Definition of fever
Fever is one of the most frequent inconvenience, especially for children or people with alteration of the immune system. It corresponds to the elevation of body temperature above 37.5 ° C and can reach 42 ° C. Usually an increase in body temperature is accompanied by other discomforts such as chills, sweating, headache, pain in muscles and joints, decay and loss of appetite.
Positive and negative effects of fever
Fever is a defense mechanism of the body, temperature increase leads to increased blood flow to the areas where the abnormal events in order that cells of defenses, as well as the mediators of the immune system known as interleukins, can get to start the process of Defense of the body against the aggressors are taking place. While the fever has an important raison d ' être, it is also capable of producing a series of adverse effects as in the case of the symptoms such as muscle aches, joint and headache, loss of liquids by the sweat that can lead to dehydration, the increase in cardiac output (the amount of blood that should boost the heart) and the requirement of oxygen which can lead to be descompensen people with lung diseases and/or heart. One of the most feared complications is the presence of fever in young children are febrile seizures.
Agents capable of producing fever
There are many agents that are capable of producing fever, these are known as pyrogens. The main ones are the infectious microorganisms like viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, it is also possible that the fever has occurred due to a reaction of the immune system, the injury of tissues after trauma or strokes, the presence of tumors, the use of medications or hormonal changes that occur in hyperthyroidism.
Fever can be of several types
Fever may occur following different types of patterns, makes it easier to recognize their probable cause. A common type of fever is that occurs after a period of chills, temperature rises to a maximum to descend producing great sweating, this pattern holds several days, usually this kind of fever is observed in infections by bacteria. It is possible that fever is present and is maintained continuously without variation, this is common in diseases such as pneumonia. It may also occur that fever is present for a few days, disappears to reappear after a few days, this pattern is known as fever in saddle and is very characteristic of diseases such as dengue fever and malaria.
What to do in case of fever
Fever is a sign that something is happening in the body, so it is not a nuisance to be taken lightly, the ideal is to go to the doctor to be able to identify its cause, however it is recommended to take measures to control it, such as:-Desarropar a person with fever and putting on light clothing. -Take a bath with water at room temperature or cold, during the bath it is recommended to rub since this helps to dissipate the heat. -Apply cloths soaked in water with ice on the skin of the forehead, neck, armpits and groin can also rub the back and the abdomen if the temperature remains high. -Apply moisturizing cold cream on the skin. -Use antipyretic medications, when don't know the cause of the fever it is acetaminophen, which is administered every six hours while hard fever. NSAIDs are very powerful medications such as antipyretics, however its use is accompanied by many side effects that can cause complications for what should only be used under supervision and health care.