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Acute fever after having warm bath or shower

Sabberz_Yaqqerz profile image
11 Replies

Hi everyone

I'm feeling quite desperate as we all do from time to time for answers or people to understand us or just support. Lately I've noticed after a bath or shower I experience the onset of acute fever and my body temperature spikes to anywhere between 38.3c to 39.1c. I don't allow it to get higher and take ibruprofen to bring it down. I struggle to bathe or shower as it is and usually my partner assists me with this. The fever always comes approx 2.5-4 hours after I have bathed or showered. I don't know why this is happening but my entire limbs ache and I get the chills as well. I'm so scared to have a bath or shower now.. before I use to use Epsom salts or lavender essential oil or magnesium in my bath water but now I'm reluctant to bathe or shower. Sorry I know it sounds unhygienic I do change my clothes and use wipes etc sorry if TMI but I am absolutely Petrified now to get innthe shower or bath because I know what's going to happen. Does anyone experience this? Is this another symptom of Fibro. I do experience extreme fatigue and my muscles hurt but this fever feeling is something that has been happening to me shortly before Christmas so from around mid early November time. I'm 33 years old and female should I go to my GP or will they just attribute everything to Fibro. Surely it can't be good for the body to have acute chronic fever if that makes sense. Any thoughts/ advice is welcome thank you all

Just feeling so miserable right now :(

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Sabberz_Yaqqerz
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11 Replies

I'm not a medic but fibro seems to affect our temperature control.

Lots of people on here report " hot flushes" similar to the feelings in menopause. But I've found they go on longer.

Yesterday evening I felt cold, couldn't get warm, bumped the heating up, had a hot bath. Then for the rest of the night could happily have stood stark naked in the garden to cool down ! Baking hot all night despite no heating on. I've just started to feel normal again in the last couple of hours.

This happens frequently, I have to wear layers as clothes can go on and off several times a day. Lying in a bath always warms me up, usually a bit too much.

As I said, I'm not medically trained , but I think it's a fibro effect.

Sorry hun only just flicked thru the days messages and seen this- yes you should go GP as your blood pressure might need checking,, I cant get into a hot bath anymore I used to love sitting in one for a while and get out like a piece of corned beef---very bad for arthritis and fibro sufferers, I only have a wet room now as I cant push up to get out of a bath..I do go to hydrotherapy and the water is 32 degrees but a large pool and we move around and excercise its heaven to go every week I,d love to go evryday if I could. has this hot bathing not given you a bad headache or a migraine??

Sabberz_Yaqqerz profile image
Sabberz_Yaqqerz in reply to

Hi

Went to GP today and explained all the symptoms I was experiencing, I actually wrote them all down for once so I don't forget or miss anything and all she said to me was she doesn't have an explanation :( she did however check my blood pressure and said that was fine but I'm at a loss about why I'm experiencing this pattern. I'm so so scared to have a bath or shower because the aftermath is horrendous for me. She also said she can refer me to CBT which suggests to me she thinks it's psychological which really angers me because it's not!

robpw profile image
robpw

Yes having a shower bath can really take it out of you - Make sure the waters neither too hot or cold and avoid spending too long there - take some time after getting out to recover

Sabberz_Yaqqerz profile image
Sabberz_Yaqqerz in reply to robpw

Gone are the days I could happily lay in a nice warm tub and relax :( reducing the water temp to 29-32c and limiting the time I'm in the water has helped a little in terms of that horrible full body tremor and feverish muscular aches not being triggered

Thank you

Ellzx profile image
Ellzx

I have fibro and m.e/cfs I believe a fever after a Epsom salt bath is due to the detoxing effect the salts can have. If I have a alot of salts in the bath and/or a hotter bath (which would increase the detox effect) I feel pretty unwell feverish, achy and generally flu like afterwards. Some electrolytes before during and after the bath might help- I find this does with me. Also building up a tolerance to the heat and salt concentration. I'm more careful now and watch the temperature and amount of salts i put in (I measure the salts) this has reduced the amount of episodes I have significantly!

I hope this helps x

Amiks812 profile image
Amiks812

I thought this only happened to me! I can take my temperature after showering and it’s about 99.6.... it also happens when I do too much physical activity. I have Chronic Migraine Disorder, Fibromyalgia, Gastroparesis, Colonic Inertia, Small Fiber Nueropathy, and POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). I’m so sorry your suffering. Showers are so difficult for me and I was always wondering if I was the only one who finds them physically difficult, but who also gets post-shower fevers. There has to be something to this symptom.

Sabberz_Yaqqerz profile image
Sabberz_Yaqqerz in reply to Amiks812

Hi

The post shower fevers have somewhat calmed down since I’ve reduced water temperature and stopped using bath salts/Epsom salts. I came across some research that stated the blood vessels enlarge and construct due to the extremes of water temperature and air temperature and to try and keep them similar so if having a warm shower to come out into warm air too. Sorry I probably haven’t explained it well but I will try to find the page/link where I read it. I always have to plan my showering days it can’t be spontaneous or just because I feel like having one because I need at least 1-2 days to recover so I only shower 3 times a week now and I know this sounds unhygienic to some people but this is my life now and I’ve had to accept this reality otherwise I can’t function

Amiks812 profile image
Amiks812 in reply to Sabberz_Yaqqerz

Same it takes me days to recover from showers (or any physical activity). Have you ever heard of POTS (it’s an autonomic nervous system issue ... you might have that in addition to Fibromyalgia? This is the part of our nervous system that regulates temperature, breathing, blood pressure/heart rate, etc. It tends to occur in people with Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS/SEID. I truly think I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, rather than Fibromyalgia, or in addition to Fibromyalgia.

But back to the shower thing... I also have turned my water to warm vs. hot... and I also drink a full Gatorade before I get in the shower and water after. It helps some, but mostly I’m still using body wipes, because showering is soooo fatiguing.

green_bean profile image
green_bean

Hello, I know this post is very old now, but I thought this might be helpful to anyone who comes across it. I recently experienced fevers and soaking night sweats after exercising. Simultaneously, at this time I have dermatographia, which is basically where histamines are overreacting to things like scratches or even pressure on the skin and causes hives.

So, considering this, I thought perhaps because exercising causes little tears in muscles, maybe I was experiencing the same thing internally after exercise (i.e. getting inflamed), so I tried taking Claratin, which should calm the histamine reaction. Sure enough, no more sore muscles, fevers, or night sweats after that. For me, it only took one Claratin, but I was prescribed to take Claratin every night and Zyrtec every morning for the dermatographia, in case someone else wanted to try it out.

How this relates to the bath thing is that I have experienced flu-like symptoms after epsom salt baths and I believe it's the same thing: a histamine reaction. I'm no doctor and can't be sure, but it's worth a shot to try allergy medicine to see if it calms your reaction too. Good luck!

randomusesk1 profile image
randomusesk1

If you turn on some fan to dry yourself after taking a shower then stop doing that cause it gives you fevers like the one you described oh shit im 3 years late

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