If the body raises its temperature to kill bacteria, why is it bad to take a hot shower when you have a fever?
In: 91
It’s not bad to take a hot shower during a fever, it’s just uncomfortable. At the same time, taking a cold shower is not recommended because as your skin (periphery) cools down due to cold water, the body tries to compensate by increasing your core (inside) temperature which we don’t want in a patient already suffering from fever. Hence lukewarm water is the best for this situation.
Now there are chemical compounds called pyrogens (molecules that cause fever). Usually the process goes like this : bacteria/virus/microorganisms enter our body, body/immune system detects certain proteins and chemical structures on them (like the cell wall,etc), sends a signal to the brain, brain is like oops need to kill that, need more ammo, so they release some other substances/chemical compounds which further activates the immune system.
Now both the microorganisms and the brain/immune system’s compounds are what we call pyrogens.
So exogenous ( from outside) pyrogens like bacteria give rise to endogenous (from inside the body) pyrogens like the immune system cells which increases the body temperature level just the way you adjust the thermostat to a higher setting.
Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any questions 🙂
Edit : Thanks for all the upvotes and awards, science is great, I love it
Latest Answers