5) Factors Affecting Body Temperature Flashcards

1
Q

How are newborns affected by temperature changes?

A
  • Temperature control mechanisms are immature
  • Temperature may respond dramatically to environment changes
  • Extra care needed to protect from extremes
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2
Q

What precautions are needed for newborn temperature regulation?

A
  • Adequate body coverings
  • Avoid exposure to temperature extremes
  • Wear cap to prevent heat loss through head (up to 30%)
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3
Q

What is the normal temperature range for newborns?

A
  • Core and peripheral temperature 36.5°C - 37.6°C
  • When protected from environmental extremes
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4
Q

Until what age is temperature regulation unstable?

A
  • Until children reach puberty
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5
Q

How does temperature range change with age?

A
  • Gradually drops as individuals approach older adulthood
  • Older adults have lower and narrower range
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6
Q

What oral temperature may be normal for older adults in cold weather?

A
  • 35°C is not unusual
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7
Q

What is the average body temperature for older adults?

A
  • Approximately 36°C
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8
Q

Why are older adults sensitive to temperature extremes?

A
  • Deterioration in control mechanisms
  • Poor vasomotor control
  • Reduced subcutaneous tissue
  • Reduced sweat gland activity
  • Reduced metabolism
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9
Q

How does muscle activity affect heat production?

A
  • Requires increased blood supply
  • Increased breakdown of carbohydrates and fats
  • This increased metabolism causes more heat production
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10
Q

What effect does exercise have on body temperature?

A
  • Any form of exercise increases heat production
  • And thus raises body temperature
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11
Q

How high can body temperature rise during prolonged strenuous exercise?

A
  • Up to 41°C temporarily
  • Example: Long-distance running
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12
Q

How do hormones affect women’s body temperature?

A
  • Women experience greater fluctuations than men
  • Due to hormonal variations in progesterone during menstrual cycle
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13
Q

How does low progesterone affect body temperature?

A
  • Body temperature is a few tenths below baseline level
  • Lower temperature persists until ovulation
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14
Q

How does ovulation affect body temperature?

A
  • Greater progesterone enters bloodstream
  • Raises body temperature to baseline or higher
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15
Q

How can temperature changes be used for women?

A
  • To predict most fertile time to achieve pregnancy
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16
Q

What temperature changes occur during menopause?

A
  • Intense body heat and sweating episodes
  • Lasting 30 seconds to 5 minutes
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17
Q

What is a hot flash?

A
  • Skin temperature increases intermittently by up to 4°C
  • Caused by instability of vasomotor controls
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18
Q

How much does body temperature normally change in a 24-hour period?

A
  • Changes 0.5°C to 1°C
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19
Q

When is body temperature usually lowest for day-awake, night-sleep cycle?

A
  • Between 0100 and 0400 hours
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20
Q

When does body temperature reach its maximum?

A
  • Around 1800 hours
  • Then declines back to early morning levels
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21
Q

How long does it take for temperature patterns to reverse for night shift workers?

A
  • 1 to 3 weeks
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22
Q

Does the circadian temperature rhythm change with age?

A
  • In general, no
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23
Q

How does stress affect body temperature?

A
  • Physical and emotional stress increases body temperature
  • Through hormonal and neural stimulation
  • These physiological changes increase metabolism
  • Which increases heat production
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24
Q

What situation may cause a higher than normal temperature reading?

A
  • Patient feeling anxious about entering a hospital
  • Patient feeling anxious about undergoing a procedure
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25
How can a warm room affect body temperature measurement?
- Patient may be unable to regulate by heat-loss mechanisms - Resulting in elevated body temperature
26
How can being outside in the cold affect body temperature?
- Body temperature may be low - Due to extensive radiant and conductive heat loss - If patient was outside without warm clothing
27
Who is most affected by environmental temperatures?
- Infants - Older persons - Those with spinal cord injuries - Due to less efficient temperature-regulating mechanisms
28
What is poikilothermia?
- Body temperature adjusts to environmental temperature - Seen in people with spinal cord injuries
29
What affects the hypothalamic set point for body temperature?
- Body temperatures outside the usual range
30
What can cause changes in body temperature
- Excess heat production - Excessive heat loss - Minimal heat production - Minimal heat loss - Or a combination
31
What determines the clinical problems from temperature changes?
- The nature of the temperature change
32
What is pyrexia or fever?
- Body temperature rises to an abnormal level - Because heat-loss mechanisms cannot keep up with excess heat production
33
When is a fever usually not harmful?
- If it stays below 39°C (102.2°F) - A single temperature reading may not indicate fever
34
How is a true fever determined?
- Based on several temperature readings at different times - Compared to the person's usual values at those times
35
What causes a true fever?
- Alteration in the hypothalamic set point - Triggered by pyrogens like bacteria and viruses
36
How does the body respond during a fever?
- Hypothalamus raises the set point - Body produces and conserves heat to reach new set point
37
What happens during the chill phase of a fever?
- Person experiences chills and shivers - Feels cold even though temperature is rising
38
What happens in the plateau phase?
- Chills subside - Person feels warm and dry
39
What causes the fever to break?
- Hypothalamic set point drops - Initiating heat loss responses like vasodilation and sweating
40
How does fever enhance the body's immune system?
- Temperature elevations up to 38°C enhance immune function - White blood cell production is stimulated - Increased temperature reduces iron in blood plasma, suppressing bacterial growth - Fever stimulates production of interferon to fight viral infections
41
How can fever patterns help in diagnosis?
- Fever patterns differ depending on the causative pyrogen - Increase/decrease in pyrogen activity results in fever spikes/declines at different times - Duration and degree of fever depend on pyrogen strength and individual's response - Fever of unknown origin refers to fever with undetermined cause
42
What physiological changes occur during fever?
- Cellular metabolism and oxygen consumption increase - Heart and respiratory rates rise to meet increased metabolic needs - Increased metabolism uses energy, producing additional heat - Prolonged fever can weaken the person by exhausting energy stores
43
What are the risks of fever for certain patient populations?
- For patients with cardiac/respiratory problems, fever stress can be great - Increased metabolism requires additional oxygen; inability to meet demand causes cellular hypoxia - Myocardial hypoxia can produce angina (chest pain) - Cerebral hypoxia can produce confusion
44
What nursing interventions may be required during fever?
- Oxygen therapy may be needed - Increased respiration and diaphoresis can lead to excessive water loss and fluid volume deficit - Dehydration is a serious concern for older adults and low-weight children - Maintaining optimal fluid volume status is an important intervention
45
What is hyperthermia?
- Elevated body temperature - Due to inability to promote heat loss or reduce heat production - Different from fever, which is an upward shift in set point - Hyperthermia results from overload of thermoregulatory mechanisms
46
What can impair heat-loss mechanisms and cause hyperthermia?
- Any disease or trauma to the hypothalamus
47
What is malignant hyperthermia?
- Life-threatening disorder of skeletal muscle - In people with pharmacogenetic predisposition - Characterized by muscle contractions and severe hypermetabolic crisis - Triggered by volatile anesthetics or succinylcholine
48
How is hypothermia classified based on temperature?
- Mild: 34-36°C - Moderate: 30-34°C - Severe: <30°C
49
What causes heatstroke?
- Prolonged exposure to sun or high environmental temperatures - Overwhelms body's heat-loss mechanisms - Heat also depresses hypothalamic function
50
Who is at risk for heatstroke?
- Very young and older persons - Those with cardiovascular disease, hypothyroidism, diabetes, spinal cord injury, alcoholism - Patients on medications that decrease heat loss ability (phenothiazines, anticholinergics, diuretics, amphetamines, beta-blockers) - People who exercise or do strenuous physical labor (athletes, construction workers, farmers)
51
What are the signs and symptoms of heatstroke?
- Confusion, delirium, excess thirst, nausea, muscle cramps - Visual disturbances, giddiness, incontinence - Hot, dry skin (most important sign) - No sweating due to electrolyte loss and hypothalamic malfunction
52
What vital sign changes occur in heatstroke?
- Body temperature as high as 45°C - Increased heart rate - Lowered blood pressure
53
What can happen if heatstroke progresses without treatment?
- Loss of consciousness - Permanent neurological damage
54
What causes heat exhaustion?
- Profuse sweating (diaphoresis) - Excessive water and electrolyte loss
55
What symptoms does a patient with heat exhaustion exhibit?
- Signs and symptoms of fluid volume deficit
56
How is heat exhaustion treated?
- Transport patient to a cooler environment - Restore fluid and electrolyte balance
57
What is hypothermia?
- Abnormally low body temperature - Caused by prolonged exposure to cold overwhelming heat production - Classified by core temperature measurements
58
How can hypothermia occur?
- Unintentionally induced (e.g. falling through ice) - Intentionally induced during certain surgeries to reduce metabolic demand
59
What symptoms occur as body temperature drops to 35°C in hypothermia?
- Uncontrolled shivering - Loss of memory - Depression - Poor judgment
60
What happens as body temperature falls below 34.4°C in hypothermia?
- Heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure decrease - Skin becomes cyanotic - Can progress to cardiac dysrhythmias, loss of consciousness, unresponsiveness
61
What is frostbite?
- Occurs with exposure to extremely cold temperatures - Ice crystals form inside cells, causing circulatory and tissue damage - Susceptible areas: earlobes, nose, fingers, toes - Affected area becomes white, waxy, firm, numb
62
How is frostbite treated?
- Gradual warming measures - Analgesia - Protection of injured tissue