ELi5 Why are fevers so dangerous? If they’re an immune system mechanism, shouldn’t there also be a biological “emergency stop/ brain overheating” button?
In: Biology
Fevers are almost never dangerous. The underlying infection can be dangerous, but for the most part the rise in body temperature is dangerous for a small number of little kids (below 3) and a VERY small number of adults.
There’s even some data to suggest that people including kids have better outcomes if you give them no treatment for the fever at all. Again, we aren’t talking about other things that happen when people get sick, just the elevated temperature.
People think fevers are far more dangerous than they actually are.
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