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diamondpredator t1_j94sz06 wrote

Reply to comment by Interesting-Month-56 in Why are fevers cyclical? by Key-Marionberry-9854

I thought it wasn't the fever that killed the virus but that the fever made your own immune cells better at defending against it because the higher temperature is a better environment for them.

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JohnnyJordaan t1_j95ej4n wrote

It doesn't outright kill individual pathogens, but it does combine the effects of making it harder for them to survive (so letting the population die out) and increased production and activation of immune cells. But that doesn't mean it's a better environment for them than normal body temperature, as of course the system is designed to handle 99% of the infections in that condition. Fever really is the fallback scenario where all bets are off until they fix the issue, causing all the other effects we call 'being sick'.

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ClownsAteMyBaby t1_j956p6p wrote

Not that I've ever read. It's generally taught that it makes the environent less hospitable to viral/bacterial enzyme function and replication.

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laughingweasel t1_j9661vh wrote

And it really slows down the rate that viruses multiply which allows your immune system to reduce the number of viruses that are able to multiply.

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bonkly68 t1_j991tac wrote

I've heard that white blood cells are about twice as mobile per degree C of temperature rise.

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