Why does a small increase in body temperature of 1degree put us into a fever state while we can adapt to higher temperatures on hotter days?

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Why does a small increase in body temperature of 1degree put us into a fever state while we can adapt to higher temperatures on hotter days?

In: Biology

17 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

This simplest explanation of explicitly what you asked is actually philosophical, not scientific (in that, you really answered your own question):

We adapt to higher external temperatures through various means, like evaporative cooling from sweat.

If we have an increased internal temperature, it means we haven’t adapted in a manner to cool ourselves.

This has been brought to you by interpreting the semantics and ignoring the pragmatics.

Anonymous 0 Comments

20 years ago, doctor’s aides used to freak out that my normal temp is 97.4. Now they don’t blink.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The “adapting to higher temperatures on hotter days” has a limit: wet bulb temperature >35C.

Our bodies use evaporative cooling to keep our internal temperature from climbing too high. Once evaporative cooling maxes out at 35C your internal temperature will climb to feverish and then deadly levels. The only remedy is to find or create a location that is cooler than 35C wbt.

Underground, dry the air, cool spring, HVAC, etc.

Something to keep in mind as extreme weather events become more frequent. A location at 35C 100% humidity will have a 100% mortality rate for anyone not able to find a cooler sheltering spot.

Anonymous 0 Comments

we don’t adapt in that sense, our bodies have a cooling system to deal with external temp changes. internal temp changes are a built in response to illness. external temp extremes are more tolerable because it is not illness but just an environmental issue.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Because your body has always the same temperatura aprox. unless if you have a problem.

(First of all, I’m not a doctor so I could be perfectly misstaken).

The sweat is part of the cooling system that most animals have and we’re not different (In fact is one of our best advantages in terms of evolution compared to other animals, that is why the humans are the absolute chad in terms of hunting). When the enviroment is hotter than our body, by the laws of thermodynamics, we would be hotter until we reach the ambient temperature but our *cooling system* allow us to keep that temperature unless is something that the system cant hold ( This is when we have a heat stroke). When we’re on a colder enviroment the blood system restrict how much blood we have on our limbs and concentrate on the mayor organs and the brain to protect them and also we “burn” more nutrients to try to keep the temperature.

The chemical reactions always happen between a certan level of temperature so when we have more temperature that what is normal for us (Hiperthermia) or less than that (Hipothermia) those reactions needed to keep us alive begging to have problems, they could stop at all or just being more and more slow.

This is what happen for example when we have feber, our body tries to kill whatever infect us by raising the temperature but the body also suffers the blow.

(What I dont know is why if the body strategy is to warm up the body we sweat so much, maybe someone that knows more than me about it, which is not very difficult, could answer that. I’m really curious about it)

Anonymous 0 Comments

Inside needs a constant temp of 98. Outside has ways of cooling off (sweat) or heating up (shivering) our outside doesn’t need a constant tempature but the inside does. Ofcourse we have our outside ways of cooling off and heating up. (Clothes, swimming etc…) why you go from hot to cold when you have a cold. Your body is trying regulate its tempature. Your body also raises its internal temp to fight off diseases.

Anonymous 0 Comments

a small increase of 1 degree does not put us in a fever state. Rather, a fever state causes a small increase of 1 degree. Fever is a response, not a cause. Your body senses an attack, and mounts a defense accordingly. The increase in temperature activates that response.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The human body is really good at regulating it’s own temperature. Heart rate, panting, sweating, breathing, and some other mechanism allow the body to coold down if we’re in too hot of an environment, or warm up if we’re in too cold of one (within reason of course).

If your temperature is too hot it means something in your body is working properly to maintain that temperature, regardless of the external climate.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Okay, so here is my ELI5:

Your body has a thermostat, just like your home does. It is pretty reliable, plus or minus a degree (actually less). Sometimes your body turns that thermostat up because it needs to fight off attackers.

But most of the time, it’s just chilling at about 36-37°C.

Just like your thermostat, it’s not just checking the temperature, it’s affecting other things.

In fact, your thermostat in your house is connected to two or three devices. Your body’s thermostat is connected to way more than that.

It can move blood towards or away from the core. Away from the core causes more heat to be given off. Towards the core conserves heat.

It can increase metabolism. Metabolism increases temperature. This is what shivering is. A way to increase metabolism through muscle movements that increases body temperature.

You also have some more active ways to increase temperature. You will often unknowingly do things like rub your hands together. You will close your arms around your body. You will move your feet.

There are some animals that even have “brown fat” which are little heaters throughout the fat that keep them warm even when their metabolism of their whole body is really, really low (like hibernation).

The body also has air conditioning. This is what sweat is. You can sweat a lot, and not realize it. Evaporating water is a great method of getting rid of heat, like AC. In fact, it kinda works in a very similar process.

Those are the main ones. I’m sure I’ve missed some.

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s like no one in this sub has ever met a 5 year old.

Your body is very happy when it’s the right temperature. It’s so happy, that it has special powers to make it stay at that temperature all the time, even when it’s hot or cold outside. But sometimes, when there are germs invading, your body has some special knights who get called in to help beat the germs, but they like the heat so for them were willing to turn up the temperature to make them happy so they work harder until they defeat the bad guys and you’re healthy again.