Fever
Normally the body temperature is about 98.60 F. (370 C.). Under conditions of health it is maintained at a surprisingly constant level by the reflex regulation of heat production and heat elimination.
The body responds to infections and inflammations, as well as to tissue destruction, by fever. When the increase takes place rapidly, the patient may experience chills while the heat-regulating mechanism is adjusting to its new higher level. Sweating is common when fever is receding.
The presence or absence of fever is commonly used as an index of whether a person is sick or well. The progress of an illness is followed by keeping a record of the body temperature taken several times a day. The usual upper limit of fever in severe illnesses is about 1060 F. (410 C.). Typically; the body does not tolerate temperatures above this level. In serious illnesses the physician uses some means of lowering the body temperature.
Fever occurs in heatstroke. Here there is a high external temperature coupled with a failure of the body's heat-dissipating mechanism. Also the use of certain drugs causes an elevation of body temperature; and strenuous physical exercise will cause the body temperature to rise temporarily. In infants the temperature rises in response to dehydration.
