About Fever
Fever is a rise in body temperature that can occur when the body responds to infection or other causes. Context matters when assessing a fever.
Fever may occur with infections and can be accompanied by chills, sweating, tiredness, headache or other symptoms. The cause cannot be determined from fever alone.
Common considerations
Consider the person's age, temperature, duration, associated symptoms, recent illness, medications and overall condition.
General care
Rest, appropriate fluids and monitoring can be useful general measures. Treatment decisions should consider the individual situation and professional advice where appropriate. When to seek advice Seek medical advice for persistent, worsening or concerning fever, particularly when accompanied by significant symptoms or when the person is at higher risk of complications.
What should you consider?
- How long the symptom or concern has been present.
- How severe or disruptive it is.
- Whether it is improving, stable or getting worse.
- Whether other symptoms are occurring at the same time.
- Age, medications, existing health conditions and individual circumstances.
When should you seek professional advice?
Consider speaking with a qualified healthcare professional when a health concern is persistent, worsening, severe, unusual or interfering with normal daily activities. Urgent or life-threatening symptoms require appropriate emergency medical care.