Thermometers

What temperature is a fever?

In general, 37.5°C – 37.9°C is considered a mild or ‘low grade’ raised temperature/fever. This isn’t normally worrying, but also isn’t normal, and could suggest an underlying infection. 38°C and above is considered ‘a proper fever’. However, the normal body temperature can fluctuate somewhat with age and doctors have a lower threshold for a raised temperature being a concerning sign at younger ages.

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What’s the difference between a cold and the flu?

Some people use the term ‘flu’ for symptoms that others would call ‘a cold’. Medically speaking, ‘flu’ is short for ‘influenza’ and we use this term when talking about cases suspected to be caused by an influenza virus. Symptoms of the flu can include fevers, chills, body aches, headaches and lethargy. It can lead to a more serious illness than a simple cold, especially in vulnerable groups of people, such as the elderly, pregnant women, and those with certain underlying medical conditions, including lung and heart problems.

A ‘cold’ is also caused by a virus, but it tends to be a less serious illness. The most common virus to cause a cold is aptly named the ‘rhinovirus’ – not surprising, given ‘rhino’ means nose in Greek! Symptoms of a cold tend to be limited to the head or throat (think stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, sneezing, sinus congestion), and people are usually less unwell than with a flu.