My Grandma is in hospital being treated for a severe infection (location not know but likely cellulitis, delusional and clearly incredibly unwell) and her temperature is normal. What determines your temperature when suffering from an infection and why could her temperature possibly be normal?

Question

My Grandma is in hospital being treated for a severe infection (location not know but likely cellulitis, delusional and clearly incredibly unwell) and her temperature is normal. What determines your temperature when suffering from an infection and why could her temperature possibly be normal?

In: Biology

Answer 1

One reason could be hypothyroidism, if her thyroid is not working well then herl body temperature could be lower than people with properly functioning thyroid. If her typical body temperature is 34.5c then a fever for her could be 37.5c which would not be considered a fever by those unaware 9f her thyroid condition, as 37.5 is a normal human temperature.