- Fevers have always been feared
- Ancient romans worshiped Febris, the Goddess who protected people from fevers
- Amulets were left at temples to placate her
How fever cures
- A one-degree increase in body temperature has been shown to slow the replication rate of some viruses by a factor of 200
The paradox
- Despite millions of years of evolution as a defense mechanism, no parent, no patient, few doctors, and certainly no drug company views fever as anything but a misfortune that should be eliminated.
Treatment of fever is common in the ICU setting and likely related to standard dogma rather than evidence-based practice.
Howard Markel, director of the Center for the History of Medicine
Commentary
- Fevers hurt. So, it may be rational to want a fever, but not reasonable