Vasculitis: Symptoms, Types & Treatment
Feeling Feverish But No Fever: Causes, Treatments, And More - Healthline
It's possible to feel feverish but not be running an actual temperature. Underlying medical conditions, hormone fluctuations, and lifestyle may all contribute to these feelings.
Feeling feverish or hot may be one of the first signs of having a fever. But sometimes you may feel like you have a fever when you do not.
While an occasional feverish feeling isn't necessarily a cause for concern, ongoing, or chronic, feelings of having a fever without an elevated body temperature could signify an undiagnosed medical condition.
Here's what you need to know about feeling feverish without having a fever, and what you can do to treat it. It's also important to know when you should see a medical professional for further evaluation.
Certain underlying medical conditions may cause feelings of feverishness without actually causing a fever. Here are a few potential causes to consider:
Anxiety
Feeling anxious may induce feverishness. While similar to a psychogenic or emotional fever, anxiety can make you feel hot without necessarily increasing your core body temperature.
Diabetes
Hyperthyroidism
Other common symptoms of hyperthyroidism include:
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) may also cause heat sensitivity in some people. At first, you may notice blurry vision along with feverishness. However, heat sensitivity can also lead to more nerve damage and subsequent neurological symptoms.
The most common symptoms of MS include:
Your environmental and lifestyle habits may also play a role in making you feel feverish. Possibilities include:
Exercise can also make you feel feverish, particularly if you work out in hot temperatures. An inability for your body to cool down in hot, humid conditions can increase your risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Heat stroke, on the other hand, increases your body temperature to 103 degrees Fahrenheit or more within 15 minutes. This is a medical emergency that may result in the following symptoms:
If you or a loved one is presenting symptoms of a heat stroke, call emergency services.
It's possible to feel feverish but not have a fever, and there are many possible causes. Certain underlying medical conditions may increase your intolerance to heat, while some medications you take can also be to blame. Other causes may be temporary, such as exercising in the heat.
If you continue to feel feverish despite lifestyle adjustments, talk with a health professional for next steps.
How To Tell If You Have A Fever Without A Thermometer - Women's Health
Whether you're dealing with a sudden wave of chills and aches and pains, or you just feel *a little* hotter than usual, the desire to know if you have a fever ASAP is understandable. After all, a fever tends to serve as an indicator that your body is fending something off (like a virus or a bacterial infection). And, of course, we're now in a cold and flu season that's also happening during a global pandemic. You shouldn't panic if you feel feverish, but it's *a lot*.
If you don't have a thermometer laying around, or the only one you could find was buried deep in some bathroom drawer and you're not sure just how long it's been in there, is there any legit (or at least somewhat legit) way to gauge whether your temperature is above normal without a thermometer?
Read on to learn what to do if you're feeling feverish, no matter your thermometer situation, with insight from immunology specialists.
First thing's first: Do you *need* a thermometer to tell if you have a fever?The only way to know for sure that you have a fever is by taking your temperature with a thermometer, confirms David Erstein, MD, an allergist and immunologist based in New York. Doctors usually don't consider you to have an ~actual~ clinically diagnosable fever unless it's 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or above.
Also, asking for a friend here: Can you have a fever without a temperature? This is actually a super common question (you—er, your friend—are not alone!), but experts agree that the answer is no. "You cannot have a fever without having a temperature," says Jehan Riar, MD, a board-certified primary care physician with Mercy Personal Physicians. "Your body temperature being higher than normal is what a fever is." Most people are in the general range of 98.6 for a normal temperature, but everyone is slightly different, Dr. Riar says.
Unfortunately, your chances of accurately guessing whether or not you have a fever without a thermometer are fair at best, she says. Case in point: Patients who self-reported feeling feverish at a rural teaching hospital in India had a 58 percent chance of *actually* having a fever, according to a study in Tropical Medicine and International Health.
Related StoriesIf you've managed to dig up an old thermometer, digital and old-school glass thermometers alike should do the trick (as long as they're not damaged or out of juice), says Robert Eitches, MD, an allergist-immunologist and fellow of the American Board of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. But if there's any indication that your old-school thermometer is cracked or broken, wrap it up in a Ziploc bag and throw it away. Mercury (a silvery white liquid still present in some household thermometers) could leak out, and it's toxic.
Of course, before you pop a thermometer under your tongue, you'll want to clean it. Here's how to clean a thermometer properly:
If you don't have any rubbing alcohol at home, no worries—washing it off with soap and water is absolutely fine (as soap alone can break down and remove bacteria and viruses, including the novel coronavirus), he says.
What if you don't have a thermometer on you? Are there any other ways to tell if you're feverish?If you don't have immediate access to a thermometer but you're feeling, well, warm and icky, there are a few ways you can make an educated guess as to whether or not you actually have a fever.
Both digital and old-school glass thermometers are fine to use to measure fever.
Again, though, the only way to be totally sure your temperature's off the charts is to use a thermometer.
How long does a fever last?This falls squarely into the "it depends" category. "It depends entirely on what's causing the fever," says Aline M. Holmes, DNP, RN, a clinical associate professor at Rutgers University School of Nursing. If you have an isolated health issue, like a cold or strep throat, the fever could go on for a few days. "If you get started on an antibiotic with something like strep throat, the fever will come down quickly—often in less than 24 hours," Holmes says.
If you have an active infection going on in your body, "you could have the fever as long as you have the infection," Dr. Riar says. "It really depends on what the cause of the fever is," she adds.
When should you seek medical attention for a fever?If you feel ill and you've got a moderately high fever (think: above 102 degrees Fahrenheit or 38.9 degrees Celsius), that's your cue to call a doctor to figure out next steps, says Dr. Eitches. Otherwise? "In general, if you're experiencing fever associated with other symptoms such as shortness of breath, a rash, or confusion, it's probably best to seek medical attention," he says.
How do you treat a fever?Again, it depends on what's behind your fever, but there are a few interventions you can try. "If it's a viral infection, you kind of have to ride it out," Dr. Riar says. "It will eventually resolve with rest."
Taking a pain reliever and fever reducer like acetaminophen (Tylenol) can help you feel better and may also help your fever to break, she says. You can also try taking a cool shower for relief, Holmes says.
Just know this, per Holmes: "If you're not bothered by your fever and you're feeling okay, you really don't need to treat it."
Lauren Krouse is a freelance writer who covers health, domestic violence, and self-advocacy. Her work appears in _Women's Health, Men's Health, Prevention, Self, HuffPost, and elsewhere. When she's not writing, you can find her trying to meditate more, weightlifting, or walking in the woods with her partner and black lab.
How To Tell If You Have A Fever Without A Thermometer - Prevention
If you're not feeling well, it's understandable to wonder if you have a fever. But if you don't have a thermometer laying around, that can be a tricky task. Can you tell if you have a fever without a thermometer?
The answer is a little complicated. A fever is usually a sign of an infection, and it often comes with other symptoms instead of just having a high temperature. But having a fever means you should at least keep closer tabs on your health for a bit—whether you have a thermometer handy or not.
Meet the experts: Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York; Richard Ricciardi, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University School of Nursing; Eric Ascher, D.O., family medicine physician at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital.
P.S. Most people think of a fever as having a temperature that's higher than your usual. But the medical community generally doesn't recognize someone as having a fever until their temperature is at or above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
"We all have a baseline temperature and then a fever is an abnormal temperature," says Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. He points out that, as you get older, your baseline temperature may get lower. As a result, you may feel feverish at a temperature lower than 100.4 degrees.
First: Do you need a thermometer to know if you have a fever?Technically, yes. "You can feel feverish without having a temperature, but you cannot clinically have a fever without a temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit by mouth," says Eric Ascher, D.O., family medicine physician at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital.
That doesn't mean you don't have a fever if you don't have a thermometer nearby—you just can't tell for sure.
How can you tell if you have a fever without a thermometer?If you suspect that you have a fever but don't have a thermometer around (and don't feel like investing in one), doctors say there are a few signs of a fever to look out for:
Richard Ricciardi, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University School of Nursing, says. You also may feel sweaty.
The length of your fever will usually depend on what's behind it, Dr. Russo says."Individuals that have a self-limiting cause for a fever, such as a viral infection that you recover from may have a fever for a couple of days," he says. "For some people, that fever could last for a longer period of time."
Overall, Dr. Ascher says that many will last two to three days.
How to treat a feverThere are a few different things you can do to treat a fever, according to Dr. Ricciardi:
"I tell my patients if it never normalizes within 24 to 48 hours, even once with the use of medicines, to call their doctor," Dr. Ascher says.
Can you have a fever without a temperature?No, you can't have a fever without a temperature. "Having a fever means you have an elevated body temperature," says Dr. Ricciardi.
Dr. Russo points out that there are different variations to a fever, though. "There are low-grade fevers and much higher fevers," he says. "There's not a perfect correlation between the higher the fever and the more severe the illness, but very high fevers heighten the concern that the illness could have a bacterial cause, outside of the flu or COVID."
When to see a doctor for a feverDr. Ricciardi recommends seeing a doctor for a fever if you have any of these symptoms:
"Also, it is recommended to seek medical attention if you have a severe headache, stiff neck, difficulty breathing, chest pain, confusion, persistent vomiting, and rash," he says.
In general, Dr. Russo says that it's important to remember that a fever is an indication of an infection. "You should have a low threshold to see a physician for a high fever," he says.
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