What diseases will a persistent high fever cause and what are the consequences

Fever is one of the common diseases. Under normal circumstances, when the body temperature exceeds 38.5 degrees, we should seek medical attention in time and take necessary measures to lower the body temperature. Some patients recover quickly after simple treatment, but some people will continue to have a high fever, making the patients and their families anxious.

Medically speaking, a persistent high fever can lead to serious consequences. If the body temperature is too high, it is likely to cause the following complications:

1. Dehydration and acid-base imbalance. High fever can easily cause dehydration, and the body loses water when sweating profusely due to taking antipyretics. Dehydration not only makes it difficult to reduce fever, but also affects metabolism and blood circulation, causing acidosis, etc. At the same time, the sodium concentration in the blood increases and the blood becomes hyperosmotic. The child will experience dry mouth, thirst, irritability, and even nonsense or convulsions. The fever will not only not subside but will become higher. Hyponatremia may occur, which is more common in infants and young children who are usually malnourished.

2. Febrile convulsions. Some children may have convulsions when they have a fever, which often occurs when a high fever suddenly arises. The convulsion usually occurs once for each fever and rarely occurs more than twice. As long as the convulsion does not last long and is handled properly, it will not have much impact on the child's health.

3. Brain edema. When the body temperature exceeds 41°C, proteins in the body will decompose, causing cerebral edema and leading to the death of the child or leaving sequelae of encephalopathy. Therefore, when a child has a high fever above 40°C, emergency treatment must be given.

What tests should be done if the high fever persists

First, a thorough physical examination is done, followed by laboratory tests, which are ordered gradually based on the symptoms:

1. Routine blood test, urine test and stool test.

2. Blood culture and blood smear examination should be performed when there is chills and high fever. Blood smear examination: It is very helpful in diagnosing malaria, relapsing fever, leukemia, systemic lupus erythematosus, leptospirosis, etc.

3. If the high fever lasts for more than 1 week, Widal reaction, Weil-Fischbach reaction and Brucella agglutination test should be performed.

4. If respiratory disease is suspected, chest fluoroscopy or chest X-ray examination, sputum culture and sputum smear examination should be performed.

5. If liver disease is suspected, liver function and abdominal B-ultrasound examinations should be performed.

6. If there is a bleeding tendency, coagulation time, platelet count, prothrombin time, etc. should be measured.

7. If urinary tract infection is suspected, urine culture should be performed.

8. For patients with joint pain, antistreptolysin "O" test and C-reactive protein, antinuclear antibody, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum protein electrophoresis, immunoglobulin and other tests should be performed.

9. If the cause of high fever is unknown and antibiotics are ineffective, it is necessary to do lymph node biopsy and bone marrow biopsy.

10. Serological examination: Positive Widal reaction is seen in typhoid and paratyphoid; positive Weil-Felix reaction is considered for typhus; positive Brucella agglutination test is considered for brucellosis; positive eosinophilic agglutination test is considered for infectious mononucleosis; positive cold agglutination test is considered for mycoplasma pneumonia, etc.

Some small measures to take when you have a high fever

1. In addition to taking medicine as prescribed by the doctor, patients should also use physical cooling methods when the high fever persists. Dip a towel in warm water (the water temperature should not be too hot to touch) and wipe the neck, armpits, and thighs for 5 to 10 minutes. You can also use commercially available "cooling patches" (or household ice packs) on the forehead to help dissipate heat and cool down.

2. Drink more water and eat liquid food, such as watermelon juice, to ensure that the body has sufficient energy and water.

3. Ventilate more, pay attention to heat dissipation, wear loose clothes, and avoid wrapping yourself with a quilt. You can use air conditioning in the summer and control the room temperature at around 27℃. Remember to open windows regularly to allow air convection in the room.

4. Get more sleep and ensure adequate sleep, which is beneficial to recovery from illness.