Thermoneurosis as a cause of low-grade fever: signs and treatment

What it is?

This is a condition that has no additional symptoms other than increased body temperature and has code R50 according to ICD 10.

Thermoneurosis is classified as a fever of unknown origin.

And this is completely justified, since there are no specific reasons for this phenomenon. But there are many factors that can lead to this condition. Most often it affects children and the elderly.

Thermoneurosis occurs due to vasospasm in the upper layers of the skin. This is what provokes changes in low-grade fever towards higher levels.

As you know, during stress, adrenaline is released, which leads to vasospasm. Moreover, this condition can be provoked not only by emotional stress .

Stressful situations happen every day. With systematic contact with stress-provoking factors, neurotic pathologies develop.

As a rule, the temperature does not rise above 37.5 °C. Uncontrolled use of antipyretic drugs can aggravate the condition. It is for this reason that hyperthermia without accompanying symptoms, especially in children, should not be treated independently.

Thermoneurosis: what it is, how this disease manifests itself and is treated – Suppressed

A prolonged increase in temperature indicates that not everything is in order in the human body and immediate consultation with a doctor is required.

But sometimes it happens that doctors cannot find the cause of inflammation , and the temperature still does not drop.

In this case, the person is diagnosed with thermoneurosis. What kind of disease is this, and how does it manifest in adult patients?

Read about the symptoms and treatment of neurosis-like syndrome here.

Thermoneurosis - what is it?

• Thermoneurosis is a pathological condition in which the temperature remains at 37-38 degrees for a long period of time, and other manifestations of the disease may also be observed.
• Today, thermoneurosis is considered to be a type of vegetative-vascular dystonia or neuroses, the distinctive feature of which is a sharp increase in human body temperature caused by neurological disorders.
• The thermoregulation center, which is located in the hypothalamus, the most important part of the brain, is responsible for maintaining temperature in the human body.
• An increase or decrease in air temperature, infection in the body, hypothermia - all this causes sudden changes in body temperature, which are strictly regulated by the hypothalamus.
• An increase in body temperature in the event of an infection helps the body cope with the disease as soon as possible, but with thermoneurosis this mechanism fails.
• A change in the central nervous system, a spasm of blood vessels causes an increase in body temperature to 38 degrees , but this is quite enough to make a person feel unwell.
• This “disease” does not have an ICD-10 code, and foreign doctors have never heard of this disease.

Symptoms

Thermoneurosis in adults can manifest itself with various symptoms and signs. The main one is a sharp increase in human body temperature. It ranges from 37 to 38.1.

Immediately after a night's sleep, the patient may experience a body temperature of 38 degrees . But throughout the day the patient's temperature remains at 37-37.5 degrees .

In addition, this condition may also cause symptoms such as:

• fainting;
• dizziness;
• headaches;
• rapid heartbeat, as well as a pulse that goes off scale;
• pale skin;
• poor concentration;
• tachycardia, bradycardia;
• irritability, anxiety, tearfulness;
• rapid fatigue;
• increased weather sensitivity. The human body reacts to even minor changes in pressure.

One of the important signals is sleep disturbance. Shallow sleep, difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakenings during the night.

There is a constant feeling of tension in the head - a consequence of the fact that at night the nervous system cannot fully recover. This condition can lead to an emotional breakdown.

The digestive system is also sensitive to psychological factors. Loss of appetite, flatulence, problems with stool, abdominal pain.

In this case, the person is not diagnosed with either an ulcer or an intestinal infection . With thermoneurosis, quite often a person complains of nausea, which may be accompanied by dry mouth.

The nervous system is connected to all internal organs.

the entire body suffers from this disease .

With thermoneurosis, a person also experiences problems with breathing, namely, the person complains of lack of air, suffocation, and heavy breathing. Breathing problems are often observed in emotionally important situations or during conflict.

Additional examination

In addition to the aspirin test, the doctor should also prescribe studies such as:

• Ultrasound;
• encephalogram;
• blood for infection.

In addition, before making such a diagnosis, it is important to exclude the presence of gynecological, endocrine and infectious diseases.

Medicines

The following drugs are used to treat thermoneurosis:

1. Sedative medications .
   They help cope with increased anxiety, fears, and sleep problems. Usually, products with herbal composition are used: tincture of valerian, hawthorn, peony, motherwort, etc. Such drugs are safe, but in order for the signs of thermoneurosis to disappear, treatment must be continued for 2-7 weeks.
2. General strengthening drugs and vitamins. To strengthen the body and the functioning of the central nervous system, vitamins B, C, PP, folic acid, etc. are also used.
3. Nootropics . They improve cerebral circulation in children and adults. For treatment, the doctor may prescribe Celebrolysin, Glycine, Piracetam, Cortexin, Nootropil, as well as other medications.
4. Antidepressants and anxiolytics can help solve the problem. They normalize brain function and relieve anxiety. Amitriptyline, Imipramine, Maprotiline, Clomipramine, Mianserin.

Independent work

How to help yourself:

1. Reconsider your lifestyle. A person should go in for sports, go to the pool, ride a bike - such exercises strengthen the immune system and help to relax.
   In addition, you should eat well and get enough sleep.
2. Learn to give free rein to your emotions. This is one of the important points that should never be neglected. If the patient is worried about a chronically high temperature due to nervousness, then this indicates that the person is keeping emotions inside himself, not allowing them to come out. Thus, it turns out that a person is like a kettle that boils, but no one turns it off. And this only means that you need to look for ways to let your emotions out, for example, venting to a loved one.
3. You need to forget about your illness. If a patient takes his temperature several times a day and gets upset when he sees elevated readings, then he is stressing himself out even more—focusing his attention even more on the existing problem. The more often the patient measures his temperature, the more he will think that he has a high temperature, and nothing helps. This will stimulate the temperature to rise. That is why the patient needs to pull himself together and put the thermometer in a distant drawer. There is a temperature, and it will be there throughout the day - a person knows this even without a thermometer. Therefore, there is no point in constantly measuring it.
4. Eliminate the source of stress. If something makes a person nervous, then the cause of the stress must be eliminated or at least the attitude towards this problem must be reconsidered.
   A person must understand that this stress has caused the development of a serious illness that disturbs the patient’s mental balance. Accordingly, it is important to understand that thermoneurosis will be present in the patient’s life as long as he has such a life situation.

Causes in children and adolescents

Thermoneurosis in children can occur after a variety of viral diseases, psycho-emotional shocks, stressful situations, or against the background of excessive physical and mental stress.

Often, pathology manifests itself when changing place of residence, family environment and other external changes that can cause discomfort.

Also, the triggering mechanism for thermoneurosis can be traumatic brain injury, brain damage and other physiological factors. In turn, the state of thermoneurosis can be accompanied by pathologies of the endocrine system, which cause hormonal imbalance.

In infants, thermoneurosis develops for the following reasons:

• difficult pregnancy or pathological childbirth;
• birth injuries;
• congenital defects of the central nervous system;
• genetic pathologies;
• abrupt cessation of breastfeeding, and others.

School-age children often suffer from increased mental stress that arises during the learning process.

Problems in the team, conflicts with peers and increased demands from parents often lead to stressful situations.

The combination of the above factors provides the prerequisites for the development of thermoneurosis and other serious pathological conditions.

In adolescents 10 years of age and older, an increase in body temperature may be associated with hormonal changes.

Being on the border between childhood and adulthood, children of this age are extremely sensitive to any stressful situations.

Practice shows that it is teenagers who most often suffer from thermoneurosis.

Therefore, you should not once again reproach your child for simply not wanting to attend school. Perhaps a few days of rest will help solve this problem without making the condition worse.

On a note

Prolonged fever is often experienced by:

Women during menopause . Hormonal changes cause an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system, and at this time women are prone to depression and anxiety.

Lovers of strength exercises . After heavy exercise, lactic acid is produced in the muscles. If there is a lot of it, tissue metabolism is disrupted, which leads to a local increase in temperature. In a healthy person it does not last long. But, if there are problems with autonomic regulation, overtraining can become a provoking factor that will lead to long-term low-grade fever.

Sensitive children . The situation when a child goes to school after the holidays, and a few days later his temperature suddenly rises, is quite common. Involvement in the educational process is stress, due to which the autonomic nervous system fails.

Symptoms and signs

Thermoneurosis is characterized by a large number of peculiar symptoms. The main symptom of this pathological condition is increased body temperature.

It can fluctuate from 37 to 37.8 degrees, periodically alternating with normal values. A characteristic feature is its maximum rise to 38 °C in the morning.

In addition to the increase in temperature, characteristic manifestations may be the following:

• increased heart rate and increased heart rate;
• pain in muscles and joints;
• loss of consciousness;
• headache;
• fainting.

Children suffering from thermoneurosis are characterized by pale skin.

In addition, excessive fatigue .

Symptoms may increase with changing weather conditions. The body reacts especially sensitively to changes in atmospheric pressure.

Prevention

Few doctors will tell you how to prevent somatic disorders.

To increase stress resistance, you should remember:

• When a person manages to cope with thermoneurosis, it is important to prevent its recurrence.
• Follow a diet, work and rest schedule.
• If possible, attend psychological trainings.
• It is useful to take supplements containing magnesium, since its deficiency negatively affects the hypothalamus, causing the autonomic nervous system to suffer.
• You should learn to recognize the state of stress and how it affects the body and mind.
• Regularly practice stress management through relaxation techniques.

Diagnostics

When a child’s body temperature rises for no apparent reason, attentive and responsible parents turn to their local pediatrician.

A good doctor, having studied the medical history and existing symptoms, excluding viral diseases, can suggest thermoneurosis in a child. In this case, parents receive a referral to a neurologist.

After examination by a specialist with a narrower profile, as a rule, an additional examination is prescribed . Diagnosis is aimed at excluding possible pathologies that have similar symptoms, as well as confirming the suspected diagnosis.

Diagnostic methods:

1. Clinical blood and urine tests.
2. Blood chemistry.
3. Encephalogram.
4. Ultrasound.
5. Specific aspirin test.
6. Fluorography.
7. EGC.

An aspirin test taking half an aspirin tablet.

For viral and bacterial infections, the temperature drops after 30-40 minutes.

If thermoneurosis is confirmed, acetylsalicylic acid has no effect .

Reasons for the development of pathology

The main cause of thermoneurosis is viral infections that were previously suffered. As a rule, when all the symptoms of the disease go away, the fever remains. This is what should make you wary. Regular stress, anxiety, and overwork can contribute to the development of this disease. Head injuries or various other injuries can also cause the development of pathology. In addition, problems and scandals in the family, conflicts at work, failures in studies, heavy mental or physical stress can also lead to thermoneurosis.

Sometimes the disease provokes a hormonal imbalance in the body, which more often happens to women. In any case, if such a temperature persists for several days for no apparent reason, this is a reason to consult a neurologist.

Other negative impact factors include:

• malfunction of the thyroid gland;
• damage to the intervertebral discs in the spine;
• tumors and cysts of cerebral structures;
• cerebral aneurysms;
• infringement of the vagus nerve;
• changes in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland;
• hormonal pathologies;
• obesity and wasting;
• a sharp change in the climatic conditions of one’s residence.

As mentioned above, it is worth excluding dangerous infections, hidden inflammatory processes and the development of oncological tumors.

Treatment

When thermoneurosis occurs as a result of psychological stress, then, as a rule, as a result of correction of the emotional state, its symptoms disappear .

Practice shows that the majority of patients have no further symptomatic manifestations.

After eliminating the provoking factors, it is necessary to protect the child as much as possible from subsequent nervous shocks.

In order to restore the normal functioning of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, it is recommended to take B vitamins, follow a sleep and nutritional regime.

In each specific case, treatment is prescribed on an individual basis. Often therapy is complex . The measures are aimed at alleviating the child’s condition.

Symptomatic therapy is used.

At the same time, physiotherapeutic procedures, psychotherapeutic sessions and medications are prescribed.

Parents should be very attentive to the treatment of this condition and follow all doctor’s instructions. Neuroses tend to progress .

Psychotherapy

In practice, in the treatment of thermoneuroses, maximum results are achieved in a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy with Gestalt.

The first method is aimed at creating a different worldview and correcting behavior, the second method is to teach the child to cope with psycho-emotional experiences .

Psychotherapy is simply necessary for recurring thermoneuroses. In a single case, as a rule, it is rarely used.

Medication

Drug treatment includes complex or separate administration of sedatives, most often herbal preparations .

Be sure to take vitamin complexes , including folic acid and B6, especially in the off-season.

In particularly difficult cases, nootropics .

Physiotherapy

Shows good treatment results for such pathologies, especially in children. In a large number of cases, the use of physiotherapeutic methods helps to avoid the use of medications.

The following procedures may be prescribed:

• electrosleep;
• physiotherapy;
• relaxing baths;
• acupuncture;
• reflexology and others.

A particularly important role is played by maintaining a daily routine, sleep and rest, healthy eating, physical activity, and spending time in the fresh air.

Causes

The impetus for the development of thermoneurosis can be a previous illness, stress, physical and emotional overload, or previous head injuries.

It is important to understand that thermoneurosis, the symptoms and treatment of which are largely similar to VSD, is, in fact, a temperature of neurogenic properties

People of a neurotic type, with a weak nervous system, are more susceptible to this disease. Today, this diagnosis is not uncommon, since the overall stress load on a person (especially those living in a large city) has increased significantly. Teenagers face this even more often, due to increased emotional vulnerability during puberty.

Doctor Komarovsky's opinion

Elevated body temperature is accompanied by many very unpleasant symptoms .

These are weakness, drowsiness, pain in joints and muscles.

Prolonged hyperthermia in children can lead to developmental delays and disruption of the body .

“Temperature and Nothing More” is the name of the episode of the pediatrician Komarovsky’s program, which touches on the topic of thermoneurosis. The doctor recommends not treating the “fever” itself, as some parents like to do, but rather eliminating the causes .

They can be quite serious and even threaten the life of a child. Therefore, in this case, a high-quality examination is simply necessary.

Establishing diagnosis

To accurately make such a complex diagnosis requires a high-quality and modern approach. After all, an increase in temperature without the presence of a viral infection or inflammatory process can be caused by other diseases.

Before a specialist diagnoses thermoneurosis, he must exclude the following diseases and conditions:

• disruption of the thyroid gland;
• pregnancy;
• chronic tonsillitis;
• tuberculosis;
• caries and many others.

If the doctor excludes all other options for elevated body temperature, then a diagnosis of thermoneurosis is made. However, only a neurologist can make such a precise diagnosis when a dysfunction of the hypothalamus is identified.

Aspirin test

The most effective method for diagnosing thermoneurosis is to use Aspirin, the intake of which reduces body temperature only if there is a focus of inflammation in the body.

Therefore, if after taking Aspirin the temperature does not decrease, then the likelihood of this particular disease is high.

To make an accurate diagnosis, the examination must be comprehensive. After all, an increase in body temperature can even be caused by malignant neoplasms.

Additional examination methods

The specialist should prescribe the following studies:

• encephalogram;
• ultrasound diagnostics;
• visits to specialized specialists such as a gynecologist, endocrinologist and infectious disease specialist;
• Conducting laboratory blood tests for the presence of infections.