I read somewhere that the reason our temp rises when we are sick is to help out immune system. if so, why try to lower it
In: Biology
Fever is caused by chemicals released by your immune system. There is evidence that fevers also enhance immune cell function.
And you are kinda sort of right. Scientifically, the evidence doesn’t strongly point in one direction or another. It has not clearly been shown that letting patients fever is harmful. It also hasn’t been conclusively shown that treating the fever makes patients worse off.
There is some rationale for treating fever. Mostly, it makes people more comfortable. Secondly, it expends less of the body’s energy. You also lose considerably more fluid when you fever than when you don’t. While fever might enhance antimicrobial activity, results have not consistently been shown that letting patients fever makes them get better more quickly or less likely to die from infection.
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