Does high fever happen for no reason in adults and when should it be dealt with?

Probably, every adult at least once in his life complained about having a high temperature for no reason. But you need to understand that such a symptom cannot appear without a reason, and the absence of other manifestations of the disease is not always an indicator of absolute health. By listening to your body more closely, you can understand that not a single symptom appears in it without a reason, we just do not always know how to correctly decipher the signals sent to us.

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Causes fever without cause in adults

Many of us know from childhood that a normal human body temperature is 36.6 degrees, so we tend to panic when the thermometer suddenly turns out to be slightly higher than this mark. When we say “I have a temperature,” we suspect that it has risen beyond the normal range, which means it could be 36.7 or 36.9.

Doctors say that a temperature increase of up to 37 degrees during the day can be considered a normal variant, especially if a person leads an active lifestyle. High physical activity in hot weather can easily cause the temperature to increase to even higher values. However, such a temperature is a fleeting phenomenon, the body's regulatory functions quickly bring it back to normal when a person is resting.

A risk factor for "overheating" in everyday life can be a stressful situation, strong excitement, after which a person can literally have a fever. But as soon as the nervous system calms down, the temperature that suddenly rose decreases.

In women of reproductive age, temperature fluctuations up to 37-37.2 should also not cause any particular concern, since they are most often associated with hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle. The same complaints can be heard from those who have experienced early menopause. They are tormented not only by hot flashes (heat in the upper half of the body), but also by real jumps in temperature indicators of the whole body.

As for the stronger sex, they usually associate "overheating" with heavy physical labor and overfatigue on this basis. And in adolescence, guys may have a syndrome called growth temperature. An increase in body temperature in this case is associated with a large release of energy, which in no way affects the well-being of the young man and is not accompanied by other unusual symptoms.

A high temperature without a reason may be a consequence of banal overheating in the sun, prolonged exposure to heat or a stuffy room. Elevated body temperature readings can be observed for some time after visiting a sauna or solarium.

Another factor that can cause temporary hyperthermia is taking medications. These can be antibiotics (tetracycline, penicillin and cephalosporin series) or anesthetics, barbiturates and diuretics, drugs for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, antihistamines and cardiovascular drugs. The same "Ibuprofen" (one of the most popular budget non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), designed to reduce fever somewhat, can also cause an increase in body temperature some time after taking it.

Usually, a violation of the thermoregulation mechanism against the background of taking medications is observed on the 4th-5th day. The increase in temperature in this case depends on the body's reaction to the drug and its effect.

It turns out that a body temperature above 37 degrees should not always be considered as evidence of illness, because temperature fluctuations during the day can reach about 2 degrees, i.e. it can fall 1 degree below normal or rise to 37.4-37.5. And even with some diseases, an increase in temperature is not considered a dangerous symptom. For example, temperature fluctuations with vegetative-vascular dystonia (and the prevalence of this pathology is extremely high) is a common situation. And although too high indicators are not observed, an increase in temperature occurs regularly.

Now, regarding temperature measurement, which can be done not only in the armpit. Everything written above is typical for armpit temperature, where it is most often measured in adults. But for the oral cavity, a temperature of 37 degrees, not 36.6, is considered normal, and rectal temperature measurement will give results of 0.5 degrees more. So the temperature that is considered high for the armpit will be normal for the anus. These points should also be taken into account before panicking.

As we can see, despite the fact that we are accustomed to associating fever only with colds, in fact, an increase in body temperature can be provoked by many different factors that do not indicate the onset of an illness. However, this is not a reason to relax. A one-time short-term "overheating" is unlikely to indicate something serious. Usually, the next day the symptom either disappears without a trace, or additional manifestations of the disease appear. If a high temperature (above 37.2 degrees) persists for more than two days without reason, this is already a reason to consult a doctor.

Temperature as evidence of hidden diseases

The situations we wrote about above are temporary phenomena and can very rarely cause a long-term increase in temperature. We are talking more about fluctuations in temperature indicators than about a persistent increase in temperature. But there is another series of reasons that cause fever. They can be called pathological in the full sense of the word, because their name is nothing more than a medical diagnosis.

Let's start with the fact that colds usually occur against the background of an increase in temperature. They do not always begin with a runny nose and a sore throat. ARVI, flu, tonsillitis can cause a sharp increase in temperature to 40 degrees and above in the first days of the disease, when other symptoms are not yet observed. A person may only feel a sense of fatigue and some weakness, which, among other things, can be caused by overwork, which makes it difficult to diagnose. The patient may suspect that he is ill only on the 2nd or 3rd day, when other cold symptoms appear.

Unfortunately, respiratory diseases are only the most common, but far from the only reason for a rise in temperature. Such a symptom can accompany many acute infectious diseases. An increase in temperature to 37.5 degrees and above without symptoms in an adult is evidence that the body has begun to fight the infection, the immune system has actively joined in the work.

Any bacterial infection can cause a rise in temperature, especially one that is accompanied by the formation of purulent foci. If we are talking about an intestinal infection, then along with a rise in temperature, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and loose stools are immediately observed. Infections of the genital tract in the vast majority of cases are always accompanied by unusual discharge from the genitals, foci of skin rashes that a person had not previously paid attention to. And subsequently, many patients do not compare the above symptoms, believing that they are caused by different diseases.

If there are no other symptoms with a rise in temperature for several days, and the temperature remains within the range of 38-40 degrees, it is unlikely to be a matter of overwork, overheating in the sun or a cold. Such a rise in temperature is caused by the toxic effect of bacterial waste products on the body, and not by the increased work of the immune system, and rather indicates that it is not coping with the infection.

What infectious diseases can be suspected if there is a high temperature without reason in adults:

• Most inflammatory diseases of various localizations caused by bacterial infection, which for a time can proceed in a latent form:
  • inflammation of the inner layer of the heart (endocarditis),
  • inflammation of the kidneys (pyelonephritis),
  • inflammation of the lungs (pneumonia),
  • inflammation of the prostate in men (prostatitis),
  • inflammation of the ovaries in women
  • inflammation of the membranes of the brain (meningitis), etc.
• Blood poisoning (sepsis).
• Infectious diseases (tonsillitis, tuberculosis, typhoid and many others).
• Infections transmitted by animals:
  • brucellosis (a less common disease, the risk of infection of which exists when caring for livestock or working on livestock farms),
  • toxoplasmosis (and this pathology can be contracted in everyday life when interacting with domestic animals, in particular cats, and eating undercooked meat). The temperature will be stable: in the chronic course it will be within 37-3.2 degrees, in the acute course it can be quite high, not amenable to the influence of conventional antipyretic drugs.
• Viral, fungal and parasitic diseases, which include acute respiratory viral infections, influenza, infectious mononucleosis, hepatitis, candidiasis of any localization, malaria, etc.
• Autoimmune and other systemic inflammatory diseases (rheumatism, vasculitis, scleroderma, lupus erythematosus, Crohn's disease, etc.).
• Disorders of the endocrine system, and in particular hyperthyroidism, goiter, porphyria (an increase in temperature with endocrine pathologies is not always observed).
• Inflammatory and degenerative diseases of bones and joints (osteomyelitis, arthrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.)
• Various oncological pathologies: malignant neoplasms in the liver, kidneys, stomach, pancreas, colon cancer, lymphoma, lymphosarcoma, etc. (in most cases, high temperature is the only manifestation of cancer in the early stages).
• Blood diseases (an increase in temperature may be observed with leukemia, but it will be irregular). Temperature within subfebrile values may be maintained with a low hemoglobin level (iron deficiency anemia).
• Injuries (both local and general increases in body temperature are possible if inflammation occurs at the site of injury).
• Allergic diseases (the only way to stabilize body temperature for a long time is to identify and remove the allergen), including reactions to vaccinations.
• Heart attacks (fever is rarely diagnosed).
• Vascular pathologies, including thrombophlebitis and venous thrombosis (in this case, fever and chills may be observed).
• Some mental disorders accompanied by increased excitability of the nervous system.
• Alcohol intoxication (without other symptoms, the temperature can remain at up to 38 degrees).
• Parasitic diseases caused by helminth infection (characterized by prolonged subfebrile temperature of 37-37 degrees).
• HIV infection (a prolonged increase in temperature to subfebrile values against the background of susceptibility to infectious diseases may be the first sign of immunodeficiency), etc.

All the above-described pathologies may be accompanied by a sudden increase in temperature, which may last for several days. Thus, in the absence of other symptoms, a high temperature without a reason can be considered the first sign of an existing disease in the body (chronic or acute, occurring in a latent form).

Temperature without symptoms in a child

As we have already said, a child's body differs from an adult's in that many of its systems are still in the formation stage. Therefore, various processes in a child's body (both physiological and pathological) may proceed differently.

An immature thermoregulation mechanism causes a child's body to overheat much more often than an adult's. Fearing that the child might get sick, mothers begin to wrap up their babies too much, even when it is enough to cover the baby with a light blanket. As a result of overheating (unregulated heat transfer), the child's body turns red, the baby starts to be capricious, and the temperature rises. Parents, in turn, begin to get nervous, because they associate the increase in temperature with a possible cold (from which they were trying to protect the child) or another disease, and due to the lack of symptoms of the disease, they are only at a loss. Now, against the background of worries, it is not surprising that the mother's temperature may also jump.

The immaturity of the child's immune system leads to the fact that children suffer from infectious diseases more often than adults. Subsequently, they will develop immunity to certain types of pathogens, but for now, purely childhood diseases can be added to the list of common infectious and inflammatory pathologies.

Due to the weakness of the regulatory functions of the hypothalamus, the baby's temperature can jump to critical levels (39 degrees and above), especially if the body encounters an infection for the first time. At the same time, the child may feel quite normal. If an adult with a temperature of 38-39 degrees simply falls off his feet, feeling terribly exhausted, then a child with the same thermometer readings will actively play and have fun, as if nothing had happened. And this confuses parents, since they cannot understand the cause of hyperthermia in a baby whose behavior does not indicate a painful condition.

When a high temperature occurs in an adult without a reason, it is a mystery that everyone treats in their own way, most often taking a wait-and-see attitude (what if other symptoms appear and tell you what is causing the fever). But a rise in temperature in a child immediately causes panic or, at best, noticeable anxiety in parents, although the child himself may not show it. It is unlikely that a caring parent will want to sit and wait for what will happen next, and hope that everything will go away on its own (although there are such mothers and fathers).

But to get your bearings in the situation, you need to have an idea of what exactly can cause a child's temperature to rise, regardless of whether there are other symptoms of the disease. You need to understand that if we are talking about children under 2 years old, then expecting complaints from them is simply stupid. Babies of this age cannot yet express their feelings and sensations in words, they cannot complain. In the best case, parents will have to deal with crying and whims, which can be interpreted in different ways. Babies, for example, can be capricious even when they just want to sleep, and this has nothing to do with the disease. But in the same way, a child can show that his throat or tummy hurts, and parents will not immediately be able to understand that rocking in this case will not help.

What are the most common causes of a rise in temperature in a child:

• Infections that children get even more often than adults.

It takes time for bacteria and viruses to multiply, so symptoms of the disease usually do not appear immediately. In addition, due to the weakness of the immune system, the symptoms may be smoothed out, so it may seem that the increase in temperature (the usual reaction of the immune system to the introduction of foreign microorganisms or the reproduction of its own "native ones") is observed without a reason. But the absence of visible causes of the disease does not mean that the child is healthy. Only an experienced pediatrician can help figure this out.

• Overheating of the body.

We have already mentioned that a child’s thermoregulation system does not work as clearly as that of an adult, so increased physical activity of the baby (and this is a normal phenomenon) can cause a slight increase in body temperature (up to 37.5 degrees, and sometimes higher).

Babies can overheat even on cold days if the baby is wrapped up too much during sleep, as happens when going for a walk in winter. But this is dangerous not only because of the increase in temperature. The sweaty baby can then sit in the stroller and freeze, which will cause an increase in temperature for good reason, because a runny nose and cough will join in.

And one more nuance. After a walk, the child will have to be changed into dry clothes, and if the mother hesitates, the child's body will instantly cool down, and cold symptoms will soon appear.

In summer, you need to make sure that your child is not in the sun for a long time, and especially not with an uncovered head. If solar activity is high and it is too stuffy outside, it is better to refrain from walks altogether, which will help to avoid overheating and fever in the child.

• Teething.

This is already a purely children's problem, and it can bother a child from 4-5 months and up to 2 and a half years, while baby teeth are cutting. And it must be said that such a natural process does not proceed without symptoms. In addition to an increase in temperature, other symptoms can be noticed: increased salivation, lack of appetite, tearfulness. These symptoms, of course, are not specific, but they can still hint to the mother what is the reason for the baby's fever.

Some symptoms can be noticed even earlier. For example, on the eve of teething, the child constantly pulls his hands and various small objects to his mouth, which can be used to scratch the inflamed gums. In the baby's mouth, you can feel enlarged gums and even sharp edges of teeth.

Usually, the temperature during the period when the next tooth is "climbing" increases to 38 degrees. If any complications arise, it can rise even higher. During this period, you need to be careful with walks outside, especially in cold weather.

Let's dwell on infections once again. It is important to understand that not only tonsillitis, acute respiratory viral infection or flu can occur with a temperature. A child can also get sick with another infectious disease, but due to his young age he will not be able to tell his parents about the symptoms that torment him.

For example, one of the most common pathologies in childhood is pharyngitis. In an acute course of the disease, the child's temperature will be within 37.5-38, and it would seem that nothing hurts. The tongue and tonsils may remain unchanged or slightly inflamed, but upon careful examination, redness and the appearance of small granules or ulcers can be seen on the back wall of the pharynx. The danger of pharyngitis is that it can precede such childhood pathologies as measles, scarlet fever, rubella.

Not only bacterial tonsillitis usually occurs with a high temperature, when we see a red throat, whitish coating and purulent foci on the tonsils, and the child cries and refuses to eat because it is difficult for him to swallow (fortunately, children under two years of age rarely suffer from such a pathology). Herpetic tonsillitis can also occur with a high temperature, while only small transparent bubbles will appear on the throat, palatine arches and tonsils, and instead of severe pain there will be slight discomfort.

If the child's temperature has risen, but the throat is not red, it is worth examining the mucous membranes of the mouth. The appearance of blisters and ulcers on them is associated with stomatitis. Parents may not immediately notice that the child has increased salivation, and perceive the refusal to eat as ordinary whims.

By the way, when the temperature rises, the infection does not necessarily have to be in the mouth or throat. The cause of the temperature rise may be acute otitis (inflammation of the middle ear). The disease has no external manifestations, so parents do not always associate whims and constant palpation of the ear with inflammation.

In children over 9 months, the temperature may be associated with exanthema - an acute viral infection caused by the herpes virus types 6 and 7, as well as some other viruses. At the beginning of the disease, no symptoms are usually observed, except for a strong rise in temperature. Later, diarrhea joins in, and the rash generally appears after the temperature begins to decrease. Usually, the pathology affects children under 2 years of age.

Urinary tract infections should not be ruled out, the only symptoms of which may be a high temperature and frequent urination, which parents may associate with the fact that the child got too cold the day before (for example, walked outside for a long time). In fact, everything may be much more serious, and an increase in temperature should serve as a signal to contact a doctor.

A slight increase in temperature can also be observed in a child against the background of an allergic reaction (the same diathesis in infants). After all, an allergy is a small inflammatory process in response to the effect of an irritant (allergen), and inflammation usually occurs with an elevated temperature, showing that the immune system has joined the fight against "pests". Whether there will be other symptoms is still a question. And mothers are not used to associating an increase in temperature with an allergy, especially if they did not experience anything like this in childhood. Many do not consider diathesis to be a reason for an increase in temperature. But each child's body is individual, and the fact that the mother did not have a temperature does not mean that the child should not have one either.

A child's body temperature may also rise due to poisoning. This is usually typical of food poisoning. In this case, the temperature may rise even above 40 degrees, which indicates severe intoxication of the body. At the same time, temperature, although it is a protective reaction of the body against bacteria that enter the body along with spoiled food, is considered a particularly dangerous symptom for a child. Children tolerate intoxication more severely than adults, they have a higher risk of developing dehydration, and the consequences of poisoning in a child with a fragile body can be much more dangerous than in adults.

Usually, poisoning is accompanied by other symptoms: abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. But not all parents understand that fever is also one of the manifestations of intoxication, so you shouldn't be surprised by its appearance in this case.

As we can see, children have no fewer reasons for their temperature to rise than adults. In addition, they have their own childhood illnesses that do not threaten their parents. The reason that children develop high temperatures without a reason is the inability of parents to read the signals that their small child gives them. In fact, there is always a reason, but the baby cannot always clearly tell about it.

Pathogenesis

There is a certain percentage of people whose body temperature is constantly elevated. This is a consequence of the malfunction of the subcortical apparatus of the brain, and in particular the hypothalamus, which regulates temperature indicators depending on changing environmental conditions. In such people, hyperthermia is observed on a permanent basis and is the only symptom of a disorder called hypothalamic syndrome. Moreover, the indicators of "normal" temperature can reach 39 degrees, to which the body will still have to get used to, because this condition can last for several years.

We are used to calling high temperature "heat" or "fever". But these names are more correct for hyperthermia caused by such pathological reasons as inflammation, infection, intoxication, etc. When it comes to overwork, overheating, stressful situations or persistent disruption of the hypothalamus, it would be more correct to limit ourselves to the term "hyperthermia", which best reflects the essence of the problem.

Body temperature regulation is one of many physiological processes that occur in our body every day at the level of a conditioned reflex. In a newborn, this mechanism is not yet perfect, so babies have a high temperature without reason, indicating overheating of the body, more often than adults. But over time, everything gets better without outside interference, and the body temperature is maintained within 36.6-36.8 degrees.

As we have already understood, the part of the brain called the hypothalamus is responsible for regulating body temperature. This small organ contains various centers responsible not only for regulating temperature, but also controlling satiety, sleep and wakefulness, and many other processes.

The endocrine and vegetative systems are under the control of the hypothalamus, so it is not surprising that with pathologies of the organs of these two systems, temperature jumps can be observed, once again indicating a disruption in the functioning of the controlling organ.

But how does the hypothalamus know which way to adjust the temperature? Scattered throughout our body are a great many sensory receptors that transmit impulses through the nervous system to the brain. The hypothalamus receives such impulses (a signal to act) from thermoreceptors, which in turn receive them from endogenous pyrogens – substances produced by our cells in response to intoxication (intoxication can be caused by poisons, such as alcohol, or toxins from a multiplied population of harmful microorganisms).

Receiving signals from thermoreceptors, the hypothalamus begins to actively restore the disturbed balance between heat transfer and heat production in the body, which is necessary for the implementation of the protective function. This is what can explain the increase in body temperature when an infection enters the body. High temperatures have a detrimental effect on microbes, which helps the cells of the immune system deal with them faster.

In oncological diseases, overly active malignant cells begin to intensively produce pyrogenic substances during the division process, which leads to an increase in temperature during active tumor growth. Thus, malignant cells deceive the hypothalamus, and as a result, a person suffers from a fever, the cause of which he cannot understand. But this does not mean that it does not exist.

What happens if a person experiences overfatigue or overheating? Why does the temperature rise in this case? What does the hypothalamus do at this time?

There are many questions, but only one answer. This organ has a lot of work to do, but it only switches on when given a signal. If there is no infection in the body, then the production of pyrogens is minimal, which means there is no one to transmit the signal to the hypothalamus to act. So it is inactive in this regard, does not regulate heat transfer, which remains low despite the fact that the body temperature rises under the influence of heat from the outside or increased energy production inside the body. A decrease in temperature occurs when energy production decreases (a person is resting or calming down after worries) or the body stops heating from the outside.

Complications and consequences

In terms of health hazards, both the very fact of a strong increase in temperature and the pathological causes that cause such a reaction in the body must be considered. As for the first question, a temperature of up to 37.5 degrees does not pose any danger in itself, especially if a person feels quite normal.

Of course, if the temperature is associated with an acute infectious and inflammatory disease, doctors recommend refraining from walks and active physical work, which will weaken a person's strength. And they are especially needed during the period of activation of the immune system to fight infection.

In principle, doctors believe that adults should only have their temperature brought down if it exceeds 38-38.5 degrees. This is taking into account the fact that not all people react to temperature in the same way. Some people can be knocked off their feet by even 37 degrees, while others calmly go to work (which is exactly what you shouldn’t do!) when the thermometer rises to 37.5-38 degrees. But in any case, you shouldn’t interfere with the body’s fight against the disease, because a high temperature (within 37.5-39 degrees) has a detrimental effect on microbes, and by bringing it down, we only allow pathogens to continue to multiply.

As for children, a thermometer reading of 38.5 degrees is not considered a dangerous limit. But you need to understand that children, like adults, tolerate heat and fever differently. If the baby, despite the illness, remains cheerful, does not act up and does not cry, you should not use antipyretics until the temperature rises to 39 degrees. When the thermometer begins to approach the mark of 39.3-39.5, you can start with folk remedies for reducing the temperature. It is recommended to resort to tablets only if the available traditional recipes of folk medicine are ineffective.

What danger can a body temperature above 39 degrees pose? An increase in temperature is actually the body's instinct for self-preservation. If the brain receives a signal about the presence of "aliens" in the body, it throws all its forces into fighting them. In this case, an increase in temperature is necessary to increase the intensity of blood circulation and metabolism, which, along with conditions unsuitable for the life of microorganisms, will help destroy the infection.

But the increase in the intensity of various processes in the body is associated with a large expenditure of energy and an increased need for oxygen. That is why doctors advise to refrain from active actions and provide access to fresh air during the period of temperature increase to 39 degrees, because this allows you to save energy and prevent tissue hypoxia.

If the temperature gets even higher, deficiency conditions begin to appear, associated with a violation of the water-salt balance (with a fever, you need to drink more water, which evaporates from the heat released by the body), depletion of energy reserves, and a lack of oxygen (dehydration leads to an increase in blood viscosity, which now does not carry oxygen through the vessels as intensively).

The heart suffers first. On the one hand, it needs to work intensively, and on the other hand, the myocardium begins to experience a greater need for oxygen, which the blood no longer provides. Even the blood flow increased by the temperature does not solve the problem of energy supply to the heart myocardium. A further increase in temperature to 40-41 degrees is a risk of rupture of the heart walls (myocardial infarction).

Other organs also suffer from dehydration. The brain (CNS) and kidneys are the most negatively affected by high temperatures. A decrease in the amount of fluid increases the overall intoxication of the body. The concentration of toxic substances in the urine increases, disrupting kidney function.

The reaction of the central nervous system may manifest itself in febrile seizures, which often occur in children and can cause respiratory arrest, and cerebral edema. All this is associated with a violation of the regulatory functions of the nervous system. It is clear that the suppression of the central nervous system will necessarily affect the work of the heart and respiratory system. The heart rate will begin to decrease, blood pressure will fall, as will the respiratory rate. A further increase in temperature can already end in death.

The change in blood density itself is dangerous. And if you do not take anticoagulants (vitamin C, aspirin, etc.) at a temperature above 39 degrees, there is a risk of intravascular thrombosis and cardiac arrest, which will not be able to pump too viscous a liquid.

A prolonged increase in temperature is considered especially dangerous. If the temperature of 39 degrees lasts for more than 3 days, this is fraught with various dangerous disorders in the body. For children, this threshold is lower (38.5) due to the risk of developing fibrillation seizures and respiratory arrest, which can lead to the death of the child.

Temperatures above 40 degrees are life-threatening, regardless of how long they last.

But as we have said, the danger lies not so much in the high temperature (it can almost always be brought down with pharmaceutical or folk remedies), but in the pathological causes that cause it. The absence of other symptoms of the disease is fraught with a late visit to the doctor for consultation and treatment.

If an adult's temperature rises to 37.5 without any other alarming symptoms, the person may simply not pay attention to it. If the fever causes a deterioration in health or interferes with the performance of professional duties, future patients simply bring it down with antipyretic drugs, which does not contribute to the fight against the pathogens of the still latent disease.

An active life with a high temperature weakens the body, reduces its immunity, giving the infection the opportunity to run wild or, even worse, to wander around the body. So, a sore throat suffered on the legs can cause complications in various vital organs: lungs, kidneys, heart, hearing organs, etc. The same can be said about other diseases that occur with an increase in temperature.

A high temperature in a child without a reason rarely goes unnoticed by adults. But again, not everyone immediately rushes to call a pediatrician to the house, because it may simply be a symptom of teething or overheating, which do not require the participation of a doctor.

Waiting for other symptoms to appear, we only lose precious time. The acute stage of the disease, when treatment is most effective, usually does not last long, and then, if left untreated, the disease can easily become chronic and remind us of itself with episodes of fever (usually during exacerbations) throughout life.

And it's good if we're talking about a relatively harmless pathology. But an increase in temperature can also be evidence of an oncological disease (sometimes with rapid development). And the sooner treatment is started, the more chances a person will have to live.

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Diagnostics fever without cause in adults

A high temperature without a reason cannot be considered evidence of a specific disease. It can arise under the influence of various factors. Most often, these are infectious and inflammatory processes in the body, and then the temperature can be easily brought down with the help of antipyretic drugs. Less often, other reasons arise (immunodeficiency, parasites, some viruses, etc.), and then the temperature for a long time remains subfebrile (up to 38 degrees), poorly amenable to reduction with conventional drugs.

Even an experienced therapist or pediatrician, to whom we can turn with such a problem as a rise in temperature without visible symptoms of illness, will not be able to say specifically what we are dealing with until additional studies are conducted. Another thing is that in most cases we ourselves do not know what to consider symptoms of illness. We simply do not pay attention to such manifestations as weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite and others, not associating them with a possible illness. For a doctor, everything is important, so at the appointment you need to tell about all the nuances of the rise in temperature.

In addition to listening to the lungs and examining the throat, the doctor will definitely ask leading questions: what food did the person eat the day before the temperature rose, did he/she come into contact with animals, were there similar cases in the work (school, student, kindergarten) team, has the patient visited exotic countries recently, etc. It will also be necessary to tell about such symptoms that seem harmless to us, but in fact may be symptoms of a sluggish disease.

Laboratory tests can give the doctor much more information. The patient is prescribed blood tests (general and biochemical, it may also be necessary to take a blood test for glucose and a coagulogram) and urine tests (most often general, and if there is a suspicion of kidney dysfunction, a test according to Nechiporenko and others).

If there is some kind of infection in the body, its presence will be shown even by a general blood test, not to mention the inflammatory reaction, the intensity of which can be assessed by the number of leukocytes. If we are talking about the genitourinary system, then a greatly increased level of leukocytes will also be in the urine, plus there will be protein in it.

Infectious diseases (especially in the absence of symptoms that allow a preliminary diagnosis) require more detailed examination. Patients are prescribed tests for bacterial/fungal microflora and antibodies to viruses.

General and biochemical blood tests help to suspect not only infectious pathologies, but also oncology, which will require additional blood tests for tumor markers. The diagnosis is confirmed using cytological and histological studies of the affected tissues.

If you suspect a worm infestation, you will have to take a stool test, which will not only diagnose the disease, but also identify its pathogen.

If the results of the studies do not give a clear answer about the cause of the increase in temperature, the patient is prescribed additional instrumental diagnostics. This may be a chest X-ray, ultrasound of the internal organs that the doctor suspects, computer and magnetic resonance imaging of various parts of the body, Dopplerography (vascular examination).

Since high temperature can negatively affect the heart's activity, its performance is checked: pulse and blood pressure are measured, and an electrocardiogram is taken. The latter, along with blood tests, will help not only to evaluate the work of the human motor, but also to identify such a dangerous pathology as infective endocarditis.

Diagnosis of high temperature without cause is a rather complicated process, in which differential diagnostics plays a decisive role. After all, the absence of other symptoms except temperature significantly complicates the identification of the cause of the disease.

For example, according to Dr. Komarovsky, hardened children get respiratory viral infections no less often than unhardened ones. But the disease in the former may proceed only with an increase in temperature, and other symptoms may not appear at all during the 3-5 days of the disease, and will be an indicator that the body copes with the infection quite well on its own.

But a high temperature without symptoms at the age of up to 2.5 years may be a consequence of the child overheating (it will not last long) or teething (in this case, it is difficult to predict how long the hyperthermia will last). The doctor's task is to identify the cause of the disease, because the same ARVI, flu, tonsillitis require treatment (you need to help the body defeat the infection), and if the cause is teeth breaking through, special treatment is not required.

It is even more difficult to diagnose fever without a reason in adults with a history of chronic diseases. Sometimes multiple tests and examinations are required to get to the bottom of the hidden cause.

Treatment fever without cause in adults

The absence of a visible cause for the disease is not a reason to treat the symptom carelessly, as some kind of obstacle that can be removed with the help of antipyretics. An increase in temperature is a normal reaction of the body to the presence of an infection, which also provides a protective function. Bringing down the temperature just because it prevents us from feeling healthy means preventing the body from healing itself. But is this reasonable?

If you ignore a subfebrile temperature that lasts for a week or more, you can miss a dangerous disease, which will also complicate further treatment when the need for therapy is already obvious (for example, other symptoms will appear that indicate failures in the functioning of various organs and systems). This way, you can neglect an oncological disease or be a carrier of HIV infection for a long time without even suspecting it.

But it is also impossible not to bring down the temperature, which threatens serious damage to vital organs and systems. What is the right thing to do?

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Prevention

As for prevention, even hardening cannot save us from a rise in temperature. After all, this is a normal physiological reaction of the body, which is trying to protect itself from the encroachment of foreign microorganisms. And it is not the rise in temperature that should be alarming, but its absence when signs of diseases appear, which usually occur against the background of subfebrile (moderate) or febrile (high) temperatures. If the temperature does not rise, it means that the body is not fighting the disease, and weakened immunity may be to blame.

By increasing the temperature, the body informs us about the problem, and our task is to help it fight it and not to aggravate the situation. In case of hyperthermia of any etiology, first of all, it is necessary to provide the person with rest, access to fresh air and plenty of fluids.

Only small children can tolerate a fever on their feet without consequences, and even then they are recommended to stay in bed. In adults, such carelessness is fraught with various complications. The body must rest and gain strength to fight the disease, especially since the load on the organs during periods of high temperature is extremely high.

You shouldn't go to the hospital with a high temperature and sit in long lines outside the doctor's office. If possible, call a therapist or pediatrician to your home and monitor temperature changes while you wait. In case of severe hyperthermia and fever, take measures to reduce the temperature (first folk remedies, then traditional medications) and stay in bed, armed with a sufficient amount of natural vitamin drinks. Liquid will help keep the temperature from rising too much and prevent such an unsafe condition as dehydration.

High temperature (above 39-39, degrees) without a reason or in combination with other symptoms of the disease can harm the body, and therefore it cannot be tolerated. But premature forced reduction of temperature will not bring much benefit, but can aggravate the situation, weakening the body's defenses. It is very important to clearly understand the moment when it is time to resort to serious treatment, the possibilities of which will always be useful to consult with the attending physician, and not engage in self-diagnosis and ineffective treatment. After all, heat and fever are not a disease, but only one of its symptoms, which means that reducing the temperature will not always be enough.

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Forecast

A phenomenon such as high temperature without a reason can actually have so many causes, most of which are pathological, that it is impossible to make any predictions regarding the treatment of the identified diseases. The only thing that can be stated with great accuracy is that early consultation with a doctor with a persistent increase in temperature for several days, even in the absence of other symptoms, significantly increases the chances of a quick recovery, and in some cases (for example, with oncological diseases or acute intoxications) even helps save the patient's life.

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