Fever, its types and its role in fighting germs
What is fever?
Fever is a temporary rise in body temperature from the normal range, which is an indication of an abnormal body exposure. We can distinguish mild fever from severe by measuring the temperature, and if the human body suffers a slight rise in temperature that may reach 38 degrees Celsius it is considered a slight fever, but if the temperature rises above that it is considered a severe fever.
For example, you may develop a mild fever when suffering from influenza, which may lead you to seek treatment and may decrease on its own, so mild fever is a positive indication that the immune system is working effectively against infection factors.
What are the causes of fever?
Fever often occurs when the body is infected with one of the infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Fever may be accompanied by some other conditions such as specific types of cancer, coronary artery blockage, some blood disorders, side effects of some medications, and rheumatoid arthritis. It may appear after taking vaccines such as the liver and diphtheria vaccine, and fever may also result from physiological pressures such as strenuous exercise, sunstroke, or stroke, or it may result from an unknown cause.
What are the symptoms of fever?
When we are healthy, body temperature tends to 37 degrees Celsius, but when the body is exposed to an infection, people often experience a rise in temperature or fever so that the body can eliminate some types of viruses and bacteria sensitive to temperature changes.
When a person develops a fever, a decrease in the volume of both blood and urine occurs as a result of water loss through increased sweating in the body. Rapid protein breakage in the body increases the excretion of nitrogenous products in the urine. So, when a rapid rise in body temperature, the person may feel cold or chills. In contrast, when the body temperature drops rapidly, the affected person may feel warm and the skin moisturized.
It is considered one of the most common symptoms of fever:
Headache
Chills
Sweating
Muscle pain
ophthalmia
Anorexia
Drought
General weakness
Enlarged lymph nodes
Children or infants may experience the following symptoms:
Dermatitis
Idle
pallor
Inability to eat, drink or breastfeed
Difficulty swallowing
In cases of severe fever, it may be a symptom of fever:
Convulsions
diarrhea
Skin rash
Severe pain in parts of the body
Vomiting.
What are the types of fever?
Types of fever are divided into the following:
Persistent fever
The affected person suffers from persistent fever, if the person's temperature remains above the normal within twenty-four hours, not to exceed one degree Celsius. Among the diseases associated with persistent fever are pneumonia, urinary tract infection and typhoid fever.
Intermittent fever
It is a type of fever that appears for a specified period of time as a few hours and disappears, so that the temperature stabilizes at its normal rate, and then re-emerges. Diseases associated with intermittent fever, malaria, and septicemia
Recurrent fever
This type of fever is similar to persistent fever in that the affected person will suffer a high temperature above the normal rate continuously throughout the day, but the difference is that the temperature fluctuates more than 1 degree Celsius in 24 hours and the diseases that cause infectious endocarditis, which causes Inflammation of the inner tissues of the heart.
Treating a fever
When treating a fever, determining the underlying cause of the condition is essential and it is best to leave the low-grade fever untreated as light fever disappears on its own after one to three days to help the body resist infectious agents on its own by the immune system.
In cases of high fever, it can be treated with the use of acetaminophen or ibuprofen, which affects areas of temperature regulation in the brain, after consulting a doctor.
You should note that a fever that lasts longer than usual even if it is a mild fever may be considered dangerous, as it may be an indication of a serious health condition or the presence of severe infectious agents that the body alone cannot resist.
Nutritional advice for dealing with fever
After you know what a fever is, you must know some nutritional advice to deal with a fever. If an infected person suffers from a fever, he may also develop anorexia and the body is burning more calories so that the body can resist the infection. So it is necessary to strengthen the immune system with the nutrients it needs in order to combat infection factors.
Among the foods that will help you in the healing process are eating easily digestible foods such as chicken soup, yogurt, coconut water, herbs, and fruits, many of which may contain vitamin C such as kiwi, oranges, and strawberries. Foods rich in beta-carotene include apricots, beef liver, beets, melons, carrots, sweet potatoes, tangerines, tomatoes, and melons.
You should eat foods rich in vitamin E such as almonds, nuts, salmon, and sunflower seeds. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals help support immune system functions and eliminate fever.
On the other hand, you should avoid consuming drinks that contain soda or caffeine because it can cause dehydration and avoid eating sugary foods and drinks as it may cause infections in the body and hinder the work of your immune system.
