Fever temperatures below 106 degrees Fahrenheit cause direct neurological damage
the verdict
CONTESTED PARTIAL
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
4 sources for · 1 against
The retrieved literature indicates that while elevated body temperatures or hyperpyrexia can exacerbate brain injuries or cause harm at extreme thresholds (such as above 106.7 F), evidence supporting direct neurological damage from general fever temperatures below 106 degrees is limited and mixed, pointing mainly to secondary injury mechanisms or thermal stress in already compromised central nervous systems rather than direct damage in typical fevers.
Parents of 202 young febrile children were surveyed about their knowledge, attitudes, and fears concerning fever and its treatment. Forty-eight percent of the parents considered temperatures less than 38.0 degrees C to be "fevers", 43% felt that temperatures less than 40.0 degrees C could be dangerous to a child, 21% favored treatment for fevers less than 38.0 degrees C, and 15% believed that, left untreated, temperature could rise to 42.0 degrees C or higher. Fifty-three percent advocated waking a febrile child at night to administer antipyretic therapy. Young age of the child was associated with a preference for use of acetaminophen over aspirin and, unexpectedly, with a higher parental threshold for consideration of fever. The higher their child's temperature at the time they were questioned, the higher the minimum temperature that parents considered a cause for concern. Surprisingly, higher socioeconomic status was not associated with a lesser degree of fever phobia. In fact, parents of higher socioeconomic status were more concerned about the risks of brain damage or seizures as sequelae of fever than were parents of lower socioeconomic status. It is concluded that undue fear and overly aggressive treatment of fever are epidemic among parents of infants and young children, even among the highly educated and well-to-do. Considerable effort will be required on the part of pediatricians and other child health workers to reeducate these parents about the definition, consequences, and appropriate treatment of fever.
s A cool, damp cloth A cool bath Depending on the cause, additional treatment may include: Taking fever reducers (antipyretics) like ibuprofen , acetaminophen or NSAIDs (if age appropriate) Taking antibiotics or antivirals for an infection Stopping anesthesia Taking corticosteroids for a hemorrhage Receiving fluids through an IV to prevent dehydration Undergoing surgery to remove a tumor or severely damaged tissue from an infection or to treat the underlying cause When should I go to the ER? Visit the emergency room or contact 911 or your local emergency services number if you have a higher-than-normal body temperature. A body temperature above 99 or 100 degrees Fahrenheit is too warm (37.2 or 37.7 degrees Celsius). A temperature above 106.7 F (41.5 C) needs immediate medical attention. Advertisement What questions should I ask my doctor? What caused a high body temperature? What are the side effects of treatment? Did hyperpyrexia cause any damage to my body? How do I prevent hyperpyrexia from happening again? Care at Cleveland Clinic Get Emergency Medicine Care Find an Emergency Department Outlook / Prognosis What’s the outlook for hyperpyrexia? Hyperpyrexia is a medical emergency. If you have a temperature above 106.7 F (41.5 C), get help right away. It can cause permanent organ damage or be life-threatening if your body temperature doesn’t lower. Quick treatment can lead to a positive outlook. Your provider will tell you what to expect and how to take care of yourself. Prevention Can hyperpyrexia be prevented? You can’t prevent all causes. But you can reduce your risk by: Letting your provider know if you have had a negative reaction to a medication or anesthesia before Protecting yourself from injury or avoiding activities that could lead to an injury Treating or managing any underlying health conditions Avoiding any addictive substances A note from Cleveland Clinic When your body’s temperature climbs above 106.7 degrees Fahrenheit (41.5 degrees Celsius), it’s n
Managing temperature is an important part of post-cardiac arrest care. Fever or hyperthermia during the first few days after cardiac arrest is associated with worse outcomes in many studies. Clinical data have not determined any target temperature or duration of temperature management that clearly improves patient outcomes. Current guidelines and recent reviews recommend controlling temperature to prevent hyperthermia. Higher temperatures can lead to secondary brain injury by increasing seizures, brain edema and metabolic demand. Some data suggest that targeting temperature below normal could benefit select patients where this pathology is common. Clinical temperature management should address the physiology of heat balance. Core temperature reflects the heat content of the head and torso, and changes in core temperature result from changes in the balance of heat production and heat loss. Clinical management of patients after cardiac arrest should include measurement of core temperature at accurate sites and monitoring signs of heat production including shivering. Multiple methods can increase or decrease heat loss, including external and internal devices. Heat loss can trigger compensatory reflexes that increase stress and metabolic demand. Therefore, any active temperature management should include specific pharmacotherapy or other interventions to control thermogenesis, especially shivering. More research is required to determine whether individualized temperature management can improve outcomes.
Hyperthermia and central nervous system injury
## Abstract
Fever is a common occurrence in patients following brain and spinal cord injury (SCI). In intensive care units, large numbers of patients demonstrate febrile periods during the first several days after injury. Over the last several years, experimental studies have reported the detrimental effects of fever in various models of central nervous system (CNS) injury. Small elevations in temperature during or following an insult have been shown to worsen histopathological and behavioral outcome. Thus, the control of fever after brain or SCI may improve outcome if more effective strategies for monitoring and treating hyperthermia were developed. Because of the clinical importance of fever as a potential secondary injury mechanism, mechanisms underlying the detrimental effects of mild hyperthermia after injury have been evaluated. To this end, studies have shown that mild hyperthermia (>37 degrees C) can aggravate multiple pathomechanisms, including excitotoxicity, free radical generation, inflammation, apoptosis, and genetic responses to injury. Recent data indicate that gender differences also play a role in the consequences of
Hyperthermia induced pathophysiology of the central nervous system
## Abstract
This review is focused on the pathophysiology of the central nervous system (CNS) associated with mild-to-moderate hyperthermia (body temperature > 37 degrees C but <40 degrees C) induced thermal stress in Human cases as well as whole body hyperthermia (WBH) in animal studies. Pathological changes can be observed in the nerve cells and glial cells in Humans following mild-to-moderate thermal exposure. On the other hand, morphological changes in the axons, nerve cells, glial cells and vascular endothelium is seen at the cellular and the molecular levels in rats subjected to heat exposure at 38 degrees C for 4 h (body temperature > 40 degrees C but <42 degrees C). This effect depends on the age of the animals and their prior thermal experiences. Taken together, heat stress induced hyperthermia, once believed to be non-toxic in the mammalian CNS, do produce specific alterations in the CNS that may have long-term behavioural, physiological and neuropathological consequences. The probable mechanism(s) underlying hyperthermia induced brain pathology is discussed.
## Publication types
- Research Support, No
Everything we examined (5) — 4 independent sources
This check searched the claim as stated. It did not run a separate search for evidence against it.