Fever Achiever
Written by Dr. Matthew Alvord DC, DPhCS
Are fevers good or bad? What should I do about them? And where do they even come from? These are some of the questions people have about fevers. Many people fear them, but almost everyone misunderstands them. Let’s get one thing straight:
Fevers are a good thing.
Without them, we would die. So where does the fear come from? There can be rare complications related to fevers but the fever itself is always there to get your body temperature to a level that will allow your body to best fight off an infection, and that is always good. Fevers are like the Good Samaritan at the scene of the crime. Sometimes they get blamed just for being present during health issues, but they are always the Good Samaritan. They are always there to help us.
Fevers are produced by a combination of processes in the body. First, your immune system detects something that requires a reaction. Secondly, it sends signals to your brain to increase muscle contraction throughout your body. Third, the increased muscle activity increases body heat to the right temperature to optimize healing. This is because many germs will not function well when your body temp is raised. And regardless of whether or not your body needs a low grade or high grade fever to accomplish the task, your body always brings your temp to the exact amount it needs to burn off those germs.
All this is controlled and coordinated through your nervous system, which is made up of your brain, the spine in your back and all the nerves connecting everything else. The intelligence running your nervous system is always intelligent and therefore everything it does is intelligent, including fevers. Our main concern is to make sure that there is no interference to the process controlling your fevers. We do this by analyzing your spine for misaligned bones that interfere with your nerves, interfering with the intelligent messages communicated between your brain and your body, and ultimately any fevers.
In a way, we could call the intelligence in your nervous system your “fever achiever.” The same system that causes your fever is the same system that reduces your fever when it is no longer needed. It always creates a fever for a very good reason and takes it away when that reason is gone, and not a moment before. The bottom line is that you don’t want to demonize your fevers or any process of the body trying to protect or heal you. Just make sure to get your spine checked for interference to make sure your fever achiever can achieve for you.