Fevers Are Good For Your Health

Flu and cold season will soon be here along with accompanying fever. This is when most people start popping temperature reducing over the counter drugs. Unless one's temperature exceeds 104 degrees for a length of time it is exactly the wrong thing to do. While it makes someone more comfortable it slows down recovery. This is also true when someone is taking antibiotics which of themselves cause temperature rise. It's part of how they fight infection.

'The Daily Beast'
The Case for Letting Fevers Run Their Course

"Fever isn’t an illness. It’s the body’s attempt to fight illness. So when we treat fever with antipyretics, like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen, we only handcuff an important part of our immune response. Although it might seem counterintuitive, several studies have now shown that antipyretics increase the severity of infections."
Sweat It Out
I figured this out for myself. Several times I went to bed fully clothed under the electric blanket turned up high. Daytime I put on a heavy coat indoors. Most times after a day or two I felt much better, Before I tried massive doses of vitamin C and cold medications to little avail. For me what always worked best is just sweating it out.

A Word Of Caution
Like I mentioned it's not a good idea for an adult to let their temperature rise over 104 degrees for more then a few hours. If it should rise to that level for too long taking medication will help bring it down to safer levels. Somewhere between 100-102 degrees is normal for a fever.






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Thanks, LVCI