Borio Chiropractic Health Center . . .  Wellness Begins Here

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Reducing Fever Not Always Wise

Tropical fish create fever by moving near a light source when they get sick. Sick lizards move into the sun for the same reason. Yet we try to reduce fevers, particularly when they happen to our children.
We fear "febrile convulsions," for example, despite studies in which high fevers "were associated with lower incidence of subsequent febrile convulsions," and despite the lack of "any data in the literature proving that fever is actually the cause of convulsions."
Children probably have higher fevers than adults to boost their underdeveloped immune systems, which are "more susceptible to pathogenic orsanisms." In the first two months of life, In fact, when Infants are still pro tected by their mothers' immunity, they "tend to have minimal or no fever during infectious illnesses."
The fact that "many physicians still think of fever as being harmful to their patients" is probably based on misunderstanding. "During a life-threatening illness," in fact, reducing a fever "may result in moving the infected patient closer toward a critical point where he/she is unable to mount an adequate acute phase response." M.j. Kluger, "Fever revisited," Pediatrics 90 (1992): 846-50.

Our purpose is to educate and adjust families toward optimal health