Health

COVID-19 Signs and Symptoms

4. Fever

Healthline

A fever is also one of the most common symptoms in COVID-19.  Actually, a fever is a typical indicator that the body is fighting off an infection, and it is one of the body’s natural immune system mechanisms.  Most pathogens either cannot thrive or cannot multiply in a hot environment.  By raising the body’s temperature, the body becomes an environment unconducive for the pathogens’ existence.

The usual human body temperature is 37° Celsius (98.6° Fahrenheit) or cooler.  At 37.4°C (99.3°F) and hotter, it is a fever.  It is considered a high-grade fever when it goes 39.4°C (102.9°F) and hotter.  In the case of COVID-19, as of this writing, the observed trend is for fevers to start at the low-grades, 37.4°C to 39.3°C (102.7°F).  If ever they get higher, the increase in fever temperatures progress gradually.

Fever on its own is not conclusively indicative of COVID-19, but it is one of the common symptoms of the disease.  Because it is a common symptom for many diseases, having a fever does not necessarily mean one has COVID-19.  Remember that other Coronaviruses and the common flu, even intestinal infections, all cause fevers, so it’s not exclusive to COVID-19.  To get a better picture of what could possibly be causing your fever, check if your fever co-exists with the other signs and symptoms listed in this article.  Even if the fever is not conclusively COVID-19-related, it is an indicator that there is something infecting your body, and that your immune system is getting taxed more than normal, or your immune system is down.