Fever: Is it really a bad thing?

Fever, every one fears when you have it. But is it really a bad thing? Fever is a natural response of the body to fight off infections. It is a sign that your immune system is working to combat the invading pathogens. In fact, fever can be beneficial in many cases as it helps to create an environment that is less favorable for the growth of bacteria and viruses.

What is Fever?

According to Mayo Clinic, it is the feeling of higher temperature than normal (98.6°F) to about 100.4°F (38°C).

Actually, fever acts as a defensive climate change, essentially pushing foreign invaders beyond their ideal temperature range and making their environment quite horrible to survive in

Why does fever occur?

Actually when an infectious source like bacteria/viruses/fungi attacks the body, to help combat the pathogens, the body raises its temperature as raised temperature makes bacteria difficult to survive. The things which raise the body temperatures are called pyrogens. They increase the body temperature by setting the normal default temperature of the body to a new raised level. They works by changing the setting in the hypothalamus, a part of mid-brain. The posterior nucleus in the thalamus then works to make the body to its new raised temperature.

To get to this new high level temprature set point, you get shivering, which produces heats. Your body contracts skin blood vessels to reduce heat loss. all this is to raise body temprature.

Fever or high temperature is one of the four signs of inflammation, the other one being redness, swelling, and pain

So how does it effect pathogens and you? Heat can cause their organs to break and membranes to rupture, damage their DNA and diminish protein production. It also effects your body and immune system work now better at this high temprature. They release enzyme which now activate faster.

The viruses that infected millions of cells are doing even worse because they are also very sensitive to the heat. For example, the rhinovirus that causes the common cold can only infect your respiratory tract because it is significantly colder than the rest of your body, even without fever.

What happens when you take anti-fever like paracetamol or ibuprofen?

They block the synthesis of prostaglandins by interfering with their pathways known as cycloxygenase pathway (COX). By inhibiting these prostaglandins, specifically PGE2 and IL-1, they reduce body temperature.

So basically by reducing the temperature of the body , we are creating trouble for the immune system.Although fever is really unpleasant feeling and you want to get relieved but so are the pathogens. In general it is fair to say that for temperatures below 40°C or 104 °F, fever is not dangerous and doesn’t need to be treated. Several research studies have shown stopping fever actually benefit patients in their mortality. Overall we have strong indications that more people may survive serious infectious diseases with a fever.

So should you not stop fever at all?

No, because a very high fever can also be detrimental for body as it can leads to severe dehydration and neurological complications.

When to seek medical attention for fever?

Let the doctor decide when you should be given anti-pyretics for fever but as I said earlier, fever less than 104 is bearable and beneficial safely

I am linking some resources. Check them. You will learn a lot from them. There will also be references below