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You may be sicker than you think. At least if you trust the fever thermometer. That a healthy person has a body temperature of 37 degrees is a stubborn myth.
The red line on the thermometer is nothing to pass. Stock Photography.
– What surprises me is that there is still such a strong tradition, says Märta Sund Levander, nurse practitioner and assistant professor at Linköping University.
You’ve been researching fever for more than 20 years and are surprised that the 37-degree standard hasn’t been questioned before, and that many myths about fever still exist.
In fact, about a quarter of us have a normal temperature of 36 degrees or less, according to research by Märta Sund Levander together with Ewa Grodzinsky, a biomedical analyst and associate professor at Linköping University.
– We have formulated a new definition: Difftemp: if you have a degree higher than you usually have and you feel sick, it could be a fever. Having a sick feeling at the same time is important as you can also have a higher temperature for other reasons, for example a gym session.
TT: But how do you know what your normal temperature is?
– Take your temperature in the same place in the morning before getting up three days in a row when you feel healthy. Measure in the same place every day and do not add tenths.
– The highest value that you can use as an individual reference and that you identify with when you are not feeling well.
The reason you should measure in the morning is that then you haven’t had time to do something that can raise your body temperature like eat or move.
TT: Where to measure for the best results?
– If you are talking about quality, the forehead and armpit are not safe methods. The further you move away from the brain and hypothalamus, the greater the risk of measuring something that the body has already taken care of.
– I recommend the ear, because it is almost the hypothalamus that is responsible for regulating body temperature.
The distance-measuring thermometers that have started to appear in airports and workplaces are still too uncertain, says Märta Sund Levander. They are affected by things like if someone just got hot from moving or had skin cream on their face.
– What are we really measuring? That says very little. Follow-up checks have been performed on such measurements and their results varied too much during repeated measurements.
The idea that 37 degrees is normal and 38 is a fever stems from measurements made by German physician Carl August Wunderlich in the 19th century, says Märta Sund Levander.
– So, the basis for the definition of what is normal and what is fever are measurements that are almost 200 years old.
For some groups of patients, the question of proper body temperature can be life-threatening. If you do not start from individual values, there is a risk of not having a fever, which can be a sign of a serious infection.
– Mainly we have carried out studies in frail elderly people who normally have 35 degrees. In fact, they can die of pneumonia when they are 37 degrees because 38 degrees is considered a fever, says Märta Sund Levander.
– We believe that there is a general risk that people who have a low temperature, and who in case of illness do not reach 38, receive a late diagnosis.
Body temperature
Our average temperature does not vary much throughout life. Adolescents and fertile women have slightly higher temperatures due to hormones, but these are tenths.
When Märta Sund Levin and Ewa Grodzinsky asked more than 2,000 people, 36.5 degrees was the normal temperature for most people. When they felt ill, the temperature had risen between 1 and 1.5 degrees.
Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich was a German physician who at the end of the 19th century measured the temperature in the armpits of 25,000 people. His teachings on body temperature are still alive today.
