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Have Fever, Cold, Chills And Night Sweats. Suffer Viral Infection. Feel Fainting. Recovery Within 2 To 3 Days

Posted on Thu, 24 Oct 2013

Question: Hi doc, last week I was down with a viral infection and had a slight fever with whole body feeling very weak. I even had night sweats at times. I kept having the feel to faint even though I never actually fainted before. So I went to see my doctor and he took all the tests and physical examination saying that everything is alright. It just that I've got a viral infection and should recover in 4-5 days time. Indeed, I've recovered after the 2nd day and my body was well, no more night sweat.
However that thought of fainting scares me.. And ever since then, I've got some disrupted sleep.. been waking up in the middle of the night feeling extremely scared with my heart beat racing, having that slight difficulty to get back to sleep. However, after 20 mins I will be able to fall back to sleep again. And usually, my waking up timing was 11am.. Ever since this illness, I have been waking up at 8 am automatically and couldnt get back to sleep anymore.
And also, when I stay home, I felt extremely fine and healthy, energetic and alive. But whenever I step out of my house the thought of me anticipating that I was gonna faint comes again.. When i go out to shopping mall I will get very conscious about the fainting feeling and tends to feel rather unwell (having the fainting feeling).. However, when I get back home, I am back to normal.. feeling healthy and energetic again. Can I know whats the cause of it? Can it be an anxiety issue?

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Yes it can be

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query.

I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through.

Anxiety disorder many times precipitates during illness and fever. You have become phobic towards getting fainted and this is a variant of agoraphobia. It is definately an anxiety symptom. However considering the duration there is at present no need for medications. You can wait for around 10 to 15 days and if symptoms persist then clonazepam will help.

Hope I am able to answer your concerns.

If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.

If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback.

In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:

bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy

Wish you good health,

Kind regards

Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Srikanth Reddy (37 minutes later)

I am really very scared of getting illnesses such as leukemia after browsing the web for symptoms of it.. Even though i dun have much similar symptoms of it but i am still feeling kind of nervous. I get freak out when i see the slightest blue black i had on my leg.. Could you kindly brief me through whats leukemia and the symptoms of it so that i can set my mind at ease? Thanks!

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (9 hours later)

Brief Answer:
No need to worry

Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for your follow-up query.
You don't have symptoms suggestive of leukemia.
Leukemia is a cancer of white blood cells.
The common symptoms are bleeding from different sites, increased bleeding time, reduced immunity with repeated infections, malaise, anemia and fatigue. Now agreed that these seem to be very common symptom but if you had an episode of fever it doesnt mean that you have leukemia.
Moreover it is common among younger age group like children.
A single episode of fever with fear of fainting and fear that it could be leukemia are again suggestive of anxiety disorder.
May be you need a break!
Regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Srikanth Reddy (58 minutes later)

Thanks for the reassurance! Could anxiety leads to muscle tension? I felt quite achy here and there but its not to the extend of having sharp pain. Its just like an on and off aching feeling that comes and go at different part of the day especially when I feel nervous or so. And at some point of time, I felt perfectly fine. That is why it lead me to the thought of leukaemia.

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (46 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Yes anxiety can cause aches

Detailed Answer:
Hello
Thanks for the follow-up.
Yes, both anxiety and depression, cause of stress cause muscle tension and aches. Stress need to be controlled. Ones the person is not stressed, aches will go off.
Regards
Dr. Srikanth Reddy

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Srikanth Reddy (11 minutes later)

Do you have any suggestion or remedies to deal with anxiety? Hopefully you can suggest a few as i really need to get back on track as soon as possible to deal with my upcoming school examinations. Thanks!

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (44 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Aerobic exercises

Detailed Answer:
Hello
Although medications are a good option to treat anxiety but before that a couple of techniques should be tried
1) Aerobic exercises - Running jogging for 30 min per day.
2) Relaxation techniques - Yoga/meditation
3) Hobby building
These three may help you and evert the need for medications
Hope that helps
Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD

Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar