FEELING FEVERISH?

A person's temperature can be displayed on this digital oral thermometer.

Non-aspirin pain relievers are recommended to reduce fever.

People get hot about fever. They often overreact when it comes to rising temperatures, health-care providers say.

The ancient Greeks thought fever was beneficial because they thought it cooked off substances that made people ill.

Today, we know fever doesn't cook away disease, but medical experts say there is evidence fever strengthens and quickens the body's response to infection.

Fever's image has improved dramatically in the medical community since the days of Sir William Osler, a Canadian doctor who died in 1919.

Osler declared fever was a greater scourge than famine or war.

"Fever itself is not usually dangerous. It is just a regulating mechanism for the body," said Debbie Sutherland, a family nurse practitioner with St. Francis Medical Center.

Southeast Missouri Hospital's Pat Pennington said a low-grade fever generally isn't something to worry about.

Pennington is a registered nurse and manager of Southeast Missouri Hospital's emergency department.

Once common fever-reducing treatments such as alcohol sponge baths and children's aspirin are strongly discouraged today.

Alcohol sponge baths can cause more chilling and that will raise the body temperature even more, said Pennington.

Aspirin isn't recommended for children younger than 16 because it is associated with Reye's syndrome, a serious complication of influenza or chicken pox. Reye's syndrome affects the liver and central nervous system and can be deadly.

Medicines such as Tylenol and ibuprofen are recommended to reduce a fever.

"People tend to bundle up kids too much," said Dr. Nancy Weible of Immediate HealthCare.

Parents often bundle up a child who is running a fever. That only makes things worse, she said.

The adage that you should starve a fever is bad advice, local health-care providers said.

Nancy Mosley, a pediatric nurse practitioner, said people with fever -- particularly children -- should drink plenty of liquids to keep from becoming dehydrated.

A tiny part of the brain called the hypothalamus is the main player when it comes to fever. The hypothalamus serves as the body's thermostat.

In times of good health, the hypothalamus maintains a set point of about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit when measured with an oral thermometer and 99.6 degrees when measured rectally.

Fever occurs when the hypothalamus establishes a set point that is significantly higher than normal. This typically occurs when the body's disease-fighting immune system responds to an infection.

In response to the higher set point, the body increases its metabolism, the process by which cells consume food energy.

When the set point is raised only 4 degrees Fahrenheit, the body burns about 25 percent more calories than normal.

Another means of producing heat is through shivering, in which skeletal muscles rapidly contract and relax involuntarily. Shivering is worse during rapidly rising fevers, experts said.

Any fever is a major concern with infants 3 months of age or younger. In those cases, parents should consult a doctor immediately.

At such a young age, babies have weaker immune systems to fight off infection so any fever is alarming.

With a child under a year of age, a fever can signify a serious infection, Weible said.

"Usually, we will see higher fevers in little kids," she said.

But she said that isn't always the case. "You can be sicker than a dog and have a low-grade fever."

Fever also raises a concern with the elderly.

Elderly people can be seriously ill and not run a fever. That is because the elderly often have a weakened immune system, Sutherland said.

No matter the illness, a person's body temperature seldom rises higher than 106 degrees Fahrenheit.

That is good news. Because as body temperature approaches 108 degrees, human cells begin to die.

"Children and adults can tolerate temperatures to at least 105 or 106 without injury," Sutherland said.

Parents often worry that fever will lead to seizures in their children.

But Sutherland said such seizures are rare and evidence suggests such seizures aren't related to the degree of fever.

For the most part, fevers don't require urgent action, health-care providers said. When it comes to body temperature, cooler heads usually prevail.