The Coronavirus has thrust fever into the international medical debate. Specifically, how and if we should be using ibuprofen. The French health minister Olivier Veran came out against its use for Coronavirus treatment treatment; the World Health Organization contradicted that recommendation. I have found the soundest judgment to have come from Anthony Fauci, MD, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who’s been leading the U.S. response:
I am a Naturopathic Doctor versed in incorporating both the timeless wisdom of nature as well as modern empirical research to guide my medical decisions. I will investigate fever and use of antipyretics (fever reducing drugs) through both of those lenses. This first article will examine the issue philosophically.
This article is for information purposes and should not be take as medical treatment. Please follow CDC guidelines.
Our Initial presumptions about fever direct how we should respond. If we believe fever to be a:
- A) defective disease perpetuating response
- we should shut down the process.
- B) natural healing response
- we should guide the process.
The difference in reaction between A and B is subtle yet profound. It is the equivalent of a farmer responding to a raging river that is flooding his fields by shutting down the river with a dam versus dredging canals to distribute irrigation to surrounding fields.
- Take a moment to imagine the ecological consequence the farmer might over the decades face from damning the river versus the dredging canals
- Now imagine the physiological consequence our bodies might face over the years from shutting down fever versus guiding the fever process.
Standard of care in conventional medical is to take a fever lowering medication (antipyretic) such as Advil (ibuprofen) or Tylanol (acetaminophen) every 6 hours; yet, these drugs have only treated the fever, a symptoms of the infection, and not the infection itself. The problem with reducing symptomatology is that it leads to an incomplete healing response lowering the natural immune boosting action of the fever. Much like the farmer who damned the river, we have not fully dealt with the problem. Should another bout of heavy rainfall (or infection) arrive, the dam unlike the canal is vulnerable. The dam may break or the river may swell around the damn and again flood the farmer’s fields.
Ibuprofen and Tylenol work quickly at reducing fever so that you feel comfortable and can get back to work; however, your body is no longer working as hard on fighting the infection if it is back to work also fighting with your boss.
Now is not the time for partial healing. A century and a half of the ‘take one and see you in the morning’ have lowered our bodies’ temperatures, which weakens our immune function, cumulatively making us more vulnerable to this pandemic. Take advantage of the thirty day shutdown by allowing your body to fully heal. You will return healthier – renewed and reinvigorated.
Follow up articles will include:
- Part II: What the Medical Research says about Fever Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen
- Part III: Naturopathic Treatments for Fever: Directing instead of Shutting Down the Fever Process.