Fever (also known as pyrexia or controlled hyperthermia) is when a human's body temperature goes above the normal range of 36-37C (98-100F) - it is a common medical sign. As the individual's body temperature goes up, there may be a sensation of cold until the temperature plateaus (stops rising). People's normal body temperatures may vary and are affected by factors such as eating, exercise, sleeping and what time of the day it is. Our body temperature is usually at its highest at around 6pm and at its lowest at about 3am.
An elevated body temperature (fever) is one of the ways our immune system attempts to combat an infection. Usually the rise in body temperature helps the individual resolve an infection. However, sometimes it may rise too high, in which case the fever can be serious and lead to complications. Physicians say that as long as the fever is mild, we do not generally need to…
