Can mild dehydration cause brain damage in the elderly?

Can a 103.5 fever cause brain damage?

• I am 15 years old and had a 103.5 fever a few days ago, then it went down to 101-102 after taking tylenol, I'm fine now and no more fever. I am pretty sure it isn't meningitis if coughing isn't a symptom of it, so it was probably a flu. Can that fever cause brain damage? What do they mean by brain damage and what are the symptoms of brain damage? What would the difference be between a normal person and a person with brain damage?

• Answer:

  In children, high fever may cause convulsions. Called febrile convulsions. In any age, fever may cause temporary dysfunction of the brain causing delirium- characterized by altered sensorium and restlessness, talking irrelevantly etc. Most of these conditions are temporary, permanent brain damage due to fever itself may be ararity. It would be due to the disease process rather than the fever. A person with brain damage (often seen after head trauma or cardiac arrest revived patients) will not be able to take care of oneself, may have isolated paralysis etc. Hope it helps.