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Index of Diseases and Conditions: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Fever

A fever is a body temperature that is higher than normal. It is not an illness. It is part of your body's defense against infection. Most bacteria and viruses that cause infections do well at the body's normal temperature (98.6 F). A slight fever can make it harder for them to survive. Fever also activates your body's immune system.

Infections cause most fevers. There can be many other causes, including

Treatment depends on the cause of your fever. Your health care provider may recommend using over-the-counter medicines such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen to lower a very high fever. Adults can also take aspirin, but children with fevers should not take aspirin. It is also important to drink enough liquids to prevent dehydration.

Fever on Wikipedia

:'''''Fever (album)''''' is also the name of an album by Kylie Minogue. It is also the name of songs by Otis Blackwell (rock'n'roll) and the Dust Junkies (hard rock). '''Fever''', also known as '''pyrexia''', is a medicine symptom which describes an increase in internal body temperature to levels which are above normal (37 degrees Celsius, 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). An adaptive mechanism, fever is the body's reaction to pathogens; it attempts to raise core body temperature to levels which will denaturation (Biochemistry), debilitate, or kill the pathogen. Most fevers are caused by infections and almost all infectious diseases can cause fever. When a patient has or is suspected of having a fever, that person's body temperature is measured using a thermometer. If successful in ridding the body of an invasive pathogen, fever is an important protective immune system mechanism and should generally not be suppressed. However, there are instances when fever escalates to temperatures where the body is at risk of destroying its own cell (biology) and must be brought under control with suppressive medication.

Mechanism

Fever is a positive feedback mechanism which acts towards the direction of change (as opposed to negative feedback which acts opposite to change to maintain homeostasis). Therefore, fever is the opposite of thermoregulation. Substances which induce fever are called '''pyrogens'''. When pyrogens are secreted directly by external pathogens, they are '''exogenous'''. Fever usually occurs in response to '''endogenous pyrogens''' (the most prominent one of which is IL-1) which are released from inflammatory cell (biology), such as macrophages. These pyrogens act on the hypothalamus (the body's thermostat), resetting it to a higher temperature and in doing so invoking the body's temperature raising mechanisms ...   [ Read More ]


External Resources

Cabin Fever - Official site with synopsis, cast and crew, production details, and multimedia.

Internet Movie Database: Cabin Fever - Plot summary, cast and crew, reviews, awards, quotes, trivia, production and distribution details, photographs, multimedia, and links.

Chicago Sun-Times: Cabin Fever - Roger Ebert's review: "The movie adds up to a few good ideas and a lot of bad ones, wandering around in search of an organizing principle."

HARO Online: Cabin Fever - Haro reviews the film.

All-Reviews.com - Cabin Fever - Reviews of the movie.

DreamLogic: Cabin Fever - Review by Chris and Kris.

About:Cabin Fever - Cast interviews, news, and multimedia.

Fever Pitch Links - Articles and Information

Colin Firth in Fever Pitch - Website with excerpts from the films, including photographs.

IMDb: Fever Pitch - Synopsis, cast and crew, and user comments.


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Familial Mediterranean fever

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