Rigor in Campus and its management

INTRODUCTION

Greetings everyone and welcome to my post. This is my first time of posting here and today, as a medical student i will like to talk about a health condition called rigor. In campus, we suffer from a very common rise in temperature accompanied by shivering, however today i want to make a post that talks about how to nonpharmaceutically manage this trouble hut first, let's know the meaning of rigor and how it goes.

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Rigor is a sudden and severe shivering attack that results as a disturbance in the temperature regulating center of the brain.
In the case of rigor, there is violent shivering and the person's temperature will be elevated.

CAUSE OF RIGOR

the temperature of our body is controlled by the part of the brain known as the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a thermostat and helps regulates the body's temperature to be at a rate of 36.6⁰c to 37.2⁰c (normal body temperature). This heat is produced due to the effect of the body's metabolic activities.
However, rigor is brought about by the presence of a chemical in the body called "pyrogen" in the blood stream. Pyrogen disturbs the hypothalamus, making the body temperature to be elevated spontaneously. This pyrogen is produced by the immune system when fighting off pathogens in the body.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF RIGOR

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For a person know say they are having rigor, the following signs and symptoms will be displayed.

1. Elevated temperature of 37.5⁰c to 40.2⁰c

2. Hot dry skin

3. Cold skin

4. Uncontrollable Shivering

5. Increased respiration

6. Rapid pulse

7. Anorexia

8. Pale and pinched face

9. Sweating Profusely

10. Improved pulse

11. Thirst

12. Restlessness

These signs and symptoms differs, depending on the stage of rigor.

STAGES OF RIGOR AND IT'S MANAGEMENT

Basically, rigor is categorized into three stages which are:

1. First stage or cold stage

2. Cold stage

3. Sweating stage

1. First stage or Cold stage:

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During this stage, the student involved shivers uncontrollably, with the skin being cold, the face pinched and pale and the pulse being rapid. Here, the temperature rises rapidly above 39.4⁰c. In other to manage this student, do the following:

1. Cover the student with a blanket, not exposing him/her to a cold surface.

2. Place warm water to the students skin

3. Give the student a warm drink

4. Protect the student from falling or injuring themselves while shivering.

2. Second Stage or Hot stage:

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During the second stage of rigor, the students skin feels hot and is dry, and the student fells very thirsty. The shivering will stop during this stage and the student may feel restless (depending on the individual involved) but the temperature doesn't drops but continues to rise. In other to manage a student in this stage, do the following:

1. Remove the blanket used to cover the student

2. Remove the hot water bottle or any hot substance that was placed on the student

3. Give the student cold drinks

4. Apply cold compress to the students head to avoid headache

5. Cold Tepid sponge the student if the temperature rises above 40⁰c

6. Check the students temperature every 15-20mins

Third Stage or Stage of Sweating:

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This is the third and last stage of rigor, and in this stage the student sweats profusely and the Temperature falls and the pulse becomes normal. Proper monitoring must be taken because the student may go into a state of shock and collapse if not well taken care of. The following management should be taken:

1. Change the clothes that have been wet by sweat or Cold applications

2. Dry the student from sweat

3. Wear the student neat clothes and cover with a light blanket

4. If student has fatigue, give sweet drinks to relieve

5. Dont forget bout the comfortability of the student

6. Allow student to get enough rest and sleep.

That's all you need to know about rigor and how to manage it in campus to avoid unnecessary death of a fellow student.

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