BIO407 Case Study Thomas, a 20 year old college student, was not feeling well that morning. He felt achy & tired, and had a sore throat with some nasal congestion. When he first started feeling ill, he felt cold & occasionally shivered and got “goose pimples”. His skin was pale and cold

#3) Thomas, a 20 year old college student, was not feeling well that morning. He felt achy & tired, and had a sore throat with some nasal congestion. When he first started feeling ill, he felt cold & occasionally shivered and got “goose pimples”. His skin was pale and cold. He put on some warmer clothing & huddled under the blankets. When he measured his sublingual temperature, it was 40oC (normal is 36-38).

Later that evening, he all of a sudden felt very hot under the blankets. His skin was flushed & he was sweating. He threw off the blankets and removed his extra clothing. At this point, he realized that he actually felt better.

               a) Why are chills associated with the onset of a fever & sweating associated with its departure? Be sure to discuss normal temperature regulation in the body & how a fever disrupts this mechanism.

               b) Antipyretic medicine, such as aspirin, opposes the influence of a pyrogen on the body’s thermostat. How do antipyretics reduce fever?

               c) Can you think of any disadvantage to the use of aspirin to reduce the discomfort of a fever?

               d) Sometimes people taking antibiotics will experience a “rebound” fever about 2 days after starting treatment. What is the explanation for this fever?