To Reduce or Not To Reduce:The Fever Debate

If you are stranded in the forest with minimal supplies (tent, fire, pots and pans...) but no food or water and you come across a stream, do you immediately drink the water or do you take some precautions? Go ahead, answer... I'll wait :) Well, if you are like me you would take some precautions. I have a fire, I have pots and pans, so I would boil the water. But why would I do that? As you know, heat or high temperatures is known to destroy bacteria. So I am taking a little extra time to heat the water to kill the bacteria. Apply this to your health. When foreign matter enters your system, whether it's a bacteria, virus, or parasite, your bodies initial line of defense is to heat up => you get a fever. Your body is smart, sometimes way smarter than we give it credit for. It innately knows that increasing the bodies temperature will assist in destroying the foreign invaders. So ask yourself, when you take something to reduce a fever are you actually helping yourself or not? You may be temporarily taking yourself out of pain but you are also prolonging the sickness. Those initial invaders now have to be destroyed by your second line of defense which will take much longer. Of course we know there are certain circumstances where medical intervention is needed, but for your run of the mill fever let your body do what it needs to do to heal.

Fever: Good or Bad?

In love and health, Dr. Jes