Hello! I have been a doctor for 21 years. My name is Georgy Olegovich Sapego. In this article I will tell you about how different chemistry increases and decreases our body temperature.
Pyrogens are substances that increase body temperature. Pyrogens can be ours and foes.
Alien pyrogens
These are usually microbial toxins.
Pyrogen translated from Greek means "generating fire". Microbial pyrogens act on our body like a burning match for a bucket of gasoline. If you take a glass of microbial pyrogen and dilute it a billion times, then even this amount will be enough for a person to have a sharp rise in temperature and aches throughout the body.
Your pyrogens
These are usually the same cytokines that we have already discussed. You can read about them at the link below. When cytokines were discovered in 1940, they were precisely pyrogens that were released from activated leukocytes.
Remember interferon? Many people like to pour it into their nose and stick it in the form of candles somewhere else. So here he is - his classic inner pyrogen.
I even have an idea that interferon acts on colds and runny nose just by raising the temperature.
Many people know that if your body temperature rises sharply during a cold, then a runny nose and cough may decrease. This is because the high temperature literally dries out snot and phlegm.
In my opinion, all these fancy interferons for the treatment of colds work in much the same way. They raise the temperature of the body, and the snot becomes less.
Infection
Now imagine what will happen during the infection. Microbes secrete toxins, and the immune system jumps on microbes with cytokines at the ready. Then the microbes die, and some of the immune cells die too. Of all of them, a sea of their own and foreign cytokines is released. So during infection, a fever appears.
Prostaglandin
In the article on the regulation of body temperature, we discussed the work of our internal thermostat. It is bolted from below to our brain. If pyrogens appear in the blood, then the blood vessels near the thermostat secrete prostaglandin E2. Only after this does the thermostat understand that it is necessary to increase the body temperature. If you unscrew the thermostat and pull it out of your head, then no pyrogens will raise our temperature.
True, without a thermostat, people freeze to death even from a draft, but they will definitely never have a fever.
The prostaglandin E2 that signals our thermostat does not sit still either. He then begins to walk throughout the body and raises a panic. It is because of this that prostaglandin breaks us down during a cold, muscles and joints hurt.
Antipyretic
The vast majority of drugs that lower body temperature act on that malignant prostaglandin. They disrupt its synthesis, and the thermostat does not notice pyrogens. The body temperature does not just go down, it rather remains normal.
This is helpful to understand because maintaining a normal body temperature is independent of prostaglandin E2. This means that antipyretics will not lower our body temperature to zero. They will only bring it down to normal.
Not an infection
In fact, every movement in our body produces cytokines. Remember how we discussed their signaling role? In order for the cells in our body to do something and move somewhere, they need cytokines. Therefore, any inflammation, trauma, and much more can be accompanied by an increase in body temperature.
Since an increased body temperature is a sign not only of a cold, but also of many other diseases, do not swallow paracetamols with aspirins again, but be sure to consult a doctor.
If you liked the article, then like it and subscribe to my channel. Check out my articles on related topics:
Cytokine storm: questions answered
Why does the body temperature rise?
