Achy, tired, warm skin, and just not feeling right? You may have a low-grade fever. Before you figure out how to treat your low-grade fever, understand where it might have come from and what role it plays in your body.
Your body is a complex and smart system that constantly works to keep you feeling your best, including maintaining the optimum internal temperature. Your internal temperature is subject to hormonal and brain activity and adapts to conditions of your environment. For your body to work properly, your optimum body temperature is 98.6°F (37°C).1 Sometimes, though, your body needs to elevate its temperature above that ideal level to, for example, fight off a cold or flu virus. In those cases, you might experience a low-grade fever.
Fevers are common, and they occur for a variety of reasons, often signaling that the body is working to protect itself.2,4,5
Fevers happen for a variety of reasons and at different severity levels. Depending on your specific temperature, your fever may be categorized as low-grade fever, regular fever, or high-grade fever. The use of these terms highlights the importance of monitoring a fever.
