Sorry…this may be the wrong forum, but I need a quick answer:
How high of an internal temperature can the human body stand before you die? I have an employee who called in sick today, claiming the doctor took his temperature and said it was 112 degrees…I thought you were dead at this point. Employee said his doctor said he could return to work tomorrow.
Is this possible?
Thanks. Sorry about the wrong forum Mods.
i think i read somewhere that 112 is when your body starts to shut down. he might be pulling your leg. might i say.
IANAD, but I suspect that if you weren’t dead, you’d be hallucinatory and in the hospital.
I think he needs to provide a doctor’s note that it is ok for him to go back to work 
Sounds very dodgy to me! If you really had a temperature of 112 degrees, I don’t think you’d be fit to work the next day, or any other for a long time! (if, of course, you’re not dead by then) Not the most well-thought out excuse, at any rate.
Hmmmmmmmmm…sounds mighty suspicious to me. I’d want it in writing from the doctor that it is ok for this employee to return to work.
Not a chance… <searches for a cite…>
Let’s see. This says “Anyone with a temperature above 105 degrees Fahrenheit should be examined for heat illness, stroke, or drug overdose.” From here we learn that “Fever less than 106 degrees F (41.0 degrees C) does not ‘cook the brain’.” This implies to me, at least, that a fever higher than that would “cook the brain”. One more. “Very high fevers between 103 F and 106 F may cause hallucinations, confusion, irritability and even convulsions.”
Looks to me like anything over 106 F is probably fatal, and there’s no way any responsible medical professional would send someone back to work the next day with anything over 104, IMHO (IANAD, for the record).
I think Salazar was clocked at 108 after the NY marathon once. This put a WORLD CLASS MARATHONER in the ICU.
I think 112 means he’d be calling in dead.
IIRC from my First Aid training (3 years ago, now), a fever of 103 lasting more than 2 days is critical and potentially fatal. Of course, I may be misremembering, but the thing I do remember for sure that 103 is bad, so I imagine that 112 is terrible!
a 107 or 108 degree body temperature will be fatal rather quickly if it is not treated. 105 is damn bad, as is 106. IANAD either, but hell, I would say that you really shouldn’t do anything but work on recovering if you have a temperature of 101 or so… 102 or higher, definitely stay home. 112? Your goose is cooked (literally!). The guy is pulling your chain, or is hallucinatory.
My temperature hovered between 104° and 106°F for two weeks when I had pneumonia as a small child (about 7 years old). The doctors didn’t let me go home for a month “just to be sure”. I don’t think a doctor would examine a patient and say “Well… 112°. Go home and lie down for a while and you’ll be good as new!” I would assume a temperature that high would require at LEAST one night in the hospital.
In short, I don’t buy it.
Highest I ever saw was 108 in a marathoner and he had major mental status changes, although he recovered. Anything over 105-106 is definitely ICU time and he would not be in to work in the AM. And yes, IAAD.
112? The phone would be melting in his hand. It sounds like he put some cookies in the oven and forget to get out.
Reminds me of a Chris Rock bit. Just pour some Robitusson over your head and you’ll be okay.
Dumb jokes aside, an internet search for “hyperthermia case study” reveals cases of death occuring at 109° and lower. Your employee may be lying or misreading his diagnosis of 102°, but nobody gets better from 112° without a hospital stay and heroic measures, if at all.
It’s hard to picture the kind of doctor who would make such a diagnosis and say “Go home and sleep it off.” This would be the kind of quack who might see his next patient and declare “Hmmm, decapitation, eh? Well, take two of these…”
Posting to get the e-mail option because I’m “dying” to hear what happens when Mr. 112 shows up again!
This site gives the following world record temperature:-
So, 112 is survivable… but back at work the next day? I’d be surprised…
Okay, I’m no doctor…not even close. But I remember being taught in biology that the amino acids in your body break down at around 107 degrees, thus creating a deadly situation. Sure, I suppose it’s possible for an employee to SURVIVE 112 degree temperatures. I mean, people have come up with links and information about such survivors. But using Occam’s Razor, I’d say the more likely situation is that he’s LYING! Liar! Liar!
Plus, he’s seems to be too stupid to make up a believable lie. Seriously. If he’s said 101, it would have been good enough, no?
L
SexyWriter, I was going to say the same thing - from my memories of my college bio classes, your enzymes start breaking down at somewhere around 106 F. Since these drive the chemical reactions that keep your body functioning and doing everything it needs to do, that’s a Very Bad Thing.
I say bring the slacker into work, and if you can cook an egg on his forehead, then he’s telling the truth.
Otherwise, he’s probably hanging out with prostitutes or going to the beach today.
The things some people will do to get out of work. Feh.
A couple of months ago a coworker injured his knee. In his email to his boss (we don’t work for the same person) he included a digital picture of the swelling and bruising. We’re still laughing because including photographic evidence made it seem so much more fishy than just saying you hurt your knee. It’s been the cause of much merriment around the office.
So how’s he doing?
Hrrm I have a high base body temp (something like 1.3 degrees higher than normal) so a 104 degree fever is kinda normal for me…
It made being sick as a kid a real freaking treat 