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Flu: Is it detrimental to take a fever reducer?

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KevinLA
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13 Feb 2013, 10:54 am

I heard somewhere when having the flu that it is better to have a fever because the immune system is stronger and is detrimental in the long run to take a fever reducer.

Is this true?



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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13 Feb 2013, 1:06 pm

The following is the single most useful piece of information I've found about flu, because it can occasionally can lead to pneumonia and this is a warning sign.

Quote:
New York Times, Denise Grady, Sept. 3, 2009.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/04/healt ... .html?_r=1

“ . . . In children without chronic health problems, it is a warning sign if they seem to recover from the flu but then relapse with a high fever, Dr. Frieden said. The relapse may be bacterial pneumonia, . . . ”

And presumably this is the case for adults, too.

========

As far as your specific question, well, you don't want your fever to be dangerously high, but I can see how a medium fever could be useful. Maybe other people have more detailed information.