Fever is a very common symptom that usually arises when there is inflammation or infection in the body, and is therefore associated with almost all types of changes in health, from the simplest situations, such as flu or tonsillitis, to more serious ones like lupus, HIV or cancer, for example.
Generally, fever is more easily felt during the day when you are awake, as it is accompanied by other symptoms such as severe headache or generalized muscle pain, however, there are also several cases where the fever can get worse at night, causing you to wake up with excessive sweat production.
Regardless of the time it starts, fever should always be evaluated by a general practitioner, especially when it is persistent and lasts for more than 3 days, not improving through natural techniques such as placing wet cloths on the forehead or using home remedies, such as tea. macela or eucalyptus, for example. Check out some natural ways to lower your fever.
Because the fever increases during the night
In most cases, fever develops or worsens during the night due to the natural cycle of functioning of the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain responsible for producing hormones that regulate body temperature and is normally more active at night, which can cause an increase in temperature when you are sleeping.
In addition, due to the normal functioning of the metabolism, it is also common for the body temperature to rise slightly throughout the day, being higher at night and causing even excess sweat. Know the 8 main causes of night sweat.
Thus, having a fever at night is rarely a sign of a serious problem, especially if it is associated with other symptoms that may indicate an infection. However, whenever it lasts more than 3 days it is important to go to the general practitioner to identify whether it is necessary to take any specific medication, such as antibiotics, or to have tests that help to identify the correct cause.
When night fever can be severe
Night fever is rarely a sign of a serious problem, and even when it does not have an apparent cause, it is more often caused by environmental factors such as increased room temperature or excessive use of clothes, which end up increasing the metabolism of the body.
However, there are some diseases that can have night fever every night as the only symptom. Some examples are:
- Lyme disease; HIV; Tuberculosis; Hepatitis; Lupus.
Some types of cancer can also have, as a first symptom, night fever, but they are usually accompanied by weight loss that cannot be justified by changes in diet or exercise pattern.
