NJS 3960 Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I just about got through work today with a horrible cough and bad headache. Soon after getting home I had a nasty shivery fever attack which resulted in a couple of hours under the duvet (with a spare on top) until it sort of broke a little while ago. My question is this: As I understand it shivering and fever is the body's method for raising the temperature to give the immune system soldiers more of a chance to kill the virus. If this is the case why are we advised to take paracetamol etc with the intention of reducing the fever and temperature? Wouldn't it better to let it alone and let the body fight the good fight? I can see why with more serious viruses it would be important to control temperature but for the common cold? Or am I talking bollocks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Patrokles Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I just about got through work today with a horrible cough and bad headache. Soon after getting home I had a nasty shivery fever attack which resulted in a couple of hours under the duvet (with a spare on top) until it sort of broke a little while ago. My question is this: As I understand it shivering and fever is the body's method for raising the temperature to give the immune system soldiers more of a chance to kill the virus. If this is the case why are we advised to take paracetamol etc with the intention of reducing the fever and temperature? Wouldn't it better to let it alone and let the body fight the good fight? I can see why with more serious viruses it would be important to control temperature but for the common cold? Or am I talking bollocks? I'm not sure, but I was ill with a bad cold/cough a week or two ago with a very very high temperature and was advised by the doctor to take stuff to reduce it; which I did, and I felt a lot better afterwards. That was the first thing he advised, to get the temperature down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invicta_Toon 0 Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 there was some research done a while ago into whether the body had the natural ability to recover from extreme injury through lowering blood pressure, totally against normal medical practice (pump you full of fluids to keep your pressure up) anyhoo, there's no money in letting your body cope with it is there? doctor knows best. That'll be £2-50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazarus 0 Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I just about got through work today with a horrible cough and bad headache. Soon after getting home I had a nasty shivery fever attack which resulted in a couple of hours under the duvet (with a spare on top) until it sort of broke a little while ago. My question is this: As I understand it shivering and fever is the body's method for raising the temperature to give the immune system soldiers more of a chance to kill the virus. If this is the case why are we advised to take paracetamol etc with the intention of reducing the fever and temperature? Wouldn't it better to let it alone and let the body fight the good fight? I can see why with more serious viruses it would be important to control temperature but for the common cold? Or am I talking bollocks? Thats my mothers advice for every ailment: "Take 2 paracetamol and go to bed". Doesnt matter if youve got a slight headache or broken bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invicta_Toon 0 Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 I just about got through work today with a horrible cough and bad headache. Soon after getting home I had a nasty shivery fever attack which resulted in a couple of hours under the duvet (with a spare on top) until it sort of broke a little while ago. My question is this: As I understand it shivering and fever is the body's method for raising the temperature to give the immune system soldiers more of a chance to kill the virus. If this is the case why are we advised to take paracetamol etc with the intention of reducing the fever and temperature? Wouldn't it better to let it alone and let the body fight the good fight? I can see why with more serious viruses it would be important to control temperature but for the common cold? Or am I talking bollocks? Thats my mothers advice for every ailment: "Take 2 paracetamol and go to bed". Doesnt matter if youve got a slight headache or broken bones. Norman has issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catmag 336 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 Limited research to say that paracetamol actually does anything to reduce a temperature although it is a widely held belief etc etc. I would go and look for the studies but it's half 2 in the morning.. People also make the mistake of trying to keep warm when they have a temp as they shiver and feel cold and bundle themselves up with blankets and hot water bottles etc. When I worked on the wards and any of my patients had a temperature I'd take their bedcovers off them to stop them increasing it even more. I wasn't popular but it worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJS 3960 Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 When I worked on the wards and any of my patients had a temperature I'd take their bedcovers off them to stop them increasing it even more. I wasn't popular but it worked. I think if you tried that with me last night I'd have strangled you So am I wrong that the high temperature is actually a good thing to a certain extent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyluke 1 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 I just about got through work today with a horrible cough and bad headache. Soon after getting home I had a nasty shivery fever attack which resulted in a couple of hours under the duvet (with a spare on top) until it sort of broke a little while ago. My question is this: As I understand it shivering and fever is the body's method for raising the temperature to give the immune system soldiers more of a chance to kill the virus. If this is the case why are we advised to take paracetamol etc with the intention of reducing the fever and temperature? Wouldn't it better to let it alone and let the body fight the good fight? I can see why with more serious viruses it would be important to control temperature but for the common cold? Or am I talking bollocks? You've kinda answered the question in your post. The symptoms, i.e. the worst part of having a cold, of fever and shivering are caused by the body's immune response rather than the virus itself which will clear up in a few days by itself, so there's no harm in taking paracetamol to feel better. As with a lot of medical conditions the important thing is to treat the symptoms rather than the disease process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 17642 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 (edited) When I worked on the wards and any of my patients had a temperature I'd take their bedcovers off them to stop them increasing it even more. I wasn't popular but it worked. I think if you tried that with me last night I'd have strangled you So am I wrong that the high temperature is actually a good thing to a certain extent? Funnily enough I've been doing some research on this for my work this week. You're right in saying raised temperature is an immune response initiated by the body but I've not found out how this helps yet (will specifically look into this next week). Paracetamol and ibuprofen DO reduce temperature, as has been shown in countless randomized controlled trials. They are a symptomatic "cure", so they will make you feel better without actually affecting the virus directly. The latest research addressed your question as to whether by lowering temperature they could do harm, and the availble evidence suggests no. They do not appear to affect the duration of the cold or have any positive or negative impact on the immune system. Edited January 27, 2007 by Renton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toonraider 0 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 (edited) Its the high temp that makes you feel ill too not just the illness. I always tell anyone with a high temp to take paracetamol/ibrupen regularly, DONT wrap up in loads of blankets and DO turn the heating down. When my son was ickle he used to get extremely high temps whenever he had a cold or anything coming, i used to sponge him down with cool water, terrified because he was prone to having convulsions. The worst time was when mum in law was looking after him, he had a slight cold, she didnt bother giving him his calpol, wrapped him up in a quilt and wacked the heating up, then wondered why she found him on the floor convulsing Thank god a nurse lived over the road. Later on in the hospital mum said she'd was doing the old fashioned thing of trying to make him sweat to 'break' the fever. She had only looked after him a couple times when he was a baby and that was the last untill he was older. Edited January 27, 2007 by Toonraider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags 1 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 (edited) Febrile convulsions are a nightmare for any parent- what a terrible thing to go thru TR. Re. the purpose of a fever.. standard accepted theory is that it's the body's way of killing off the infection. Germies/bacteria/viruses can be very sensitive little things with elevated temps being able to kill some of them off. Having a fever is one thing, having a high fever as shown in TR's post is quite another. Keep the fever down and your comfort level up- take the paracetamol. Edited January 27, 2007 by Mags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invicta_Toon 0 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 reminds me, anyone hear of that american scientist who revealed that a few minutes in the microwave would kill 99% of the bacteria in your sponges/dishcloths. Cue the fire brigade to dozy twats all over the place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJS 3960 Posted January 27, 2007 Author Share Posted January 27, 2007 Re. the purpose of a fever.. standard accepted theory is that it's the body's way of killing off the infection. Germies/bacteria/viruses can be very sensitive little things with elevated temps being able to kill some of them off. Having a fever is one thing, having a high fever as shown in TR's post is quite another. Keep the fever down and your comfort level up- take the paracetamol. So a touch of temp is okay as long as its controlled and monitored? - makes sense. I always picture the Simpsons with Bart's soldiers battling an amorphous blob before the spotty youth character informs the Sargent that they've had a message from above that its a school day: "Men lay down your weapons and return to barracks" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyluke 1 Posted January 27, 2007 Share Posted January 27, 2007 Re. the purpose of a fever.. standard accepted theory is that it's the body's way of killing off the infection. Germies/bacteria/viruses can be very sensitive little things with elevated temps being able to kill some of them off. Having a fever is one thing, having a high fever as shown in TR's post is quite another. Keep the fever down and your comfort level up- take the paracetamol. So a touch of temp is okay as long as its controlled and monitored? - makes sense. I always picture the Simpsons with Bart's soldiers battling an amorphous blob before the spotty youth character informs the Sargent that they've had a message from above that its a school day: "Men lay down your weapons and return to barracks" Blob (in Snake's voice): allriiiiight, let's make some pus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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