How does our body temperature stay the same (if we’re not sick) even if we are in an especially warm or cold place? And when we are sick why does the temperature rising a couple degrees up or down make such a difference?

Question

How does our body temperature stay the same (if we’re not sick) even if we are in an especially warm or cold place? And when we are sick why does the temperature rising a couple degrees up or down make such a difference?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Our bodies go through a lot of trouble — a *lot* — to ensure our internal temperature stays as close to 98.6 F as possible. Our blood vessels change shape, we start to sweat, we even sacrifice our hands and feet to keep blood close to our core if things get bad.

> And when we are sick why does the temperature rising a couple degrees up or down make such a difference?

Chemistry is delicate, especially the chemistry of life. One, two, three degrees doesn’t sound like a lot — our conscious minds can’t even tell the difference — but on the scale of molecules, they’re miles apart.