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Updated: May 14, 2026

A Novel Pavlovian Fear Conditioning Paradigm to Study Freezing and Flight Behavior
Published on: January 5, 2021
Fever literacy and fever phobia
Matthew B Wallenstein1, Alan R Schroeder, Michael K Hole
1Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA. matthew.ben.wallenstein@gmail.com
Objective:
To identify the percentage of parents who define the threshold for fever between 38.0°C and 38.3°C, which has not been reported previously, and to describe parental attitudes toward fever and antipyretic use.
Study Design:
Thirteen-question survey study of caregivers.
Results:
Overall, 81% of participants defined the threshold for fever as <38.0°C, 0% correctly defined fever between 38.0°C and 38.3°C, and 19% defined fever as >38.3°C. Twenty percent of children brought to clinic for a chief complaint of fever were never truly febrile. Ninety-three percent of participants believed that high fever can cause brain damage. For a comfortable-appearing child with fever, 89% of caregivers reported that they would give antipyretics and 86% would schedule a clinic visit.
Conclusion:
Our finding that 0% of parents correctly defined fever is both surprising and unsettling, and it should inform future discussions of fever between parents and clinicians.
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Increased Body Temperature
Types of Fever
Here are the different types of fever:
Preparedness and Phobias
Methods of reducing fever
Pharmacological Methods of Reducing Fever:
Acute Pharyngitis
Acute pharyngitis is the inflammation of the back of the throat (pharynx), commonly resulting in a sore throat. It is a frequently encountered condition that prompts individuals to seek medical advice.
Classification
Acute pharyngitis can be categorized based on its underlying cause: