Elevated temperature is the normal response of the body to the appearance of infection in it. The average body temperature ranges from 35 to 37 degrees Celsius, but most often it is 36.6 degrees. Elevated temperature is scientifically called hyperthermia. A slight, temporary increase in it may be due to physical exertion. However, both lowering it below 35 degrees, a serious increase may indicate that not everything is in order in the body.
Elevated temperature occurs both with infectious diseases and with heat stroke. Heat stroke occurs if a person has been exposed to high temperature for a long time. Often a heatstroke overtakes a soldier on a march on a hot summer day, sailors in tropical conditions, workers in hot shops, people sunbathing on the beach for a long time and participants in an incorrectly organized tourist trip. Increased temperature during heat stroke is most often found in people suffering from cardiovascular diseases or vegetative-vascular dystonia. The victim of heat stroke must be moved into the shade, freed from clothing that impedes movement, put something cold on the area of large vessels, the heart and on the head. Cardiac products should be used only if necessary. The victim must drink a sufficient amount of liquid. If help has not been provided, in some cases heat stroke can cause coma or even death.
If hyperthermia persists constantly, then this is a sign that not everything is normal with the body. For example, a consistently high body temperature is one of the possible symptoms of an infection, leukemia. If a person has a temperature higher than normal and it is accompanied by bleeding, this can also indicate the presence of tumors in the body.
If the temperature rises above 39 degrees, you should consult a doctor. With hyperthermia, which lasts a long time, accompanied by a worsening of the patient's condition, you should also consult a doctor.
Often there is an increased temperature during pregnancy. However, this does not always indicate the onset of the disease. A slightly elevated temperature during pregnancy is especially common in the first three months after conception. Usually it is caused by a restructuring in the body of a pregnant woman and, in particular, the production of progesterone. However, if fever during pregnancy is accompanied by other undesirable effects, then a woman should consult a doctor. Subfebrile temperature may be the result of any inflammatory process in the body, and any infection in a pregnant woman is very dangerous for the fetus. Elevated temperature during pregnancy in some cases leads to detachment of the placenta. Therefore, the heat must be eliminated. However, this does not need to be done if the temperature is not higher than 37.5 degrees, it must be knocked down if it has exceeded 38 degrees.
A slightly elevated temperature in the baby (from 37 to 37.4) in the first few days after his birth is a normal, natural phenomenon. Further, during the year, its temperature stabilizes within 36-37 degrees, but already at this time the norm is 36.6. Elevated temperature in a child is not always a sign of the action of bacteria. The baby’s body is very sensitive and tender, can respond to any change. Sometimes it even happens that a slightly elevated temperature in a 1-2 year old child is a reaction of the body to a change in diet, and other similar causes are possible. For the baby, you need to purchase a separate thermometer and wipe it with alcohol before each use. If the child’s fever does not reach 39 degrees, then it is not recommended to knock it down. If the small patient has prolonged hyperthermia, you should consult a pediatrician.