Say with covid or any regular influenza like infection, generally we are just prescribed anti inflammatory drugs for fever, and after a few days the infection phases out on its own.. how does that work?
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The immune system is very complicated. But the short of it is your body has to first identify that there is an infection, then parts of your immune system work on killing what they can find. This is where you feel like crap. Your body is making itself as uncomfortable as possible for the virus to slow it’s progress but it’s not very efficient when the visus can reproduce so much faster than you can kill it at this stage.
Part of the system is working to bring pieces of the virus to search your lymph nodes which house cells that know how to kill anything with a protein. It eventually stumbles into the cell that knows how to kill this particular virus. This cell multiplies and spreads out to teach your body how to make the antibodies it needs, and then starts to manufacture them.
This gives your body an advantage that usually burns out the infection faster than it can spread and you win. Your body saves that antibody for later in case the virus comes back and it winds down the immune response until you feel normal again.
The second stage is the longest part. Finding the right antibodies and start making them. This is where vaccines give you a head start that help you kill infections faster and easier.
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