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Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

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Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#111

Post by a96 »

Tor3 wrote: post #99
nikolay wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if you let your innate immune system do its job, fever can actually kill many pathogens and also ramp up your immune system response. It's fascinating that human cells can survive at slightly higher temperatures than most pathogens, giving us an advantage. It's not comfortable to have a high fever, and there's a slight chance of kids getting febrile seizures (although most are not actually that bad), but we do…

Pyrotherapy. The idea of fighting untreatable (at the time) illnesses by inducing a fever in the patient. There's actually a Wikipedia article about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrotherapy As in deliberately infect a syphilis patient with malaria, which can give you a very high fever. The first time I heard about that one was in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, turns out it was one of the non-fictional parts of…

Oh! Today's a good day for sauna.

Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#112

Post by ehnto »

srean wrote: post #110
ehnto wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Due to a condition I was born with, I was raised the opposite. No over the counter medication my entire life, with some exceptions. I usually decline pain management in ER, for things like broken bones, but for surgeries and stuff of course I have no choice as I go under. I will take what the doctor orders though, to treat illness and conditions though thankfully at this stage there hasn't been many instances. Usuall…

Broken bones? A broken femur or a shin is hell.

Yeah it was pretty painful at first and at different times. Never like in tears pain though, just very distracting. I have broken two fingers and two collarbones, at different times, and a toe! Both collarbones were fully smashed to bits but did not pierce the skin, I had bruising for months.

I have an above average tolerance but I think what really helps is pain management techniques, which I believe can help all of us at different times of need. Chronic pain is a bitch, which I have, and not everyone has pain that is reasonably manageable, but even prescribed pain meds are really going to mess with you and I think it is worth avoiding if possible and not inhumane.

Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#113

Post by a96 »

markus_zhang wrote: post #42
pengaru wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Can we simply remove fever and coughing somehow… super annoying and more dangerous than the virus themselves sometimes. You're basically asking to become a bat

Fruitbat!

I do like some fruit.

Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#114

Post by throwaway290 »

nradov wrote: post #78
throwaway290 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know someone who doesn't get fever. When he gets sick with regular cold or fly it's much longer and worse than for anyone else I know.

Most people don't get a significant fever when infected with most common cold viruses.

"Regular cold or flu"

if I wasn't clear he basically does not get fever that's just it, the body don't do it.

Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#115

Post by torben-friis »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #105
jeroenhd wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fever helps against all kinds of illnesses but it can also be deadly, so having fever reducting medicine around is a smart precaution IMO. If you're otherwise healthy and are dealing with a mild seasonal infection and have got something important going on, I can see why people would choose to reduce symptoms at the cost of taking longer to recover. Lots of people go overboard with this, though, like taking flu reduct…

> Lots of people go overboard with this, though, like taking flu reduction medicine with every single cold or using medication to go to work sick. American media seems especially accepting of people taking "flu medicine" over rest and recovery. This is not specific to America; it's a thing in the entire Western world, and probably beyond. Because it's not like we have any other choice. There is no slack in the system…

>Most people can't afford to have more than a few sick days in a year

Sick days are unlimited in my country (and of course don’t count as vacation or similar).

I think this is relatively standard for European countries, though not 100% sure.

Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#116

Post by rkuska »

binary132 wrote: post #50

Huh. I don’t know if I’m picking up what they’re putting down here, but it kind of sounds like suppressing fever e.g. with Tylenol would actually be bad for (normal) flu progression.

That's what we do here (Czech republic), we don't take meds until the fever goes over 39°C (above 40 you are looking for trouble). You lay in bed and drink enough to compensate for sweating. My grandma would make you onion tea.

Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#117

Post by sph »

nikolay wrote: post #92
pkulak wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlike you?

I don't take any antipyretics, nor have I given to my kids, unless the fever is 39-39.5°C and climbing. Otherwise, you're sabotaging your own innate immune system!

I do the same. Fever is a feature, unless the infection is so pervasive the fever itself becomes a health hazard (at which point you need to see a doctor ASAP, not lower your fever)

Taking an antipyretic for a regular flu completely defeats the purpose. Let your immune system do its thing, it is pretty good at it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever#Management

Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#118

Post by tarsinge »

binary132 wrote: post #50

Huh. I don’t know if I’m picking up what they’re putting down here, but it kind of sounds like suppressing fever e.g. with Tylenol would actually be bad for (normal) flu progression.

Isn’t it common knowledge that adults heal quicker with higher fever, and that suppressing fever is needed only if it reaches dangerous levels (in contrast to children where fever can be dangerous at lower levels)?

Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#119

Post by mikkupikku »

BriggyDwiggs42 wrote: post #18
mikkupikku wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

During the 20th century the American government (as well as others) put a lot of effort into finding ways to control people. Drugs, control of the media, MK Ultra and Mockingbird are just two examples of many. Everything more or less failed. Dosing unsuspecting civilians with LSD doesn't have much useful effect. But one thing worked, and they should have known it all along. Fear. If you can make people afraid, you ca…

“They want us to fear birds” is wild man

They've been beating the bird flu drum for years, and why? Suppose bird flu is a real threat, what is the public meant to do about it? Stop eating birds? There is no pragmatic course of action anybody but highly specialized scientists can take to counter this alleged threat, and yet they keep beating the war drum, trying to make everybody afraid. Fear is the point.

Re: Bird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans

#120

Post by tarsinge »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #105
jeroenhd wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fever helps against all kinds of illnesses but it can also be deadly, so having fever reducting medicine around is a smart precaution IMO. If you're otherwise healthy and are dealing with a mild seasonal infection and have got something important going on, I can see why people would choose to reduce symptoms at the cost of taking longer to recover. Lots of people go overboard with this, though, like taking flu reduct…

> Lots of people go overboard with this, though, like taking flu reduction medicine with every single cold or using medication to go to work sick. American media seems especially accepting of people taking "flu medicine" over rest and recovery. This is not specific to America; it's a thing in the entire Western world, and probably beyond. Because it's not like we have any other choice. There is no slack in the system…

But flu isn’t just a cold, it’s a serious disease. If they are sick to the point they have fever then they can’t really afford to not rest as it has a cost in the form of longer health debt. And even short term, by letting the fever run and resting and being 100% operational can be more productive than being a zombie on medications for weeks.
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