Understanding “Wait and See”

A normal temperature is anywhere from 96.6-99.4. Most fevers are caused by viral or bacterial infections but can also be a symptom of teething. The body will work without medical help in most cases. Today more and more pediatricians are honest enough to tell moms that even a fever up to 105 degrees is no cause for alarm, because the body is simply doing its job to fight the bug.

What is a fever? The Science.

Simply put, our body’s first line of defense when invaded by any microbe, virus or bacteria is going to be cells called microphages: a strong, healthy immune system may be able to eliminate the problem with this first step alone. If these fail to contain the “bug” then the body creates other pyrogens and proteins to try to assist. Once these have been created the hypothalamus in the brain recognizes that there is an invader and raises the body temperature to assist in killing it off.

This raised temperature will generally be just a couple of degrees, but the hypothalamus determines, based on the number of pyrogens and proteins, what will be necessary to eliminate the bug. If the hypothalamus creates additional biochemicals to try to protect the body then the temperature raises accordingly.

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