Symptoms
The simplest symptom of a fever dream is the fever itself. It depends entirely on the person affected and his or her initial state, from which temperature increase it can come to a fever dream. In theory, doctors speak of a fever if the temperature is above 38°C.
If the affected person or relative measures a significantly increased body temperature after a suspected fever dream, this is a clear indication. However, if you do not have a thermometer at home, you may also see rather unspecific symptoms as an indication of a feverish dream. The basic prerequisite in almost all cases is a clear feeling of illness.
The resulting elevated temperature often manifests itself in the feeling of “burning eyes” and “glowing cheeks”. In addition, the bed linen is often clearly sweaty after waking up. However, these are purely subjective observations that do not always have to be based on a fever dream.
Often it is really the relatives who can observe a feverish dream in the affected person. It is more likely to be a suspicion, often based on the feeling of unresting sleep or wild dreams. In any case, a clinical thermometer should be used to monitor the progress of the dream if it occurs repeatedly.
Duration
The duration of a fever dream can vary greatly, but should not last longer than a few hours. Usually, these are rather short phases of about half an hour, which coincide with the peak of the body temperature in the course of the fever.It is not unusual for feverish dreams to recur when the body temperature rises again. However, it is important that the duration should be limited to the sleeping phase. Any persistent confusion or distorted perception should be assessed by a doctor, as in such a case it is more likely to be the consequences of the temperature rise. A resulting loss of fluid can also cause confusion.
Fever dream of a child
Fever dreams are nothing unusual for children. Especially children around the first year of life up to kindergarten age are especially sensitive to strong temperature fluctuations, which is shown not only in fever dreams but also in so-called febrile convulsions. The fever dreams, however, can be considered uncomplicated.
At the beginning of an infection, parents often notice a restless sleep of their child and increased sweating during the night. Typical for febrile dreams are additional vocalizations of the child during sleep. From a soft whimpering to a slight babbling or crying, everything is conceivable.
Objectively speaking, it helps to take the temperature rectally (in the buttocks) with a clinical thermometer to estimate the probability of a fever dream. If the temperature is permanently elevated and the child is increasingly weakened, fever-reducing measures should be taken to give the child enough time for a restful sleep. In the case of a single occurrence or only very short fever dreams, these should be tolerated. The increased body temperature helps the body’s own defence system to kill the pathogens that cause the illness.
