Re: If fevers reach 100.4 degrees

[Guest guest]

At DFCI it is also 100.5

On Apr 16, 2011, at 3:55 PM, " mschaeffer3 " wrote:

> The mantra at the end of every visit to Sloan-Kettering,

> where I had been a patient for six years, is that if you

> have a fever of higher than 100.4 degrees, you head

> immediately to their Emergency Care facility. They lost

> several CLL patients to fever-related sepsis prior to

> instituting this policy.

>

> Is this the standard practice? I'm now at another well-

> regarded New York hospital, and no mention has been made of

> such a policy.

>

> Mark

[Guest guest]

I believe these are prudent policies that were developed in

the best interest of the pt. Why fool around? I would rather

be treated early on rather than wait until one is really

sick. that could lead to lots of serious complications or

worse.

R

Adks and AZ

[Guest guest]

Mark,

It is my oncologist who has the 100.4° rule for anyone whose

neutrophils are below normal. Since my " normal " temperature

is closer to 96.8 than to 98.6, for me he says any

temperature over 100° that persists for over half an hour.

It put me in the hospital once. I did feel ill when I went

in, but once they started the IV antibiotics I felt pretty

well. None of the cultures they did showed anything, but I

got better.

Marcia

[Guest guest]

When I was septic my temp went down, I had terrible chills,

but the labs my doctor ordered that morning stat came back

not showing any problem. By the evening I was shaking even

more - still no fever - but I took myself to the ER. It

isn't one of the smarter things I've done. I should have had

someone else drive me or called the paramedics. When I got

there my blood pressure was 80 over 40 and the labs showed

sepsis, but I never ran a fever. So, yes, get to an ER if

you have a temp. over 100, but don't rely on having a temp.

Go by other symptoms being unusual as well. Many CLL

patients have posted that their normal temp. is lower than

98.6 so 99 can be a significant fever. In my case the three

times I've been really ill my temp. went down, not up.

Pat

[Guest guest]

I've noticed that my temps always register slightly below

average (~1o) on a digital thermometer as opposed to a

mercury thermometer. Because this has been so consistent,

I'm guessing digital thermometers register lower for

everyone.

Karni

[Guest guest]

The oft-cited '98.6' oral temperature of humans is not

correct. The most widely accepted figure is now 98.2. And

it turns out that the average temperature decreases as one

ages.

" A study published years ago in the Journal of the American

Medical Association found the average normal temperature for

adults to be 98.2°, not 98.6°, and replaced the 100.4° fever

mark with fever thresholds based on the time of day. "

[Guest guest]

Karni,

You may be heartened by the online FAQ for my el cheapo

digital thermometer:

Will this Digital Thermometer read identically to a Glass

Thermometer?

When used " clinically " (to measure body temperature) this BD

Digital Thermometer is designed to provide the same accuracy

that you are accustomed to with a BD Glass Thermometer.

Many common digitals provide slightly lower temperature

readings when compared to glass, due to the heat lost to the

digital thermometer itself during temperature taking.

BD Digitals provide " Accuracy AssuranceT " and compensate for

the loss of body heat around the thermometer. BD Digitals

match BD Glass when used to measure body temperature.

Mark

[Guest guest]

My temp has always run low with any type of thermometer and

for as long as I can remember - at least my early 20s. I do

get different reads on the two digital thermometers I have.

Pat