Occasionally some patients purposefully show false elevations in body temperature. These patients are usually young women, often they are attached to health professionals.
They produce rise in body temperature by the following means
- They may infect themselves with bacteria
- Ingest thyroxine
- Falsely register higher temperature (after immersing the thermometer in hot water).
- Dissociation between pulse and temperature.
- Excessively high temperature (106°F).
- Absence of chills, sweats, tachycardia, tachvpnoea.
- Absence of normal diurnal variation in temperature.
