When you have an allergic reaction, how does your body know not to raise your temperature like it would an infectious disease?
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The raising of temperature is done to fight certain types of bacteria and viruses. This is done, when simply explained, like so:
Body detects foreign particle
Body cross-checks with memory cells what that object is
If it is the virus that it has encountered before, and fought it by raising the temperature, the body will increase its temperature. Otherwise it doesn’t.
How does the body know if a particular virus will be slowed due to high temperature?
Genetics: memory cells and it’s data is passed from genetic
Trial and error: if it’s a never before encountered virus, the body starts with small defenses. If those fail, it escalates. And so on, it tries every trick in it’s book sequentially as per it’s order of execution (if it doesn’t already have a procedure in it’s memory cells).
Coming back to allergens, when body detects these, they don’t match the list of things that could be right with increasing the temperature. Secondly, the body starts with small responses like physical responses. Sneezing, coughing, puking etc. If the allergens get out, it’s peaceful. Then come the inflammation, this is the stage when the body has detected a foriegn threat and determined that physical means aren’t enough and it has to localise it. Swelling and pain are just our body’s way of pouring in frontline defence personnel in the line of fire. The pain is the body’s way of commucating via a hotline (special comms channel). Most allergens are worked out by now either by the body or through medication.
TLDR: Our blood has memory cells that keep a list of foriegn particles that our body(including ancestors – genetics) has encountered. This is followed by a communication to a specific line of action to raise the body temperature if it cross-checks that this foreign particle has been dealt with so before. Allergens are not in that list because unlike bacteria and viruses, allergens don’t necessarily slow down due to high temperature.
Sometimes it doesn’t. The only thing i’m massively allergic to is Cotton pollen. Sometimes when I’m having a bad reaction I get a high fever (102+)
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