From Men's Health:

Open in Case of Flu Pandemic

Basic and educational. Thought I'd pass it along.

-- Craig

"Aspirin and acetaminophen will make you feel better but can prolong flu infection, say University of Maryland researchers. Fight fevers with cold packs instead."

So there WAS a kernel of truth in the link that I posted about not taking aspirin if you're coming down with the flu!

Thanks, Craig -- I didn't know about the other stuff... but SAUERKRAUT??? Eewww! <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

sue

You're always right. :-) My recollection from a conversation with a friend in medical school is that the higher temperature of a fever either kills the virus or hinders its replication. He decided to stop taking aspirin and Contac when he got colds so that the duration was shorter. (Remember Contac? This was back in the 70s).

However, the University of Maryland Medical Center advises


The study referred to in the article is also cited at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/12/001228090125.htm
I see that patients with treatment felt better and that the doctor concluded


Note the article is from 2000, and the study was conducted in the 70s and 80s. The actual conclusion of the article is

which is not quite as strong a statement as given in the Men's Health article. See
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...p;dopt=Abstract
for an abstrct.

My friend, by the way, agreed. He couldn't stand how sick he felt, couldn't afford to miss classes and studies, so he went back to aspirin and Contac. :->

Mackowiak (one of the authors of the cited study) also has a preliminary study published at
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/120/12/1037
What conclusions may be drawn from the studies depends in part on what the person drawing the conclusions is selling. See
http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/17/fever_flu.htm
for a vendor of patent medicines offering his stuff in lieu of aspirin, saying the article proves he's right. Buy his stuff!

shrug - Do research and make judgments. My opinions are just my opinions.

Oh, and sauerkraut? Forget it! Yuck.

Ugh, that article again. Let's forget that one, shall we? <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I read the Science Daily article and the abstract and it's not a particularly robust conclusion given the kind of data they had to work with. The thing I'm curious about and which neither source mentions is how much longer the people taking aspirin and acetominophen were sick?

Let's not forget that even today's avian flu-fighter's best friend, Tamiflu, only reduced the duration of garden variety flu symptoms from 4 days for the people taking a sugar-pill to 3 days for the people taking Tamiflu. A whole day! Is it worth it? <shrug>

Personally, when my whole body is wracked with aches and soreness and my head is pounding with a headache while I'm running a fever, I'll reach for the medicine cabinet just about every time.

Jack Daniels

What is this--the Mad Libs forum??? <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I think the alcohol hand washing gel was perhaps the most effective thing there, and the masks have some utility from the standpoint of reminding us to stay out of crowds.

It may or may not have some basis for a “kennel of truth”. Keep in mind the fever can be due to the body’s response to an infection by increasing the production of disease fighting cells and dilating the blood vessels, so these infection fighting cells and antibodies can get to the site of the infection. Also due to the enlargement, the blood vessels become leaky, allowing those infection fighting cells and antibodies to enter what is called the interstial tissue space. Viruses and bacteria may or may not have narrow or optimal ranges of temperature, in which they thrive. Outside of these ranges, it may or may be lethal to the organism, but may simply have an effect on the speed at which they replicate. In fact some agents will replicate faster as the temperature increases, but once they reach certain threshold, will then die.

Many organism produce chemicals called pyrogenes, which in of themselves can induce fever. Whether in doing so, these organisms are inducing the body to increase the core temperature for better growth conditions or not, is not totally understood. However, if this is the case, then reducing the body’s core temperature through the use of medication, may decrease the ability of the organism to induce disease.

Pete

Don't blame you. I feel exactly the same way. Sauerkraut sucks. Mom says, But that's your heritage (we're roughly half German and half Russian). I told her German food stinks. Which it does. She was not too pleased with me on that score. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

-- Craig

Well, some german food sucks, as you mentioned, sauerkraut. But give me a 7 layer german chocolate torte (or german chocolate cake) any time... yummmm...