Fevers are a very tightly controlled immune response to a pathogen and serve to make the body less hospitable for unwelcome microbes. This response is natural, effective and generally short-lived.
When we suppress a fever we are not treating the illness, rather we are suppressing a critical immune response. A higher temperature is not necessarily indicative of a more serious illness. Focus not on what the thermometer reads but how you or your family may be presenting. A low grade fever in a person who is in great pain and cannot take in fluids is much more concerning than a higher fever in a person who is resting comfortably.
It is a common fear that allowing the fever to continue unchecked, will result in an unregulated spike in temperature that will cause brain damage, hearing loss, and seizures. The body has carefully regulated mechanisms that prevent infection-induced fever from reaching dangerous levels. Only in cases of external causes like heatstroke or poisoning are the body’s control mechanisms likely to be overwhelmed or inoperative.
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