course of the day: It’s usually a little lower in the morning and a little higher in the evening and can fluctuate as kids run around, play, and exercise. Sometimes, though, the hypothalamus will “reset” the body to a higher temperature in response to an infection, illness, or some other cause. So, why does the hypothalamus tell the body to change to a new temperature? Researchers believe turning up the heat is the body’s way of fighting the germs that cause infections and making the body a less comfortable place for them.
Fever is the first weapon in the arsenal used when foreign substances invade a body. Chemicals released by the foreign substances stimulate the hypothalamus to increase the body temperature. The hypothalamus is the thermostat of the body. The hypothalamus can raise or lower body temperature through chemical signals to other systems to make the changes necessary. A fever is the response to foreign substances, bacteria or viruses in the body. Fever has benefits. The higher body temperature does not allow certain chemicals and nutrients to be available for the bacterial or virus to exist and/or reproduce. The higher body temperature works with the immune system to fight off infection. Fever is a symptom that should be reported to a health care provider. Each person should find out his or her specific healthcare providers guidelines for reporting a fever.
• Fever: Elevation of the body temperature above the normal 37 degrees celsius. • Fever: A rise in body temperature above the normal, often as a response to infection. [GO:jl] Source – Diseases Database • Fever: a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection. Source – WordNet 2.
