Do you smell what the white blood cells are cookin?
July 6, 2010 3:26 PM   Subscribe

IANAD. YANMD. Just sayin. Is taking tylenol or ibuprofen to lower a fever usually a way to prolong the infection ?

I mean, I know you're no longer supposed to "Sweat out" a cold (or, cough, food poisoning), but considering in my layman's view the fever is the body responding to a threat... should you just let a fever ride (that's not dangerous , say 103.5< or whatever)?
posted by cavalier to Health & Fitness (7 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
IANAD, but I believe a fever is just a byproduct of your immune system at work, not the actual infection-fighting mechanism itself. So you're not interfering with anything by trying to suppress it, and you'll feel better.
posted by thinkingwoman at 3:43 PM on July 6, 2010


Best answer: A fever is not just a byproduct of your immune system, but is rather a directed mechanism of innate immunity. Fevers are a nonspecific response to infection (i.e., it occurs with many types of infection and is not specific to the infecting organism). One of the benefits is that a fever raises body temperature outside of the optimal growth temperature range of the invading microbes. There are also some reports that fevers lead to sequestration of iron in the blood, which may helps to starve invading microbes -- iron is often a limiting nutrient for microbial growth. Fevers are an early response that helps slow down infections prior to activation of specific (aka humoral or cytopathic) immunity.

That being said, antibiotic drugs are far more effective at killing infections than a fever.

So, letting yourself run a low fever may help shorten the course of an infection, but not to the point where it's worthwhile to let yourself be uncomfortable.
posted by amelioration at 3:53 PM on July 6, 2010 [3 favorites]


I've read that taking Tylenol may reduce your body's immune response (or at least it seems to with vaccinations).
posted by bottlebrushtree at 4:06 PM on July 6, 2010


Best answer: From the Mayo clinic article on fevers:

"The downside of lowering a fever:
If you have a low-grade fever, it's not advisable to try to lower your temperature. Doing so may prolong the illness or mask your symptoms and make it harder to determine the cause.

Some experts believe that aggressively treating a fever interferes with your body's immune response. The viruses that cause colds and other respiratory infections thrive at normal body temperature. By producing a low-grade fever, your body may be helping eliminate a virus.

[and on the next page they say:] For temperatures below 102 F (38.9 C), don't use fever-lowering drugs unless advised by your doctor."
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:22 PM on July 6, 2010 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks for the advice, friends!
posted by cavalier at 6:21 PM on July 6, 2010


Tylenol (acetaminophen) is a powerful liver toxin. IANYD, but you should really consider the risks unless the alternatives are not an option.
posted by kjs3 at 8:42 PM on July 6, 2010


I'm a doctor, not your doctor, and I thought I'd add the following comments:

- You don't need to be aggressive about treating a fever, the fever, itself is usually not harmful. but I wouldn't be passive either. I don't hesitate to take ibuprofen or Tylenol myself if I feel feverish, and I typically give it to all my patients with a fever if there's no contraindication. Fevers make you feel bad, and these medications are an easy way to make you feel much better pretty fast.

- Tylenol is indeed a powerful liver toxin when taken in overdose, but if you are a healthy person and don't suffer from alcoholic liver disease or hepatitis, you do not generally need to worry about taking Tylenol at the recommended doses to treat a fever. Basically, with a healthy liver, you have an enzyme that can process Tylenol, and as long as you don't overwhelm that, you're fine, it will do its job. Never take more than 4 grams of Tylenol in a day (i.e. max dose is 1 gram every 6 hours).
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:56 PM on July 6, 2010 [1 favorite]


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