Fever, medically known as fever, refers to an increase in body temperature above the normal range when the body is under the action of thermogenic sources or when the dysfunction of the thermoregulatory center is caused by various reasons. Normal human body temperature is generally about 36~37℃, when the human oral temperature (oral temperature) is greater than 37.3℃, axillary temperature (axillary temperature) is greater than 37℃, or rectal temperature (anal temperature) is greater than 37.6℃, it is called fever. The thermoregulatory center In the hypothalamus, there is a thermoregulatory center, a region that acts like a thermostat and is specifically responsible for keeping body temperature at a certain value. Under its regulation, our body temperature can be maintained in a range that does not fluctuate much. Thermogenesis When viruses and bacteria, pathogens that infect the body, invade the body, they produce exogenous pyrogens that can cause fever, while white blood cells in the body produce cytokines to kill viruses and bacteria, which also cause fever, and they are endogenous pyrogens. Thermogenic factors act on the hypothalamus thermoregulatory center, resulting in an increase in the thermoregulatory point, causing an increase in heat production and a decrease in heat loss, which is manifested as fever. Let’s say the thermogenic source is a bear, and the body’s thermoregulatory center is like the thermostat of the room. When the bear (thermogenic source) turns up the thermostat (thermoregulatory center) set point, the body will increase heat production, resulting in a higher body temperature and a “fever”. Why do you get chills and shivers Usually at the beginning of a fever, the patient will feel cold and even have chills, in fact, the body temperature has already started to rise, but due to the general contraction of small blood vessels in the skin, the skin blood flow decreases, the body surface temperature becomes lower, thus stimulating the cold receptors in the skin and causing the feeling of cold. However, due to the contraction of small blood vessels in the skin, heat dissipation decreases, and then due to muscle chills body heat production increases, so the body temperature rises quickly, to the highest, the skin vasodilation, and only then the patient has the feeling of fever. Fever is a defense response Fever is a defense response of the body that increases white blood cells, increases antibody production, strengthens phagocytic activity, and enhances the body’s resistance to pathogens. Also, because the appropriate temperature for the growth of most bacteria is generally between 35 and 37°C, when the body temperature rises above 37°C, its growth and reproduction will be greatly inhibited. Besides, fever can be used as a diagnostic indicator of disease. Therefore, fever is beneficial to a certain extent. It allows the body to get rid of the pathogenic bacteria in the body without the help of foreign drugs. However, this does not mean that fever can be treated without cooling. When a person’s body temperature rises to 40-41℃, there will be neurological dysfunction and symptoms such as delirium and coma and confusion may occur; when the body temperature exceeds 42-43℃, it may cause death. Therefore, antipyretics can be used appropriately under certain circumstances, but not when you see a fever. Antipyretic drugs can only treat the symptoms. If the cause is not removed, when the temperature rises again after stopping the drugs, the cause must be identified and treated. How to treat fever correctly? 1, timely diagnosis In fact, the treatment of fever is not as simple as taking medicine to reduce fever. A common cold can cause fever, but a serious one, such as pneumonia, can also cause fever. A common cold gets better quickly, but if the fever is caused by pneumonia, people do not pay attention to it and delay the condition, which may cause more serious consequences. 2. Heat treatment Many people feel that “medicine is three parts poisonous”, so they try to avoid taking medicine as much as possible after getting sick. In fact, whether to reduce fever, when to reduce fever, how to reduce fever need doctors according to the condition of scientific selection, we should not believe the rumors, injection and medicine is not terrible, the disease situation is not understood but also left unattended is terrible. 3, drink more hot water When fever is high, because of the high body temperature, the body’s water can easily evaporate, so drink more water to replenish water, otherwise dehydration will occur or even lead to more serious illness. In addition, the water is absorbed by the body, it can enter the blood, can dilute the blood pyrogen, and then with the urine out of the body, thus playing a role in reducing the body temperature.