Still Frightened by High Fever and Not Being Sure What to Do?
Tags: Health, Parenting, Body, Life Lessons, Healthcare

The majority of people still fear high body temperature and firmly believe it to be harmful if left unattended. They fear that the body is sick, malfunctioning, and they must help it lower the temperature.

I am not trying to imply one should disregard the fever. But some time and critical thought need to be spent on the topic before deciding further. I have a biased opinion and writing by my research and experience. But I tried to present mostly referenced medical statements and judgment, adding some of my own experience.

I am sure that there are many experts on Medium that can confirm or disprove my writing. I will be happy to see any comments to correct my opinion in the right direction. After all, it does not matter who is right. As long as we solely want to understand, we are moving forward.

Who is fallible?

On one side, a human body — an incredibly well-orchestrated organism, which we widely still do not understand. Nature-driven, evolving, and perfecting throughout the centuries. In ideal conditions, the human body can thrive and operate without serious issues.

“Just one living cell in the human body is, more complex than New York” — Linus Pauling

On the other side, science — regularly argued as the only proven truth — and often taken as the ultimate one. Though we all know that science is immensely fallible, limited in understanding anything other than the currently available technology can validate.

That seems rather evident and natural. All systems in nature learn and evolve from their own mistakes. And both science and technology are growing, advancing, and improving their mistakes throughout their entire history.

Technology, currently experiencing an incredibly accelerating speed of change and growth — is continuously uncovering old scientific myths and blunders.

But lately, some difficulties seem to appear to help science grow and evolve. Has the current zeitgeist made science inherit a human characteristic — to cultivate an ego?

It tends to believe its theories are absolute. And it is becoming increasingly inclined towards deceiving and misleading to see those theories accepted.

Or, as I described in the linked article above. It acts similarly to the immune system of the organization — defend against potentially dangerous and destructive behavior.

Are we so unaware of the human body’s capabilities that we think we need to control and regulate our body temperature? Do we believe our organism is incapable of taking care of itself safely and efficiently?

“If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn’t.” — Emerson M. Pugh

One could easily replace the brain in the quote above with the human body.

My personal experience

My son has experienced a febrile convulsion at four years of age — a high fever seizure. It is (supposedly) an episode of brain contracting, caused by a high fever (above 39°C/102,2°F).

It is a very frightening event for any parent or doctor. I have written about it in another article.

Fever Management

The World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics published a detailed study on Fever Management in 2012. Results of the research have drawn noticeable conclusions:

Most pediatricians agree that treating a febrile child with antipyretics is mostly for relieving the symptoms of fever.

Many tend to prescribe antipyretics for any child with a fever.

with a fever. With fever (unlike hyperthermia), human body temperature is well regulated. A hypothalamic set-point balances heat production and heat loss very effectively. The temperatures do not climb up relentlessly and do not exceed an upper limit of 42°C . Within this upper range, 40°C to 42°C, there is no evidence that the fever is injurious to tissue .

and . Within this upper range, 40°C to 42°C, . “If there is morbidity or mortality, it is due to the underlying disease . The associated fever may well be protective.”

. The associated fever may well be protective.” Febrile seizures are usually benign. They do not cause brain damage .

They do . Prevention of febrile seizures is difficult and may not be achievable .

of febrile seizures is difficult and . Antipyretics can not prevent febrile seizures, while they are known to cause adverse reactions and some fatalities.” (WJCP, 2012)

Antipyretic for the fear? Whose fear?

I have witnessed doctors, too, being very skeptical and timid about febrile convulsions. There was a column in the national online medical journal. The Head of the pediatrics department, a respected university professor, expressed his concerns about the prevailing fear among medical society towards fever.

The fear mostly originates in a failure to understand this protective mechanism.

If seizures are merely the results of high fever spikes — and deemed as usually harmless — treating these can not solve the root cause.

“Antipyretic agents are ineffective for the prevention of recurrences of febrile seizures and for the lowering of body temperature in patients with a febrile episode that leads to a recurrent febrile seizure.” (JAMA Pediatrics, 2009)

Elevated body temperature differentiates as lower and higher fever. Why do doctors nowadays treat 38,5°C (101,3°F) as the limit before administering antipyretics? Preventively or out of fear? No unwanted side-effects in case of unnecessary administering?

Similarities

Treating a headache, for example, is quite similar. I believe headache is merely a bodily mechanism, forcing us to calm down during some intensive process, inflammation, or deficiency.

Does eliminating symptoms like taking a painkiller help? Or do we act against our organism (and later wonder about the potential appearance of unexplained consequences)?

Similarly, the harmful effects of antibiotics are widely recognized. In this case, doctors are well aware of the present-day overuse and warn the public about it.

Conclusion

What exactly do the measured numbers tell us?

When we have a fever, we are not in a mood for anything other than rest. What difference does 37,3°C (99,14°F), in contrast to 37,8°C (100,04°F), mean to us? How about 38,5°C (101,3°F) against 38,9°C (102,2°F)? No clue? Any point in measuring it at all?

Does our organism ‘fire up the system’ and accidentally put a ‘block of wood or two too many on fire’?

Or does it require a specific temperature for a particular condition for a defined time? Are we sure we know enough to want to play with our centuries-perfected immune system? And its mechanisms that have kept us safe for so long?

I might be wrong. It feels very contradictory and often conflicts with the prevalent beliefs. What you take away from my thoughts is entirely up to you. Build your own perspective and understanding.

I am not a medical expert to give advice. I only collect research and studies from medical professionals, link them together, trying to understand.