Fighting the Flu May Hurt Those Around You

sciencehabit writes "When you've got the flu, it can't hurt to take an aspirin or an ibuprofen to control the fever and make you feel better, right? Wrong, some scientists say. Lowering your body temperature may make the virus replicate faster and increase the risk that you transmit it to others. A new study claims that there are at least 700 extra influenza deaths in the United States every year because people suppress their fever."

Comments

So...

[Anonymous Coward]

You're fucked, but I feel better?

Dude, you are so fucked!

Re:Aches & Pains

[swb]

There is. They're called opioids. But taking opioids makes you a dangerous drug addict, so you're not allowed to have them.

Re:Probably going out/to work

[adolf]

This may surprise a lot of people in Germany, but in the US the general rule is, you don't have any vacation days and can't afford to take time off of work to see a doctor.

And if you do take time off of work to get well and figure out how to pay a doctor and any treatment they might suggest, it's entirely possible that, upon attempting to return to work, you find yourself jobless.

Therefore, again generally, we tend to take as many over-the-counter drugs as we can to begin feeling half-way human so we can keep working every day even if it kills us and those around us (which, according to TFA, it does).

Re:What is fever ?

[compro01]

Is the fever a side result of the effect of the virus on the organism ? Or is it a way for the organism to fight the virus and eliminate it ? Because we get fevers in most cases of severe infections and I doubt most germs are sensitive to a 3C increase in body temperature... I can still brew beer from anything like 10C to 40C...

Most viruses and bacteria are more temperature sensitive than yeast is. Also, higher temperatures improve the function of white blood cells and reduces the effects of endotoxins.