Comment by sph | Hacker News Reader

Comment by sph | Hacker News Reader

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> The fever is not essential to the immune system

Nonsense. From Wikipedia:

Fever is thought to contribute to host defense, as the reproduction of pathogens with strict temperature requirements can be hindered, and the rates of some important immunological reactions are increased by temperature. Fever has been described in teaching texts as assisting the healing process in various ways, including:

- increased mobility of leukocytes

- enhanced leukocyte phagocytosis

- decreased endotoxin effects

- increased proliferation of T cells

[...]

Studies using warm-blooded vertebrates suggest that they recover more rapidly from infections or critical illness due to fever.

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Fever makes your immune system work better, and many pathogens don't like the higher temps.

> Fever makes your immune system work better,

Right. But it's not essential to the immune system. The immune system doesn't shut down completely just because you temporarily bring the fever down.

It's one thing to avoid overusing painkillers, and while I personally can appreciate that sentiment, over the counter painkillers are pretty well tested and you should not be afraid to use them, without reasonable limits. Denying children painkillers when they ask for them sounds dangerously close to going a step too far!

There are no studies that indicate you can "harden" your immune system by denying pain killers in the long run. You shouldn't be afraid of painkillers, just as you shouldn't be afraid of having fever.

It's a numbers game - even if you kill only a part of the pathogen with fever, it actually makes a big difference in the end, since in the initial phase it grows exponentially. Also, another indirect benefit is that when you have a fever, you tend to rest more rather than pretending everything is rosy, and when your immune system works best, it is when you sleep. In the States, I've seen many irresponsible sick people who go to work and take Tylenol so that they can cope better at work, essentially spreading the disease.

In many cultures, instead of giving you Paracetamol/Acetaminophen at the onset of fever, they would actually warm you up to give it a boost.

I know, stoicism is gone - people can't tolerate any pain, any discomfort, any trouble nowadays.

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