Excellent, have been telling my patients that in most cases they should be inducing fever instead of trying to contain it. The body's number one tool for fighting off sickness and disease.
I see people suppressing a fever of 100 degrees, primarily with Tylenol, and I attempt to convince them that their body is merely fighting off a bug of some kind. They think I’m nuts. The industrial medical complex has their hooks deep into what remains of civilization.
Yes, and it's absolutely ridiculous. Particularly in light of every pathology textbook's chapter on "Fever".... Thank goodness for people who are "nuts". They are the only ones making sense these days!
I felt cold so I got into bed with a hot water bottle and lots of blankets until I broke into a sweat, which cooled me. Then I had a hot shower and went back to bed feeling much better. This is my description of the respiratory infection with fever, that I had in my early 50s. Total time I was unwell was about 3 days. Quite often we feel really cold despite have a fever. If we warm ourselves up we feel better, less achy as well. Now I can see why I recovered so quickly from my illness. When we are feverish, we shiver, that is to warm ourselves some more too. Thanks for your research, it is enlightening to see the lost beauty of our bodies abilities to heal themselves🙏🏼
On the fourteenth of June, 1917, he drew blood from a wounded soldier carrying Plasmodium vivax and inoculated it into his first paretic patients. Am I misunderstanding this, in the article, What Is Malaria, I thought we established Plasmodium did not cause the disease?
Good catch. The key is the distinction between a thing *existing* and a thing *causing*. The malaria essay doesn't deny that *Plasmodium* is real, or that it rides along in certain blood — it denies that the parasite *causes* the disease.
What Wagner-Jauregg did was inject sick blood under the skin, which the body answered with fever. The establishment labels that blood by its parasite; the label doesn't make the parasite the active agent. The healing came from the fever, not the parasite — which is the whole point.
You did catch some loose wording on my part, and I'm tightening it. Thanks for reading closely.
My mother in law used to put rubbing alcohol on her childrens legs when they had a fever. I can't say if that was good or bad. I never researched it, but it worked.
I agree that a fever should be left to run its course. Our bodies came equipped with healing on its own until the Rockefellers came along and caused significant harm.
The very next thing that passes my eyes is an article in Science Daily, "New laser heat treatment could stop blindness before it starts." The issue being addressed is loss of vision due to dry macular degeneration.
Not sure if I can park a link within your comments, so I'll paste in the article summary. Should be easy enough to find. As I read the article, it seems that they are localizing a fever to induce clean up ... what a radical idea, eh?
Article summary - A new experimental treatment could finally offer hope for millions of people with dry age-related macular degeneration — one of the leading causes of blindness in older adults. Researchers at Aalto University discovered a way to gently heat tissue at the back of the eye using near-infrared light, triggering the cells’ natural “cleanup and repair” systems before major damage occurs.
It’s easy to put a link into a comment. Simply copy the entire link (e.g., from your browser address bar), then paste it into the comment. Of course, other ways exist to copy links too, including the three dots menu next to your own excellent comment that yields this link: https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/what-is-a-fever/comment/266549032?r=14nzxn&utm_medium=ios
Great - and enlightening - article! Forwarded it to others. I am particularly interested in this subject given my own experience with an extreme fever (104-5) at 4yo during a remote family summer vacation in the desert, and having to stay in a hot car for days prior to returning home and receiving an enormous, 4-needle vaccine (that still shows a scar 7 decades later) when I was already feeling better. Thanks to your article I’m thinking this was actually good luck - my own immune response functioning without hinderance in a warm environment. Interestingly I have had very robust resistance to illness ever since, even compared to my 3 siblings (who had all the standard vaccinations).
It seems there are two important considerations. One, what is the purpose and value of the fever. And two, to understand NOT to treat it with the harmful medicines that parents and doctors recommend. I work with hundreds of kids, and the treatment for colds and fevers is immediate and excessive antibiotics, Tylenol and cold remedies. Per the article, these not only prolong the recovery but cause additional harms. Somehow, we have to communicate this with parents. I certainly will. Thank you.
I can certainly see the logic in this. Thank you. "Feed a cold, starve a fever" - grandparents advice.
Are the actual biomolecular mechanisms which the body makes/utiises to raise its temperature known and if so are they the common response to any insult/toxin to the body?
There is another tactic in use: Your baby, infant, child, has had a febrile seizure and must never have a high fever any more or he will be epileptic.
There is a group of native infants in west coast and western arctic tribes who do get seizures with fevers. Research by Dr. Laura Arbour and others sorted this out. The children have an identifiable deficiency of a liver enzyme, CPT1A. As they become febrile their metabolic energy use increases, as you stated, and they become hypoglycaemic. The "febrile" seizures certainly are coincident with the fever, but need to be treated with juice or glucose.
8 months ago I came down with Dengue fever. It wasn't my 1 encounter with this mosquito born vector.
I wasn't feeling good. All my body aches that Saturday afternoon. Every joint every muscle hurt.
I took a hot shower at 4pm and put on some comfortable clothes. At 6:30 I woke up soaked in sweat. I took my temperature and it was 104'.
I walked out and told my son I had a fever and to keep an eye on me.
I don't stop a fever. I let it do it's magic.
15 hours later it broke and I had coffee on the deck.
Your inate immune system can recognize a foreign body and it will turn up the heat to kill it has been my train of thought. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger IMO.
Diarrhea is another one I don't try to stop. Your body needs to flush it out.
What is best pain killer, when you have pain and sinus pain involved though!?
I've been on Tylenol at times for years along with aspirin and benedryl for chronic sinusitis and pains, but leads to infections in my sinuses twice year.. That's the kicker. If have Pain, there is the pain relievers WITH the fever suppressing....uggggh
Sinus pain is nasty. I’ve found that - in addition to letting fever run its course, fasting & keeping warm - elevate your sleeping position with a few extra pillows. It helps the gunk drain. Using a neti pot or the navage really works to rinse things out
Excellent, have been telling my patients that in most cases they should be inducing fever instead of trying to contain it. The body's number one tool for fighting off sickness and disease.
I see people suppressing a fever of 100 degrees, primarily with Tylenol, and I attempt to convince them that their body is merely fighting off a bug of some kind. They think I’m nuts. The industrial medical complex has their hooks deep into what remains of civilization.
Yes, and it's absolutely ridiculous. Particularly in light of every pathology textbook's chapter on "Fever".... Thank goodness for people who are "nuts". They are the only ones making sense these days!
I have preached this gospel to hundreds, if not thousands, of anxious parents. Virtually all of them still reached for the Tylenol. *sigh*
I felt cold so I got into bed with a hot water bottle and lots of blankets until I broke into a sweat, which cooled me. Then I had a hot shower and went back to bed feeling much better. This is my description of the respiratory infection with fever, that I had in my early 50s. Total time I was unwell was about 3 days. Quite often we feel really cold despite have a fever. If we warm ourselves up we feel better, less achy as well. Now I can see why I recovered so quickly from my illness. When we are feverish, we shiver, that is to warm ourselves some more too. Thanks for your research, it is enlightening to see the lost beauty of our bodies abilities to heal themselves🙏🏼
On the fourteenth of June, 1917, he drew blood from a wounded soldier carrying Plasmodium vivax and inoculated it into his first paretic patients. Am I misunderstanding this, in the article, What Is Malaria, I thought we established Plasmodium did not cause the disease?
Good catch. The key is the distinction between a thing *existing* and a thing *causing*. The malaria essay doesn't deny that *Plasmodium* is real, or that it rides along in certain blood — it denies that the parasite *causes* the disease.
What Wagner-Jauregg did was inject sick blood under the skin, which the body answered with fever. The establishment labels that blood by its parasite; the label doesn't make the parasite the active agent. The healing came from the fever, not the parasite — which is the whole point.
You did catch some loose wording on my part, and I'm tightening it. Thanks for reading closely.
Thanks for the reply, I am always trying to tighten my understanding, so when I say to people germs don't cause disease, I can back it up.
So fascinating & informative .
Thank you !
My mother in law used to put rubbing alcohol on her childrens legs when they had a fever. I can't say if that was good or bad. I never researched it, but it worked.
I agree that a fever should be left to run its course. Our bodies came equipped with healing on its own until the Rockefellers came along and caused significant harm.
Just read - excellent and informative, as always.
The very next thing that passes my eyes is an article in Science Daily, "New laser heat treatment could stop blindness before it starts." The issue being addressed is loss of vision due to dry macular degeneration.
Not sure if I can park a link within your comments, so I'll paste in the article summary. Should be easy enough to find. As I read the article, it seems that they are localizing a fever to induce clean up ... what a radical idea, eh?
Article summary - A new experimental treatment could finally offer hope for millions of people with dry age-related macular degeneration — one of the leading causes of blindness in older adults. Researchers at Aalto University discovered a way to gently heat tissue at the back of the eye using near-infrared light, triggering the cells’ natural “cleanup and repair” systems before major damage occurs.
It’s easy to put a link into a comment. Simply copy the entire link (e.g., from your browser address bar), then paste it into the comment. Of course, other ways exist to copy links too, including the three dots menu next to your own excellent comment that yields this link: https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/what-is-a-fever/comment/266549032?r=14nzxn&utm_medium=ios
Appreciate it. I know some sites refuse embedding links - but you never find out until you go to post. Know I now!
👍
Great - and enlightening - article! Forwarded it to others. I am particularly interested in this subject given my own experience with an extreme fever (104-5) at 4yo during a remote family summer vacation in the desert, and having to stay in a hot car for days prior to returning home and receiving an enormous, 4-needle vaccine (that still shows a scar 7 decades later) when I was already feeling better. Thanks to your article I’m thinking this was actually good luck - my own immune response functioning without hinderance in a warm environment. Interestingly I have had very robust resistance to illness ever since, even compared to my 3 siblings (who had all the standard vaccinations).
It seems there are two important considerations. One, what is the purpose and value of the fever. And two, to understand NOT to treat it with the harmful medicines that parents and doctors recommend. I work with hundreds of kids, and the treatment for colds and fevers is immediate and excessive antibiotics, Tylenol and cold remedies. Per the article, these not only prolong the recovery but cause additional harms. Somehow, we have to communicate this with parents. I certainly will. Thank you.
Hyperthermia is an active treatment in Germany for all sorts of illness. Or at least it was several years ago.
I don't like those darn Flonase etc for sinusitis either!
Brilliant read! I loved the summary for children at the end.
I can certainly see the logic in this. Thank you. "Feed a cold, starve a fever" - grandparents advice.
Are the actual biomolecular mechanisms which the body makes/utiises to raise its temperature known and if so are they the common response to any insult/toxin to the body?
There is another tactic in use: Your baby, infant, child, has had a febrile seizure and must never have a high fever any more or he will be epileptic.
There is a group of native infants in west coast and western arctic tribes who do get seizures with fevers. Research by Dr. Laura Arbour and others sorted this out. The children have an identifiable deficiency of a liver enzyme, CPT1A. As they become febrile their metabolic energy use increases, as you stated, and they become hypoglycaemic. The "febrile" seizures certainly are coincident with the fever, but need to be treated with juice or glucose.
8 months ago I came down with Dengue fever. It wasn't my 1 encounter with this mosquito born vector.
I wasn't feeling good. All my body aches that Saturday afternoon. Every joint every muscle hurt.
I took a hot shower at 4pm and put on some comfortable clothes. At 6:30 I woke up soaked in sweat. I took my temperature and it was 104'.
I walked out and told my son I had a fever and to keep an eye on me.
I don't stop a fever. I let it do it's magic.
15 hours later it broke and I had coffee on the deck.
Your inate immune system can recognize a foreign body and it will turn up the heat to kill it has been my train of thought. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger IMO.
Diarrhea is another one I don't try to stop. Your body needs to flush it out.
Let it flow lol... It eventually will stop.
What is best pain killer, when you have pain and sinus pain involved though!?
I've been on Tylenol at times for years along with aspirin and benedryl for chronic sinusitis and pains, but leads to infections in my sinuses twice year.. That's the kicker. If have Pain, there is the pain relievers WITH the fever suppressing....uggggh
Sinus pain is nasty. I’ve found that - in addition to letting fever run its course, fasting & keeping warm - elevate your sleeping position with a few extra pillows. It helps the gunk drain. Using a neti pot or the navage really works to rinse things out