Fever

A guide on Fever covering signs and symptoms, prevention & treatment.

Fever also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using values between 37.2 and 38.3 °C (99.0 and 100.9 °F) in humans.

The increase in set-point triggers increased muscle contractions and causes a feeling of cold or chills.This results in greater heat production and efforts to conserve heat. When the setpoint temperature returns to normal, a person feels hot, becomes flushed, and may begin to sweat. Rarely a fever may trigger a febrile seizure, with this being more common in young children.Fevers do not typically go higher than 41 to 42 °C (105.8 to 107.6 °F).