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Staying Healthy
How high a fever is too high?
- By Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
Ask the doctors
Q. Everyone gets a fever sometimes, but at what point does an elevated temperature warrant medical attention?
A. It’s true that fevers are incredibly common, and COVID-19 certainly brought its share of thermometer-raising days to those infected. As with COVID, fever — defined as a temperature of 100.4° F or higher — is your immune system’s response to an infection or another invader. Your elevated temperature is a clear sign something is amiss.
Most fevers go down if you take an over-the-counter medication such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil). If yours doesn’t, contact your doctor.
As for a fever that’s too high, that depends on a couple of other factors. If you’re over 65 or immunocompromised — especially if you may have been exposed to COVID-19 — call your doctor if your fever reaches 101°. Anyone with a fever of 103° or higher should do the same. And if your temperature reaches 105°, go straight to an emergency room.
— Toni Golen, M.D., and Hope Ricciotti, M.D.
Editors in Chief, Harvard Women’s Health Watch
About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
Disclaimer:
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
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COVID-19, Flu, and Colds
Any given year, we’ll collectively come down with one billion colds and up to 45 million cases of flu, while the number of new cases of COVID-19 keeps rising. In this guide, you will learn how to avoid getting any of these three viral infections, and, if you do get sick, what you can do to feel better. You’ll also learn when your condition is serious enough to call a doctor. The report also provides specific information about high-risk groups for whom COVID and the flu can be very serious.
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