Normal body temperature

The normal temperature of a healthy human body is taken to be 37.0 °C. On the Fahrenheit scale the same temperature is 98.6 °F. They are one temperature written on two scales, just as 100 cm and 1 m are one length.

But not every healthy person measures exactly 37.0 °C. 'Normal temperature' is the average body temperature of a large number of healthy people. So a perfectly healthy person may be slightly higher or lower than 37.0 °C. Body temperature is affected by age, the time of day, and how active the person has been.

Human body temperature does not normally go below 35 °C or above 42 °C.

For small children or older people, the thermometer can be placed in the armpit. A reading taken there is about 0.5 °C to 1 °C lower than the actual body temperature.

In the book, Vaishnavi is ill and stays home. Her mother records her temperature for three days. The highest reading is 40.0 °C, on Day One at 7 pm: well above the normal 37.0 °C. That is a high fever.