Febrile Vs. Afebrile

papawjohn · Sep 8, 2005

Hey Cardioprincess

Oral temp max is 100.4 if taken orally. Axillary is considered 1 degree cooler than the mouth, so max is 99.4. Rectal is considered 1 degree warmer than oral, so max is 101.4.

The hardest part is making the damn little electonic thing switch itself back to Farenheit after is somehow got switched to Celsius!!

Papaw John

Editorial Team / Admin · Sep 8, 2005

Okay, my book has totally confused me, febrile means they have a temperature, right?
Afebrile ('a' means without, not having) is a normal temperature or under normal temperature?
I know 98.6 is the normal temperature for most people, but when does it get abnormal/febrile? 99.0? 99.1? 101? Ugh. my book just says it means someone has a temperature.
I looked on the internet and all i got was "take your temp to see if you are ovulating....uhhh NO!!!"
please help, what is the temp range for F and C? :imbar

Good question.

Febrile is elevated temp. Afebrile is no or without elevated temp.

Most practitioners will say there is a low grade elevation when the temp is at or about 99 F.

Febrile is usually 100 F or above. Some practitioners will start to treat a febrile temp at or about 101.1 F.......depends on etiology/condition.

1 degree C= 1.8 degrees F

1 degree F= 0.54 degrees C

To convert C to F:

multiply C by 1.8 and add 32

To convert F to C:

subtract 32 and multiply by 0.555

papawjohn · Sep 8, 2005

Hey Y'all

Actually, my lil' paragraph about the electronic gadget was meant to be light.

(I 'spose I work too hard at being a character maybe?)

As Sirisaid, the conversion is 1.8--then you have to account for the 32degree difference, adding or subtracting depending on which direction you're converting.

When I'm mentoring I like to 'splain the difference by telling how the two systems began.

The F-system started with a bunch of learned folks who said--'what's the coldest thing we can think of?' At the time it was very very salty water, which gets way below "freezing" before it freezes. So they said--let that be ZERO. Then they said--'something warm that's the same temp wherever it's found.' That is the 'normal' human temperature; it became 100. When thermometers that could measure more accurately were developed, the temp of boiling water was found to be 212 and the human temp to be 98.6. Crazy numbers but by then we were stuck with them.

Along came the French Revolution and with better instruments, some professors got together to make a 'rational, scientific' system. The temp at which fresh water freezes became ZERO and the boiling point became 100.

Make a line on paper (I always draw pictures) and (starting at the bottom) label one mark on the line "salt water freezes" another "fresh water freezes" another "human nml temp" and the last "water boils". On the left side put in the Farenheit numbers for these event, on the right side (of course) the Celcius numbers.

It's pretty clear that each C-degree occupies almost (but not quite) twice as much of the line as each F-degree.

So now you can see with your eyes how the conversion number 1.8 works and why you add or subtract 32 to account for the difference between the two ZERO points.

(My kids used to tell their friends: don't ask Daddy a question!!! We'll never get out of here!!!)

Running off at the keyboard....

Papaw John

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2005

Short and sweet:

A patient who is febrile has a temperature that is elevated above what would be considered normal (100 degrees Farenheit orally is considered the starting point of a fever). When you say a patient is afebrile it means he has no fever. It can be another way of saying his temperature is normal.