What does a body temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit mean?
“Recent studies indicate that 98.2°F (36.8°C) is a more accurate average, and in older individuals it may be about 1°F lower. One small study even suggested that in healthy older patients, body temperature ranged from 94°F to 99.6°F, with an average of 97.7°F.”
Based on this, in some cases, a temperature of 95 degrees would not be a problem. In other cases, it might be the threshold of hypothermia. If normal body temperatures decline by 1 degree by the age of 75, by my inductive genius, I predict that by the time a human reaches the age of 7395 years old, his or her body temperature will have declined to 0 degrees, and he or she will still be in perfect health if still alive.
For those conspiracy theorists who believe there are secret people amongst us who are actually hundreds of years old but don’t tell, here’s a way of testing your theory. Take your infrared scanning thermometer on the bus with you on your way to work and scan everyone. If you find someone who is, say, 88.6 degrees, this person could be as much as 750 years old. When is body temperature too low? – Harvard Health
If you breathe with your mouth open, the necessary temperature to read correctly on a thermometer is not there. Your soft tissues are “too cool.”. To confirm this, take a rectal (core) temperature. As evidence of what I say, it is impractical to try to take an oral temperature on a person who is actively hyperventilating. (They always have their mouths open.).
What happens in your body when it reaches 110 degrees Fahrenheit?
Your organs fail, and you die if they stay at that temperature long enough. But at least you’ll kill viruses with it. You tell those viruses that if they’re taking you down, you’re taking them out with you. That will show them who’s boss. They will never bother you again after that, because you’ll be dead.
What does a body temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit mean?
This is a little low, but not necessarily pathological. This finding, in the context of the history of the present illness and physical examination, means NOTHING. It might mean you are cold, that you just woke up, or that your temperature is lower than most people.
The next thing to examine is whether the thermometer is accurate and how the temperature was taken. In the US, mercury thermometers are apparently not available anymore. The thermometers that remotely look at the skin of the forehead can have methodologic problems; ear thermometers can be blocked by cerumen (ear wax); axillary temperatures are not very reliable. A rectal temperature is going to be good.
An oral temperature in which the thermometer is nearest to the lingular artery, which is deeply below and at the base of the tongue, is needed. Just putting the thermometer inside the lips is unreliable, and either drinking hot or cold drinks or smoking within, say 20 minutes can affect the measurement.
Make sure you are doing it right, and try two different thermometers. Do multiple readings over days. This article from Wikipedia goes into much more detail; read it, please: Human body temperature – Wikipedia
Why is the average body temperature mysteriously declining and is longer (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) than 95?
Wow, interesting; I had not heard that before. Some serious researchers think the cooling is real. Even so, part of the hype is just misunderstanding. Let’s put it in perspective:
When doctor Carl Wunderlich announced the human body temperature in 1851, he did not say it was 98.6 Fahrenheit. He said it was 37 Celsius.
37 C converts to 98.6 F, so what’s the difference? The difference is in the accuracy. When you say it’s 98.6 F, you are saying it is not 98.5 F or 98.7 F. When you say it’s 37 C, you are only saying it’s not 36 C or 38 C. It would be different if Dr. Wunderlich had said 37.0 Celsius, but he did not.
36 C is 96.8 F; 38 C is 100.4 F. Doctor Wunderlich knew that human temperatures varied a lot, and he was only saying that the average is somewhere between 36.5 C (97.9 F) and 37.5 C (99.5 F).
Until I see more data, I will tentatively believe that, yes, the average human temperature is dropping. But!…
- there are still 25% of us with an average temperature above 98.6 F, and
- the average has not yet dropped from the 37 C range to the 36 C range.
If your body temperature is about 98 degrees Fahrenheit (95), then why does it burn you to touch something at that temperature?
It shouldn’t burn you. It should feel hot to the touch. The hotness you feel is due to the rate at which heat leaves your body. and is about regulating your internal body temperature.
You are constantly producing heat because you are warm blooded. Your body needs to lose heat at about the same rate as it is produced, in order to feel comfortable. This means that the outer temperature has to be lower than your body temperature to feel “neutral”.
Your body can also tell if you are touching your body or something else. If it does burn you, you should see a doctor.
Why do all humans have a body temperature around 98.6 °F (37 °C)?
There probably is no good reason for that specific temperature, but there is a reason why the system is tightly held to some specific temperature. Our metabolism is driven by hundreds of different chemical reactions, and many of them are strongly temperature dependent. The consequence is that when the body temperature changes, the reaction rates change, but to widely differing degrees. So it is difficult to keep the reactions optimally balanced in a regime of changing temperatures.
The bottom line is that fixing the temperature allows for a much more complicated system of metabolism. But there is no obvious reason that forces it to be fixed exactly at 98.6; any value in that neighborhood would probably do just as well.
Why does our body have to regulate around the temperature of 98.6F? Why not something else?
I found these answers on reddit that answer this question well:
Because all of our tissues/proteins/enzymes have very similar structures. Temperatures can drastically affect how a protein works; higher temperatures can render a protein completely non-functional, if not outright destroying the protein.
A narrow temperature range provides the best performance for the body’s proteins. This temperature is maintained by the hypothalamus, which tries to keep the body at peak performance in that narrow temperature range.
However, the premise of the question is a bit flawed (I found this quote from the Reddit thread as well):
Normal body temperature varies by person, age, activity, and time of day. The average normal body temperature is generally accepted as 98.6°F (37°C). Some studies have shown that the “normal” body temperature can have a wide range, from 97°F (36.1°C) to 99°F (37.2°C).
If the inside of our bodies is around 98 degrees (fahrenheit), why does it feel so hot when the outside temperature gets that high?
Your body is constantly trying to keep its core temperature at 98.6°F, or 37°C. When it’s cold outside, your body will increase its metabolism by burning calories to help maintain the core temperature. If needed, your body will induce shivering (quick contractions of major muscle groups that produce heat).
What does a body temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit mean?
When it’s hot outside, your body will try to cool itself by sweating. As the air evaporates the sweat from your skin, it carries some heat off with it. Also your metabolism might slow down, so you’re not burning calories (producing heat) as quickly.
Your body uses all of these methods with the overall goal of maintaining your core temperature. Typically, people are in environments that are much cooler than 98′F. Certainly people’s skin temperature—their peripheral temperature—is usually much, much less than 98′F. So your body is usually in a thermal equilibrium: you’re producing heat which you shed to the environment, at a balanced rate.
On those occasions when it’s really hot outside, your body has to adjust to this high, external temperature. Your skin temperature is no longer cooler than your core. This make shedding heat more difficult. Until sweating kicks-in and your metabolic rate decreases, it will feel extraordinarily hot.
- In environments that are both hot and humid, sweating becomes much less efficient. Since the air is already nearly-saturated with moisture, it cannot evaporate your sweat as quickly. Your peripheral and core temperatures can quickly begin to raise above 98′F, or 37′C.
Conclusion
Hypothermia is a medical emergency that, if left untreated, can lead to brain damage and cardiac failure. A body temperature below 95°F (35°C) is considered abnormally low, and the condition is known as hypothermia. This happens when your body loses heat faster than it can produce heat.
Body temperatures were taken by 133 older subjects in a nursing home for older people using a mercury-in-glass thermometer. Temperatures were measured at 8 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. over three consecutive days. Each subject had all three measurements taken on the same day. The mean age of the subjects was 77.2. In the 133 older subjects, the body temperatures ranged from 95.3-97.6 degrees F.
Studies show that core body temperature decreases with age. Hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, can also slow down metabolism, which can lead to a drop in body temperature. Hypothermia is when the body temperature drops to 95 °F. The most common cause of hypothermia is exposure to cold weather or cold water. However, it can also happen in cool temperatures if you do not have adequate clothing, are wet, or have prolonged exposure.
This includes being in a house that is too cool It is the result of the body losing heat faster than it can make it. It’s dangerous because it causes vital organs to stop working the way they should. It can lead to heart attacks, kidney failure, and liver damage. It also affects the brain, making it difficult to think clearly and move. Certain medications, such as antidepressants and sedatives, can also interfere with your body’s temperature regulation.
In general, I’d suggest either a new thermometer or a visit to a Primary Care Physician.
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What does a body temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit mean?