fever with torn ligaments
July 17, 2009 10:15 AM Subscribe
is it common to have a fever with torn ligaments? I had a bike accident three days ago and for some ligaments in my arm pretty badly. I took Vicodin and ibuprofen for the first few days but now I'm just taking ibuprofen. I was just about to take my next dosage, when i decided to take my temperature. It's 100.1. I don't feel feverish or weird. Could this just be the inflammation and/or healing process? It's also pretty hot in the apartment. You're not my doctor, but any insights are much appreciated.
Seconding fever as an indicator of infection. Call your doctor, tell him or her your symptoms, and ask whether or not you should come in.
posted by ocherdraco at 10:47 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by ocherdraco at 10:47 AM on July 17, 2009
It could also mean you're allergic to the meds. When I broke my wrist a few years ago, after they took me off morphine I was switched to Percocet then Vicodin & finallly settled on Tramadol. The Percocet & Vicodin both gave me crazy sweats shortly after ingestion. After a couple rounds of this we finally put 2 & 2 together & figured out what was causing it.
posted by scalefree at 11:13 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by scalefree at 11:13 AM on July 17, 2009
Response by poster: I have a few scrapes but I've been cleaning them and applying bacitracin regularly. the don't look infected. but I will call my doctor. Thanks.
posted by Morpeth at 11:19 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by Morpeth at 11:19 AM on July 17, 2009
Will you please let us know what the MD says? I'm curious because people get fevers after broken bones, even if there's no breaks in the skin. I just thought it was something that happened from any trauma but I have no idea.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:54 AM on July 17, 2009
posted by small_ruminant at 11:54 AM on July 17, 2009
Could this just be the inflammation and/or healing process?
You are seeing a physician, good. Just because I wanted to solidify my own understandings: no, elevated core temperature is not a normal response to peripheral injury. Your core temperature shouldn't increase in a merely "hot" apartment unless your ability to regulate your body temperature is impaired; that would be a bad thing.
It is also important to remember that 98.6F is a overly accurate conversion from 37C. Body temperature will shift over the course of a day or weeks depending on the person. There is nothing "right" about 37C, it was an empirically measured average. My normal body temperature is 37.5C and colds usually announce themselves with lower temperatures.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_human_body_temperature and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthermia
posted by fydfyd at 12:03 PM on July 17, 2009
You are seeing a physician, good. Just because I wanted to solidify my own understandings: no, elevated core temperature is not a normal response to peripheral injury. Your core temperature shouldn't increase in a merely "hot" apartment unless your ability to regulate your body temperature is impaired; that would be a bad thing.
It is also important to remember that 98.6F is a overly accurate conversion from 37C. Body temperature will shift over the course of a day or weeks depending on the person. There is nothing "right" about 37C, it was an empirically measured average. My normal body temperature is 37.5C and colds usually announce themselves with lower temperatures.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_human_body_temperature and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthermia
posted by fydfyd at 12:03 PM on July 17, 2009
Response by poster: I spoke to my doctor and he said it's not unusual to have a low grade fever with skin abrasions like mine (there's a large one on my shoulder.) He said that as long as the scrapes don't swell up and redden the skin around them I shouldn't worry. He said that the inflammation of the ligaments might contribute to the fever, but he didn't seem to think that they were likely to be the sole cause. So there you have it! Thanks for all your responses.
posted by Morpeth at 12:26 PM on July 17, 2009
posted by Morpeth at 12:26 PM on July 17, 2009
I think you're right that the healing process is causing your temperature to rise:
A Role for Thyroid Hormone in Wound Healing through Keratin Gene Expression
Four days after wounding, ip T3-treated mice had twice the degree of wound closure as hypothyroid mice. By RT-PCR, K6a and K17 gene expression from control mouse skin was greater than from hypothyroid mouse skin: 5- and 1.7-fold, respectively. T3 is necessary for the keratinocyte proliferation required for optimal wound healing. T3 exerts influence by stimulating expression of the wound-healing keratin genes. Thus, for hypothyroid patients undergoing surgery that cannot be delayed until euthyroidism is achieved, our data support T3 treatment for the perioperative period.
Given this, I think it would be extremely surprising if, during the healing process, your body did not raise its level of thyroid hormone above normal resting levels, and high thyroid does cause elevated temperature.
I lost more than thirty pounds in the first month after major eye surgery even though I did nothing but lay around in bed and eat everything I could get my hands on, and, for that cool fall, my girlfriend had to sleep on the couch a number of nights because I was so hot she couldn't stay asleep.
posted by jamjam at 12:29 PM on July 17, 2009
A Role for Thyroid Hormone in Wound Healing through Keratin Gene Expression
Four days after wounding, ip T3-treated mice had twice the degree of wound closure as hypothyroid mice. By RT-PCR, K6a and K17 gene expression from control mouse skin was greater than from hypothyroid mouse skin: 5- and 1.7-fold, respectively. T3 is necessary for the keratinocyte proliferation required for optimal wound healing. T3 exerts influence by stimulating expression of the wound-healing keratin genes. Thus, for hypothyroid patients undergoing surgery that cannot be delayed until euthyroidism is achieved, our data support T3 treatment for the perioperative period.
Given this, I think it would be extremely surprising if, during the healing process, your body did not raise its level of thyroid hormone above normal resting levels, and high thyroid does cause elevated temperature.
I lost more than thirty pounds in the first month after major eye surgery even though I did nothing but lay around in bed and eat everything I could get my hands on, and, for that cool fall, my girlfriend had to sleep on the couch a number of nights because I was so hot she couldn't stay asleep.
posted by jamjam at 12:29 PM on July 17, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by randomstriker at 10:26 AM on July 17, 2009