9. Intermittent Fevers: The Body’s Smoke Alarm
Just like a smoke detector warns of potential fire, intermittent fevers may serve as a cautionary sign of SSL. It’s not necessarily about the heat but more about the inconsistency—the fluctuation of body temperature that seems untethered to any discernible cause.
It all comes down to the body’s immune response. When you have a sessile serrated lesion, your body recognizes it as a foreign invader. That triggers your immune system to go into “defense mode,” one aspect of which involves elevating your body temperature. Why? Many pathogens have a difficult time surviving in high-temperature conditions, so your body turns up the thermostat in an attempt to fight off what it perceives as a threat.
Yet, here’s the caveat: you’re not sick, at least not in the way one would expect with a fever. So, while friends and family are recommending chicken soup and rest, you might actually require a colonoscopy. The episodic nature of these fevers—here one day and gone the next—makes it even more baffling for doctors and patients alike.(9)
