What are the Possible Causes of Fever?

What Causes Fever?

Fever can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'troubling' to 'life-threatening'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose fever, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "fever" as a symptom. Here are eight possibilities:

Gallbladder Disease
Pneumonia
Infectious Mononucleosis
Gastroenteritis
West Nile Virus
Myocarditis
Cold Or Flu
Sepsis

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

recent productive cough

recent onset nausea

occasional rapid, shallow breathing

multiple painful axillary nodes

recent transplant surgery

specific muscle weakness

regular unexplained nausea

having problematic gallstones

having chills from an illness

swollen inguinal nodes

regular meal-related burping

moderate periumbilical pain

... and more than 70 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of fever:

Cause	Probability	Status
Pneumonia	99%	Confirm
Myocarditis	25%	Unlikely
Gallbladder Disease	12%	Unlikely
Sepsis	1%	Ruled out
Gastroenteritis	1%	Ruled out
West Nile Virus	0%	Ruled out
Infectious Mononucleosis	0%	Ruled out
Cold Or Flu	0%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

In the Metabolic Symptoms section of the questionnaire, The Analyst™ will ask the following question about Current Fever:

Do you currently have a fever? If you do, try to rate your average temperature.

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No
→ Mild fever, 99-100°F (37.2-37.8°C)
→ Moderate fever, 100.1-103°F (37.8-39.4°C)
→ High fever, usually over 103°F (39.4°C)

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate not having a fever, having a slight fever, having a moderate fever or having a high fever, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Cold Or Flu

Gallbladder Disease

Gastroenteritis

Infectious Mononucleosis - Mono

A low grade fever occurs at first, and then rises to above 100°F after the third or fourth day.

Myocarditis

Pneumonia

The common symptoms of pneumonia include fever.

Sepsis

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™