Thermoneurosis in adults symptoms

Manifestations and diagnosis

Thermoneurosis is called persistent, long-term fluctuations in human body temperature that are not associated with real diseases. Usually this is an increase in temperature to subfebrile levels - about 37.5. But there may also be periods of depression when the temperature drops to 36.2 and even lower.

This condition usually appears after an infection like a common ARVI, but may not go away for a very long time, for several months or even years. For some people, an increase in temperature occurs due to stress, for example, before an important meeting or a trip to the dentist, and this phenomenon also refers to thermoneurosis.

To make a correct diagnosis, the general practitioner must make sure that the increase in temperature is not the result of a hidden infection in the body or another organic disease. To do this, the patient must take tests: blood (including hormones), urine, fluorography, examine those organs where foci of infection have previously been identified, sometimes even an MRI may be needed. And only if all examinations show the absence of serious pathologies, then we can talk about thermoneurosis.

In some cases, when it comes to a persistent increase in temperature, an aspirin test is prescribed. During this test, the patient takes his temperature, then takes a dose of aspirin (by weight), and measures his temperature again after half an hour. If the symptoms are “real,” then the temperature will decrease after taking the antipyretic; if not, thermoneurosis is diagnosed. However, many modern doctors consider the aspirin test to be uninformative and consider its use inappropriate.

Treatment of aspirin-induced bronchial asthma

Doctors divide the treatment of aspirin-induced bronchial asthma into two blocks:

• Prevention of attacks.
• Providing emergency medical care in case of suffocation.

Among preventive measures, it is very important to follow a proper diet, in which products with salicylates are excluded from the diet. The patient should also avoid taking any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - always carefully read the instructions for the medications and inform your doctor about intolerance.

During periods of remission, inhaled glucocorticoids are primarily prescribed to prevent bronchospasm. And only if they are not effective, systemic glucocorticoids are used. The patient is also prescribed long-acting inhaled b2-agonists and antileukotriene drugs.

If an attack occurs, it is very important to seek medical help as quickly as possible. Exacerbations of aspirin-induced asthma are very difficult to tolerate and can result in death from suffocation. Self-medication with such a diagnosis is prohibited and life-threatening.

During an attack the following are prescribed:

• Salbutamol or fenoterol.
• Glucocorticoids (inhaled or injected).
• Anticholinergic drugs.
• Oxygen therapy.
• Adrenaline (epinephrine) injections.

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A diagnosis that doesn't exist

Yes, yes, that's not a typo. This “disease” does not have a code according to ICD-10 (the International Classification of Diseases, which guides every doctor when making a diagnosis), and foreign doctors know nothing about it at all.

What is thermoneurosis? This is just one of the symptoms that appears in other, “classified” forms of neuroses, such as anxiety disorder or depression. It’s like coughing from bronchitis or pain from a fracture – not the disease itself, but just one of its manifestations.

Unfortunately, domestic therapists are not always able to determine what exactly they are dealing with. A prolonged increase in temperature with ideal (or close to normal) tests and research results, at best, will be called “manifestations of VSD,” that is, vegetative-vascular dystonia. They will advise you to be less nervous, exercise and take a contrast shower twice a day. Alas, this will not solve the problem, because such disorders cannot be treated either by sports or by shower.

Etiology

Prolonged fever can be of various etiologies:

• changes in hormonal levels during pregnancy;
• lack of physical activity;
• weakened immune system;
• thermoneurosis;
• the presence of infections in the body;
• cancer diseases;
• the presence of autoimmune diseases;
• presence of toxoplasmosis;
• vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• presence of tuberculosis;
• presence of brucellosis;
• helminthiasis;
• inflammatory processes in the body;
• sepsis;
• diseases of the endocrine system;
• anemia;
• long-term medication use;
• AIDS;
• intestinal diseases;
• viral hepatitis;
• psychogenic factor;
• Addison's disease.

Where does thermoneurosis come from?

Scientists and doctors have not yet come to a consensus on what is the root cause of neuroses. There are several factors that are considered main, let's consider each of them.

Heredity

There is no clear evidence whether the tendency to neurosis and depression is transmitted genetically or whether it is “inherited” only as a model that a child “reads” from the behavior of his parents in childhood.

But if in childhood a child has before his eyes an example of one of his relatives suffering from increased anxiety, phobias, depression, and so on, then most likely, sooner or later, this child will also show neurotic symptoms or behavior.

In the case of thermoneurosis, it is not at all necessary that one of your relatives also has a high temperature for a long time. Symptoms of neuroses can be very diverse - for example, a mother suffered from headaches, and her son suffered from thermoneurosis.

Disturbances in the balance of neurotransmitters in the body

Most often this concerns serotonin balance. For some reason, the body either stops producing the “joy hormone” itself, or has difficulty absorbing the already produced serotonin. In this case, the person begins to suffer from anxiety and depression.

A certain type of thinking

This aspect is partly related to the first point, since the child’s behavioral patterns are “postponed” in early childhood, until about 7 years. In short, a person with these disorders tends to expect too much from other people, has difficulty adjusting to change, constantly devalues ​​their achievements, and any negative event causes severe stress.

All these factors together ultimately lead to disorders, one of the symptoms of which may be thermoneurosis. Treating it separately is completely useless, including because if you remove one symptom of the disorder, then, most likely, another will appear. Treatment should be comprehensive, but this will be discussed below.

Thermoneurosis in children

If in adult patients the diagnosis of thermoneurosis is not particularly difficult, then in children everything is far from so simple. The fact is that children are more prone to temperature fluctuations, which is due to imperfect thermoregulation systems - they are still developing.

Well-known pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky believes that a temperature ranging from 36.4 to 37.3 during the day is normal even for a child of six years or more. But for infants, such “jumps” are generally typical and are a biological norm, not a disease.

More often, thermoneuroses are detected in adolescents, although even in this case, an increase in temperature may be a consequence of hormonal changes during puberty.

But if your child (or teenager) persistently “gets sick” on the eve of some important event like a performance or a test at school, and the “illness” itself proceeds without the usual signs of infection (cough, runny nose, and so on), then you can still suspect thermoneurosis and consult with specialists.

In children, the symptoms and treatment of thermoneurosis are quite different from adults. Therefore, each little patient requires special attention and his own methods.

Causes and types of childhood neuroses - the opinion of a psychologist

Causes

The impetus for the development of thermoneurosis can be a previous illness, stress, physical and emotional overload, or previous head injuries.

It is important to understand that thermoneurosis, the symptoms and treatment of which are largely similar to VSD, is, in fact, a temperature of neurogenic properties

People of a neurotic type, with a weak nervous system, are more susceptible to this disease. Today, this diagnosis is not uncommon, since the overall stress load on a person (especially those living in a large city) has increased significantly. Teenagers face this even more often, due to increased emotional vulnerability during puberty.

How to treat thermoneurosis?

It was already said above that there is no point in separately “treating” an increase in temperature; you need to look for the root cause of the ailment. Moreover, temperature fluctuations are almost never an isolated phenomenon - they are usually accompanied by other symptoms, such as:

1. Stomach ache.
2. Digestive disorders.
3. Headache.
4. Chronic fatigue, lethargy, apathy, decreased mood.
5. Numbness in different parts of the body.
6. Attacks of tachycardia.
7. Sleep disorders.
8. Periods of increased anxiety.

This is not a complete list of symptoms of neuroses, but these are the manifestations that occur most often.

How is the treatment carried out?

After the doctor makes the correct diagnosis, he will decide whether the patient needs anti-anxiety and depression medications. It is not worth refusing medical support, because neuroses tend to worsen, and there is a risk that in the end the patient will still be forced to take medications, but stronger ones and in larger doses.

The main method of treatment is psychotherapy. The most significant results are obtained by combining Gestalt therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. The first method makes it possible to “work through” the negative emotions accumulated by a person throughout his life. The second is aimed at developing a new worldview and behavior model.

What will happen if left untreated?

Neurotic disorders have an important feature - they can resolve spontaneously or quickly worsen. You should not hope that all the unpleasant symptoms will disappear one day; most likely, they will only become more numerous. If at a given moment in time the patient is only worried about thermoneurosis, then it’s time to start treatment and prevention so as not to bring yourself to real depression or anxiety-phobic disorder.

Prevention of neuroses

The best prevention of both thermoneurosis and other neurotic conditions is communication with a psychologist. A good specialist is able to teach his client to cope “ecologically” with all difficult situations so that they do not lead to the appearance of bodily symptoms.

Also of great benefit will be exercise, regular massage courses (this way tension in the body is relieved), a clear work and rest schedule, giving up bad habits, and healthy sleep. Experts note the undeniable benefits of yoga, swimming pool exercises and meditation, as well as mindfulness practices.