Can you get a fever with a cold

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Can You Get a Fever with a Cold?

Understanding Common Cold Symptoms

The common cold is a prevalent viral infection that primarily affects the upper respiratory tract. It is characterized by symptoms such as sore throat, rhinorrhea (runny nose), sneezing, nasal congestion, cough, watery eyes, and sinus pain . These symptoms are generally mild and self-limiting, but they can cause significant discomfort and inconvenience.

Fever as a Symptom of the Common Cold

While fever is more commonly associated with influenza (the flu), it can also occur in individuals suffering from the common cold. The presence of fever in a cold is often due to the body's immune response to the viral infection. Cytokines, which are signaling proteins released by the immune system, play a crucial role in generating fever and other systemic symptoms such as anorexia, malaise, chilliness, headache, and muscle aches .

Fever and Sickness Behavior

Fever is a well-recognized symptom of various infections and is part of the body's defense mechanism. It is controlled by the central nervous system and is often accompanied by a range of behavioral changes collectively known as "sickness behavior." These changes include anorexia, fatigue, loss of interest in daily activities, social withdrawal, listlessness, hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain), sleep disturbances, and cognitive dysfunction . These symptoms can occur during the common cold, indicating that fever is not exclusive to more severe infections like influenza.

Folk Models and Medical Treatment

In some communities, there is a traditional belief that colds and fevers are distinct conditions, with colds being associated with chills and fevers with elevated body temperature. This folk model influences how people perceive and treat these illnesses. Interestingly, medical professionals sometimes align their treatments with these folk beliefs to help patients make sense of their symptoms and the prescribed remedies .

Familial Cold Autoinflammatory Syndrome (FCAS)

It is important to distinguish the common cold from rare conditions like Familial Cold Autoinflammatory Syndrome (FCAS), which is an autosomal dominant disorder triggered by exposure to cold. FCAS is characterized by episodic symptoms such as rash, fever, arthralgia (joint pain), and conjunctivitis. These symptoms typically begin within the first six months of life and are linked to genetic factors . While FCAS involves fever, it is a distinct condition from the common cold and is not caused by viral infections.

Conclusion

In summary, it is possible to experience a fever when suffering from a common cold. This fever is part of the body's immune response to the viral infection and is mediated by cytokines. While fever is more commonly associated with influenza, it can also occur with the common cold, accompanied by other systemic and behavioral symptoms. Understanding these mechanisms helps in better managing and treating the symptoms of the common cold.

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Most relevant research papers on this topic

Understanding the symptoms of the common cold and influenza

New knowledge of cytokines helps explain some previously folkloric symptoms of colds and flu, improving our understanding of their mechanisms.

Literature ReviewHighly Cited

2005·

577citations

·R. Eccles

The Lancet. Infectious Diseases·

DOI

Fever and sickness behavior: Friend or foe?

Fever and sickness behaviors are both brain-controlled symptoms and can be beneficial or harmful during various illnesses, influencing our approach to antipyretics during illness.

Literature ReviewRigorous JournalHighly Cited

2015·

118citations

·L. Harden et al.

Brain, behavior, and immunity·

DOI

“Feed a cold, starve a fever” — folk models of infection in an english suburban community, and their relation to medical treatment

Folk models of illness in an English suburban community reinforce biomedical treatment and concepts, leading to 'negotiable' biomedical diagnoses and treatment, impacting healthcare delivery.

Highly Cited

1978·

288citations

·C. Helman

Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry·

DOI

Familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome: phenotype and genotype of an autosomal dominant periodic fever.

Familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (FCAS) is a rare autosomal dominant inflammatory disorder with episodic symptoms precipitated by cold exposure, conjunctivitis, age of onset, duration of episodes, and an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern.

Highly Cited

2001·

313citations

·H. Hoffman et al.

The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology·

DOI

Maternal report of fever from cold or flu during early pregnancy and the risk for noncardiac birth defects, National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997–2011

Maternal fever during early pregnancy is associated with an increased risk for selected birth defects, suggesting fever contributes to the risk rather than illnesses associated with it.

2017·

51citations

·D. Waller et al.

Birth defects research·

DOI

Beyond intuition: patient fever symptom experience.

Patients' fever experiences include long-standing symptoms and new symptoms, highlighting the need for more accurate assessment and evaluation of antipyretic treatments.

2013·

20citations

·N. Ames et al.

Journal of pain and symptom management·

DOI

Fever: management and self-medication. Results from a Norwegian population study.

More definite and consistent information is needed to rationalize fever management and self-medication, with 35% using antipyretics and 44% not knowing any brand names.

1991·

9citations

·J. Eskerud et al.

Family practice·

DOI

Mutation of a new gene encoding a putative pyrin-like protein causes familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome and Muckle–Wells syndrome

Mutations in CIAS1 gene cause familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome and Muckle-Wells syndrome, suggesting a role in inflammation and apoptosis regulation.

Highly Cited

2001·

1646citations

·H. Hoffman et al.

Nature Genetics·

DOI

Vaccines for the common cold

There is no conclusive evidence to support the use of vaccines for preventing the common cold in healthy people, and future trials are needed to establish the trade-off between potential benefits and harms.

Systematic Review

2022·

16citations

·Camila Montesinos-Guevara et al.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews·

DOI

RBM3 regulates temperature sensitive miR-142–5p and miR-143 (thermomiRs), which target immune genes and control fever

A negative feedback loop regulates fever through reduced RBM3 levels and increased expression of thermomiRs, potentially preventing pathological hyperthermia in critically ill patients.

In Vitro Study

2016·

53citations

·J. J. Wong et al.

Nucleic Acids Research·

DOI

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