Fever in its medical sense is the raising of internal body temperature to a level above normal. The body’s temperature is also raised during sexual excitement, and high levels of physical activity. While this is not true fever we have come to use the term ‘fever’ to refer to either sexual or emotional ‘heat’ and /or obsessive passion for something. One of the classic examples is the song Fever’ made famous by Peggy Lee. The movie Fever Pitch explores, in a comical way, the struggle between passions for a sport versus growing passion for a person.
The dancing stage is another very common area for this kind of ‘fever’, where a person is overcome in the music and movement. Dance of course, often has sexual connotations. Saturday Night Fever is another reference to both passion and obsession as the soundtrack shows in its relentless disco beat.
Even in the medical world, we have two common ailments that we often refer to with the word ‘fever’. Although they can both produce a mild fever at times that is not their main symptom. The first of these is hay fever, otherwise known as allergic rhinitis. The runny nose, sneezing, watery puffy eyes and sore throat can make a person feel miserable. Actual fever is very seldom a symptom though. The main ways of treating hay fever involve avoidance of triggers, medication for symptoms, and sometimes immunotherapy to desensitize sufferers.
The other common ailment is fever blisters, or cold sores. These are caused by the herpes simplex virus and usually erupt on the lips or round the mouth. They are highly contagious as well as painful. Sometimes a fever blister will result in a fever as the body’s immune system tries to deal with the invasion. Early detection and treatment with large doses (1000mg) of Vitamin B or Lysine can prevent a fever blister reaching that stage.
If you are traveling to certain areas of the world that have high cases of dangerous diseases such as typhoid, malaria or yellow fever it is important to have a vaccine shot. These diseases are still killers. In every day terms fever is the body’s response to infection or disease. Many doctors believe that while it is important not to allow a fever to reach danger point, it can actually help the body to heal itself. If in doubt, always consult your doctor as to why you may have a fever and what you should do about it.
