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virgil
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### Odd symptom

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Post by virgil » Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:47 am

About six hours ago, I started feeling feverish, sweaty (it's about 75F), tired, and a sore throat. I drank a fair bit of water (felt like I'd get nauseous if I ate) and tried to sleep, but for at least three hours my extremities were so hot that I was shivering while wrapped up in a couple comforters.
Not sure why, but on a whim I decided to draw a hot bath in my shivering fever, and sat in it reading for an hour while keeping the water hot. What was weird was that normally I have to leave in 20 minutes for the bath, because it gets incredibly muggy and I feel uncomfortably hot and sweaty. However, I felt comfortable for the entire time (almost cool), the shivers going away once the bath started and I didn't even notice the sweat/condensation.
Once I got out, I still feel a fever, but not as strong (removed a comforter because it got too hot). I'm still kind of uncomfortable, as the sore throat & headache remain as well, and can't sleep.
I'm little curious as to whether anyone knows what I might have.
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Username17
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###

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Post by Username17 » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:13 am

That symptom is simply normal fever. It indicates that your body believes that it is infected with a foreign organism/virus/whatever.
The really simple way to think about it is that your body normally has what is essentially a thermostat. If the body rises above 37 degrees it endeavors to cool off, and if the body drops below 37 degrees it endeavors to warm up. During a fever, the extra heat has to come from somewhere. So what the body does to start the process is to raise the thermostat. Thus, if the body falls below the set fever temperature, the body will perform actions to raise the heat.
That's where shivering and such come from, as well as the subjective feeling of cold. That's exactly what your body would do if it were normal but the core was well below the normal temperature (like you'd just come out of an ice bath and were dying of hypothermia). So if during a fever you do things that would under normal circumstances make your body too hot it will feel as comfortable as if you had done things to make your body normal temperature under normal circumstances.
Because 39 is the new 37.
Or if you'd prefer, 102F is the new 98.6F.
This can be a serous problem if the new target temperature is around 105F, so when your fever feels bad, make sure to measure it. After all, while many invasive pathogens have a narrow temperature range that they can survive in, so does your brain.
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virgil
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###

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Post by virgil » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:34 am

So what do I do if I actually have a temp of 38.9?
Last edited by virgil on Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Username17
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###

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Post by Username17 » Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:12 am

> virgileso wrote:So what do I do if I actually have a temp of 38.9?

Make yourself comfortable. Seriously, 39 degrees is not a life threatening temperature, at least not if you have it for an aggressively finite period. So wrapping yourself up in blankets and eating hot soup is recommended.
It's time to fight a fever if it stays over 39 degrees for several days or if it stays above 40. Otherwise, the fever is an alarming, but natural part of the body's defense mechanisms.
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Crissa
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###

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Post by Crissa » Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:54 pm

Also, people vary from individual to individual of what their actual operating temperature is. So, for my Sammi, it's a degree warmer than average, while I'm usually a half degree F cooler.
It can suck, but listening to your body and providing it the inputs it wants (within reason) like you did usually is good ^-^
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The Vigilante
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Post by The Vigilante » Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:38 am

Yeah, that's just a normal fever. I am very prone to those, like when I get the flu it's pretty typical for me to sweat through several layers of towels and end up getting the mattress wet anyway. I just power through those until I start to hallucinate and / or get confused, then I just get in an ice-cold bath. It really sucks, and you'll shiver as all fuck and want to get into a hot bath but that's really the worst thing you could to at that point.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no one - for I am the meanest motherfucker in the valley.
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erik
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###

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Post by erik » Thu Jan 21, 2010 8:32 am

> The Vigilante wrote:Yeah, that's just a normal fever. I am very prone to those, like when I get the flu it's pretty typical for me to sweat through several layers of towels and end up getting the mattress wet anyway. I just power through those until I start to hallucinate and / or get confused, then I just get in an ice-cold bath. It really sucks, and you'll shiver as all fuck and want to get into a hot bath but that's really the worst thing you could to at that point.

Um, I do not believe that an ice cold bath is a recommended solution unless you really have to lower your body temperature (like before your brain fries). And honestly at that point medical professionals (i.e. yer doctor) should be involved in your care anywho.
http://coldflu.about.com/od/whentoseead ... ever_4.htm
Seems as though a lukewarm bath is what is recommended.
My worst fever experience was after I came home from a Mexico vacation and I ran 100-102º for a bit over 2 days (apparently I should have sought treatment after the 48 hour mark, oops). Afterwards a portion of my hand and forearm were tingly for a few days and numb for months (numbness slowly disappeared, my pinky took at least 6 months to be normal again), which probably wasn't the bestest sign for how well I dealt with that fever.
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The Vigilante
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###

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Post by The Vigilante » Thu Jan 21, 2010 8:41 pm

> erik wrote:
> Um, I do not believe that an ice cold bath is a recommended solution unless you really have to lower your body temperature (like before your brain fries). And honestly at that point medical professionals (i.e. yer doctor) should be involved in your care anywho.
> http://coldflu.about.com/od/whentoseead ... ever_4.htm
> Seems as though a lukewarm bath is what is recommended.

I know it's only as a last resort. As I said, it's only when I start hallucinating or when I get confused that my girlfriend makes me take such a bath. At that point, my only other option is to go to the ER since I don't have an actual doctor.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no one - for I am the meanest motherfucker in the valley.
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