What is the Cause of Unexplained Fever?

What Causes Unexplained Fever?

Unexplained fever can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'minor' to 'generally fatal'. 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 unexplained 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 "unexplained fever" as a symptom. Here are eight of many possibilities (more below):

Lupus (SLE)
Crohn's Disease
Sarcoidosis
Ulcerative Colitis
Malaria
Epstein-Barr Virus
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Leukemia

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:

unexplained high fevers

swollen inguinal nodes

genital sores

poor tolerance of heat

highly elevated lymphocyte count

high sensitivity to bright light

shingles

arrhythmia

very recent visit(s) to the tropics

chronic abdominal pain

occasional 'chills'

living in the tropics

... and more than 130 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

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

Cause	Probability	Status
Malaria	96%	Confirm
Sarcoidosis	15%	Unlikely
Leukemia	12%	Unlikely
Crohn's Disease	2%	Ruled out
Lupus (SLE)	0%	Ruled out
Ulcerative Colitis	0%	Ruled out
Epstein-Barr Virus	0%	Ruled out
Rheumatoid Arthritis	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 frequency of unexplained fevers:

How often do you get unexplained fevers?

Possible responses:

→ Never / rarely / don't know
→ Occasionally - one or two per year
→ Frequently - several/many per year

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either occasional unexplained fevers or frequent unexplained fevers, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Chronic / Hidden Infection

Crohn's Disease

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)

HIV/AIDS

Hypothalamus / Pituitary / Pineal Dysfunction

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Leukemia

Fevers can occur due to associated bacterial, viral, or fungal infections.

Lupus, SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus)

A less common but more serious constitutional feature of SLE is persistent fever.

Malaria

Symptoms of malaria include fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness.