Latest update April 7th, 2025 6:08 AM
Local airline officials get lesson in fever management
The importance of managing a fever was on Wednesday emphasised by Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, as he addressed a gathering of airline officials at a sensitisation workshop held at the Ogle International Airport.
Dr Persaud was at the time seeking to raise awareness about both the Ebola and Chikungunya viruses, which according to him, can manifest itself with high fever.
A section of the gathering at the workshop
But according to him any high fever usually starts with a mild fever which therefore means that an individual with a mild fever might be at an early stage of fighting an infection.
He went on to inform an attentive gathering that “anytime your body is trying to fight off any infection a fever is what happens…fever is usually a sign that tells you your body is fighting something. It could be an infection or some autoimmune disease or some other thing that isn’t going right.”
And since fever is a clear indication that something isn’t right in the body, Dr Persaud explained that one of the strategic moves in fighting an infection is by observing a fever early. Aside from the Chikungunya and Ebola viruses, Dr Persaud said that there are other diseases such as dengue and malaria that manifest with fever.
Moreover, he noted that “anytime people have fever you have to be very careful.” The CMO also made it clear to the participants at the workshop that “there is nothing like ‘growing fever’.”
He said this to explain that oftentimes parents who have young children who develop a fever usually believe that it is linked to natural physical development. He asserted that “if a child has fever it means the child has come in contact with something that is stimulating their body to react, so when they have a fever take care; be a little bit more careful with them.”
During a fever, he explained, the body is operating at a high level which can be classified as a struggle which often manifests by the production of heat. He however noted that while the reaction to an infection could be noticed by heat there are instances, often in young children, that the manifestation is with a cold temperature instead.
But according to Dr Persaud, an ideal way to address fever in general is by keeping it down or under control. Speaking directly to hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), Dr Persaud outlined that “lots of times what the fever does, like every other heat, it dries out the body.”
He likened the manifestation of a fever to exposing a wet towel to direct sunlight which results in the heat drying the towel.
“That’s what fever does; it dries out your body and when you dry out you become dehydrated and then your system can’t work,” outlined Dr Persaud.
He moreover pointed out that once a body becomes dehydrated “you are on the road to bad things because when you don’t have enough fluids it means trouble for your body.”
Just last week a child who was believed to be infected with the Chikungunya virus passed away at the Bartica Hospital from a severe case of dehydration.
According to Dr Persaud, the human body is made up of about 70 per cent water and 30 per cent solid matter. He therefore asserted that “the 30 per cent is non-functional without the 70 per cent.”
“So even if the water level in your body drops a little you might get a little irritated and if you are given water to drink, you will feel better,” said Dr Persaud as he highlighted that “dehydration is a major problem but you can help to manage fever properly by giving dehydrated persons lots of fluids.”
According to Dr Persaud, dehydration can result from excess sweating, fever with diarrhoea, vomiting, and especially failure to consume water.
Another factor that can prompt dehydration, he noted, is frequent urination, even as he pointed out that alcoholics can also easily suffer from this condition since the consumption of alcohol can “change how water is supposed to function in their bodies.”
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