Fever Increases Immune System Defense

Researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute found that a higher body temperature can help our immune systems to work better and harder against infected cells. The finding was published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

“Having a fever might be uncomfortable, … but this research report and several others are showing that having a fever is part of an effective immune response,” John Wherry, Ph.D., deputy editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, said in a statement.

The secret is in a kind of immune cell, or lymphocyte, called a CD8+ cytotoxic T-cell. This kind of lymphocyte is able to destroy cells infected with viruses and even tumor cells, researchers said. Researchers found that a higher body temperature (like one achieved in a fever) raises the number of these CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells, which means a greater body response against infection.

However you need to be careful if you have heart disease, have suffered a stroke or endured other medical complications. “This is not a blanket recommendation,” he says. “Secondary consequences to the fever can cause other conditions in the patient to occur or worsen. If someone has a persistent fever of 104, it’s a sign of infection, and it”s not just some viral thing you are going to get over.”

This is certainly not the first research to suggest that fevers ramp up our body’s immune responses. Discover magazine reported in 2007 on another Roswell Park Cancer Institute mouse study, which showed that mice that were heated up produced more immune cells to fight disease than mice that weren’t heated.

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Derrick Rose attributes triumphant return to Chiropractic

Derrick Rose returned to resounding applause Monday afternoon. He only missed the last five games, due to back spasms. Chiropractic helped him return back to the court.

Perhaps fittingly, when Derrick Rose briefly made Stuart Yoss the most famous chiropractor to Bulls fans everywhere, Yoss was being true to his craft.

“I was working, seeing patients,” Yoss said by phone Tuesday afternoon.

Never mind that it was Presidents’ Day when Rose told ESPN’s Doris Burke “the whole week I was seeing a great chiropractor, Stuart Yoss. He did a great job of getting me back.”

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For Sinus Infection, Don’t Bother with Antibiotics. Try this instead.

Sinus infections are drippy and painful — an all-around headache, quite literally. When symptoms arise, patients often rush to the doctor for a prescription, usually an antibiotic, to put an end to the suffering.

But it turns out you’d do just as well to take a sugar pill and treat yourself with standard drugstore remedies. According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis, the antibiotics typically prescribed by doctors work no better than placebo for reducing symptoms of infection.

“Patients don’t get better faster or have fewer symptoms when they get antibiotics,” Jay F. Piccirillo, professor of otolaryngology and the study’s senior author, said in a statement. “Our results show that antibiotics aren’t necessary for a basic sinus infection — most people get better on their own.”

What’s a person to do about the sinus congestion and unbearable pain and pressure? Keep reading for natural ways to get sinus infection relief.

  • Get steamy: The heat and steam from a hot shower does wonders for congestion and sinus pressure. Close the bathroom door and run the shower on superhot for a few minutes, staying in the bathroom to breathe in the steam. Lower the temp and hop in, allowing the hot water to gently massage your sensitive sinuses. If you don’t want to get in the shower, you can also place a towel over your head, and lean over a pot of superhot water, breathing in the vapor.
  • Try a Neti pot: To loosen up mucus and help it make its way out of your sinuses, give a Neti pot a try. Follow the instructions, adding noniodized salt and warm sterile (not tap) water to the pot. Mix it well, place the spout in one nostril, lean over the sink, and gently flush out allergens and mucus. If you’re really clogged, try using it after a hot shower. If this freaks you out, use an over-the-counter nasal saline spray instead.
  • Hot compress: If the pressure is getting to you, run a washcloth under hot water, lie down and place the folded hot compress over your eyes. Gently press along your sinuses, massaging the sensitive areas to loosen up mucus.
  • Sleep with a humidifier: If your symptoms are worse at night, keep your head slightly propped up with some pillows and sleep with a cool mist humidifier on your night stand. A night of breathing in moist air can greatly improve symptoms in the morning.
  • Drink up: Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. Staying hydrated can help loosen thick mucus, so you’re able to blow your nose effectively. We recommend this ginger tea for working through symptoms related to colds.
  • Get sweaty: If you’re feeling up for it, do a high-intensity cardio workout that gets you hot and sweaty, preferably on your own so you don’t risk getting others sick. This is a great way to get congestion relief.
  • Reduce triggers: If you suffer from chronic sinus infections, it may be allergy-related, and worth a trip to an allergist. After dealing with a six-month-long sinus infection, I realized I had developed an allergy to my cats.
  • Get Chiropractic Adjustments: Chiropractic adjustments to the neck and upper back not only boost your immune system, they can also help open up the sinuses and allow them to drain.

 

Time Article (the study showing antibiotics don’t work) and the suggestion are from here.

Elevated Body Temperature Helps Certain Types of Immune Cells to Work Better

With cold and flu season almost here, the next time you’re sick, you may want to thank your fever for helping fight off infection. That’s because scientists have found more evidence that elevated body temperature helps certain types of immune cells to work better. This research is reported in the November 2011 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

“An increase in body temperature has been known since ancient times to be associated with infection and inflammation,” said Elizabeth A. Repasky, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Immunology at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York. “Since a febrile response is highly conserved in nature (even so-called cold blooded animals move to warmer places when they become ill) it would seem important that we immunologists devote more attention to this interesting response.”

“Having a fever might be uncomfortable,” said John Wherry, Ph.D., Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, “but this research report and several others are showing that having a fever is part of an effective immune response. We had previously thought that the microbes that infect us simply can’t replicate as well when we have fevers, but this new work also suggests that the immune system might be temporarily enhanced functionally when our temperatures rise with fever. Although very high body temperatures are dangerous and should be controlled, this study shows that we may need to reconsider how and when we treat most mild fevers.”

Science Daily

For Neck Pain, Chiropractic and Exercise Are Better Than Drugs

Seeing a chiropractor or engaging in light exercise relieves neck pain more effectively than relying on pain medication, new research shows.

New research, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, found that chiropractic care or simple exercises done at home were better at reducing pain than taking medications like aspirin, ibuprofen or narcotics.

After 12 weeks of Chiropractic care, the people in the non-medication groups did significantly better than those taking the drugs. About 57 percent of those who met with chiropractors and 48 percent who did the exercises reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to 33 percent of the people in the medication group.

A year later, when the researchers checked back in, 53 percent of the subjects who had received Chiropractic care still reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, similar to the exercise group. That compared to just a 38 percent pain reduction among those who had been taking medication.

In addition to their limited pain relief, the medications had at least one other downside: people kept taking them. “The people in the medication group kept on using a higher amount of medication more frequently throughout the follow-up period, up to a year later,” Dr. Bronfort said. “If you’re taking medication over a long time, then we’re running into more systemic side effects like gastrointestinal problems.”

He also expressed concern that those on medications were not as empowered or active in their own care as those in the other groups. “We think it’s important that patients are enabled to deal with as much control over their own condition as possible,” he said. “This study shows that they can play a large role in their own care.”

Read the article in the NY Times.

Taking Just a Little Too Much Tylenol Each Time Can Be Deadly

Taking just a little bit too much acetaminophen (Tylenol) over the course of days or weeks is more likely to be fatal than taking a single, massive overdose.

Taking only slightly higher than recommended doses can cause potentially fatal liver damage. Tylenol overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S., leading to 26,000 hospitalizations and nearly 500 deaths annually, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

For one thing, people who have taken a slow Tylenol overdose may not be aware that the drug is the cause of their symptoms – like abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting – so they don’t report it when they enter the emergency room. Secondly, doctors may not find high enough levels of acetaminophen in these patients’ systems to identify the drug as the problem.

Heavy drinkers and older patients were at highest risk of staggered overdose. Alcohol alone can damage the liver and those who drink more than three drinks a day are advised not to use drugs that contain acetaminophen.

Why risk your health when Chiropractic has been shown to help eliminate many causes of pain.

Time Article