Forums >Health and Nutrition>Flu Treatment..
Good Bad & The Monkey
Does that mean I have to stay away from the internet too? Good God, what has it all come to.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
1983
well let's see... I've been holding off on the ibuprofen, unless my temp starts going above 101.
I also generally hold off on the ibuprofen unless over 101. I've been under the impression that reducing the fever by taking ibuprophen too early will slow down my body's fighting off and killing whatever germs are running rampant. No idea if this is right or not. Comments anyone ...
Michelle
Runners run
The Greatest of All Time
Our family dr. just told us the very same thing, he said not to treat anything under 100.3. Not sure where he came up with that precise number.
Strep and Flu tend to cause fairly high fevers.
I do know from lab work I did as an undergrad that bacteria can grow like crazy at 38 C but raise the temp to 39 C and they stop growing completely. Viruses on the other hand are trickier since they can't self replicate.
That's not necessarily true. We work with a lot of bacteria at 37C because it is body temperature and we want to see what the bugs are doing at the same temperature they would experience during an infection. Alot of pathogens can grow happily up to 42C. Some (but not most) can grow pretty well at room temperature (25to30C). I'm a bacteriologist though so I don't know anything about viruses or immune system I thought the fever was at least partially a side effect of the immune response rather than an actual defense mechanism.
immune response rather than an actual defense mechanism.
Have fun! And maybe call your doc and ask for Tamiflu NOW.
Yes and No.