Fevers and Chiropractor in Concord

Taylor N. Barton

Fevers can originate for any number of reasons such as a virus or infection; certain inflammatory conditions; heat exhaustion; malignant tumors; medications; some immunizations, such as the diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) or pneumococcal vaccines (in infants and children); and many, many more. Your body’s temperature is an average 98.3 that varies by a few degrees depending on different body styles, time of day and activities. Your hypothalamus works as a thermostat for your whole body. Your temperature is the balance of the heat produced by your body tissues, particularly your liver and muscles, and the heat your body loses. When you're ill, your normal temperature may be set a few points higher as your body directs blood away from your skin to decrease heat loss.

When a fever starts and your body tries to elevate its temperature, you feel chilly and may shiver to generate heat until the blood around your hypothalamus reaches the new set point. When your temperature begins to return to normal, you may sweat profusely to get rid of the excess heat.


Depending on what's causing your fever, additional fever symptoms may include:
 Sweating
 Shivering
 Headache
 Muscle aches
 Loss of appetite
 Dehydration
 General weakness
High fevers between 103 F (39.4 C) and 106 F (41.1 C) may cause:
 Hallucinations
 Confusion
 Irritability
 Convulsions

As a general rule of thumb, fevers are usually a good thing because it is your bodies way of responding to something; however, if your temperature exceeds 103 it is considered dangerous. Strange febrile conditions can occure and have no sure cause or treatment.

This is the study of a three year old female with recurring fever of unknown origin once or twice per month. The girl had suffered from repeated sinus and upper respiratory infections during her first year of life and had been given aspirin and other medications to lower the fever. The child began chiropractic care and during the next eight months she had only two additional fever episodes. (Adjusting the febrile pediatric patient. Peet, JB Chiropractic Pediatrics, 1996; Vol 2 No.3: 11-12)

Call your Chiropractor in Concord now at 925 685-2002 to see how Chiropractic can help you or visit our website at www.bartonchiro.com