What is a high temperature for elderly people?
I have been asked, what is a high temperature for elderly people?
Please find the following that may help and importantly, If you have questions about a raised temperature in an elderly friend or relative please contact your healthcare practitioner.
First of all why do we have increases in temperature?
These increases in temperature that result in a fever developing is the body’s natural way of reacting to and fighting infection.
Also, our bodies don't have a uniform temperature as we lose heat through the skin, areas closer to the surface of the body and further from the centre can be several degrees cooler than the interior, "core" temperature.
Seniors those over 65 years typically have lower body temperatures than younger people. Therefore Its important to make sure you have a baseline reading of when seniors are well and record it as it is changes in this baseline temperatures that matter.
Also the time of day is important, when asleep and early morning your temperature is lower and will rise a little during the day and with exercise so when checking regularly do it at the same time.
The normal oral body temperature for adults under 65 years is close to 37°C . Fever is defined as an oral temperature greater than 38° C, although some authorities do not consider a fever significant until the temperature exceeds 38.5° C.
However thresholds for older adult fever temperatures might be lower, since older individuals have more difficulty conserving heat. In an elderly adult a persistent oral temperature over 37.2°C or an increase in body temperature of 1.3°C above baseline normal well temperature could indicate an infection (1)
infrared forehead thermometers
Studies (1) have found that infrared forehead thermometer temperatures were equivalent to or better than oral temperatures or ear in correlating with rectal temperatures. However these must be used as directed
1 Fever in the Elderly, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 31, Issue 1, July 2000, Pages 148–151,