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  • Fever-Reducing Medication May Inadvertently Cause More Harm

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    The unintended consequences of anti-fever drugs have been known for decades. A study in the 1970s found that people who took aspirin gave off more of a cold-causing virus than those who didn't, while a 1980s study showed that taking acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, lengthened the infectious period for children with chickenpox. Other studies help explain these findings: Immune-system chemicals that fight infectious viruses are made in greater quantities at higher temperatures.

     Natural Health News — Contrary to popular belief, fever-reducing medication may inadvertently cause more harm than good.

    New research from McMaster University has discovered that the widespread use of medications that contain fever-reducing drugs may lead to tens of thousands more influenza cases, and more than a thousand deaths attributable to influenza, each year across North America. These drugs include ibuprofen, acetaminophen and acetylsalicylic acid.

    “When they have flu, people often take medication that reduces their fever. No-one likes to feel miserable, but it turns out that our comfort might be at the cost of infecting others,” said lead author David Earn, an investigator with the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR) and professor of mathematics at McMaster University.

    Fever is functional

    “Fever can actually help lower the amount of virus in a sick person’s body and reduce the chance of transmitting disease to others,” adds Earn “taking drugs that …

     

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