Our bodies will do their best to achieve homeostasis. This means that everything within our bodies should achieve a certain balance to ensure good health and normal functioning.
Typically, our body temperature hovers between 36-37 degrees centigrade. However, if our body temperature starts to rise, then that is a condition commonly known as Fever.
When our body temperature rises up, we may feel colder than usual. So, why do we experience a sudden increase in body temperature? Well, our bodies start to increase internal temperature as a warning sign of infection.
Invading pathogens might have been detected by the body and it is doing their best to kill them off. One way is to increase our body temperature simply because doing so would kill the vast majority of them. However, the problem arises if our bodies raise their temperature way too high which can lead to further complications.
Physicians would often say that having an increased temperature is not a cause for concern as it is just the body’s way of ridding itself of foreign bodies. When you suspect that you have a fever, the best thing that you can do is increase your fluid intake a little bit while also getting ample amounts of rest.
Causes
Fever can actually be caused by a lot of different factors, including:
- A Side effect of some medications
- An Infection
- Dehydration
- Overexposure to the sun
- Heatstroke
- Stem cell treatment (in rare cases)
- Alcohol withdrawal
- Drug abuse
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- And many more
You are deemed to have a low-grade fever if you have a body temperature of 38.1-39 Degrees Centigrade. You have a high-grade fever if you a body temperature of 40.1-41.1 Degrees Centigrade.
Treatment
If you suffer from mild fever, it is best that you just leave it be as it is your body’s way of fighting invading pathogens. You might have had an internal infection that your immune system is trying to kill off. So, if you’re just suffering from mild fever, just take plenty of rest while also drinking plenty of fluids as well.
If the fever is quite high, you can take some over-the-counter medications to help lower it down. You can take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or aspirin to treat the fever.
However, if the fever is getting high or it ramps up in severity, it may be due to the fact that your body cannot kill off the foreign body. When this is the case, your doctors may prescribe some antibiotics.
If your condition is viral in nature, taking NSAIDs will help alleviate the symptoms. Antibiotics will have no effect against viral pathogens simply because they are of a different strain.
People who suffer from heat stroke would have to cool down first. Take them to room temperature and then slowly go to a room which has been cooled by an air-conditioning system. Taking NSAIDs will not be necessary. If the person is unconscious, bring them to the doctor immediately.
The best thing of all would be to increase your fluid intake. Drink an additional two glasses of water or more just to make sure that your body is well-hydrated at all times.
