Fever has usually been handled with near-hysteria and yet there have been many indicators that it is the body’s tool to burn up toxic wastes preparing them for elimination. A few doctors have intentionally generated fevers of up to 107°-110° F to destroy cancer cells. This process is called hyperthermia. In spite of this background, patients feel that fever, even low-grade fever, requires urgent attention. This conditioning has been generated by the doctor insisting upon employing anti-fever techniques and isolating the virus for destruction.
An article which appeared in Family/Health 1975 is most significant in that it verifies the natural healer’s respect for fever and its use as a healing tool. It states:
“One of the first and most discomforting symptoms of an infection is fever. It is known that the hypothalamus, a neural center tucked deep into the brain, controls the body’s temperature; however, why the hypothalamus raises the temperature during illness has long puzzled scientists.
Now researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have discovered that two types of white blood cells produce substances that cause fever.
According to NIAID scientists, when white blood cells (which are part of the body’s defense system) ingest invading bacteria, they release leukocytic pyrogen, a protein that causes the hypothalamus to increase body temperature. Citing the results of experiments on laboratory rabbits, the scientists further state that they have isolated two different forms of pyrogen protein. One is discharged by neutrophils, which are the most abundant human white blood cell; the other pyrogen is released by monocytes, a less prevalent white blood cell that also destroys bacteria.
Research is by no means complete, but NIAID hopes that the different chemical structures of these two proteins will explain some of the widely different patterns of fever among humans. At any rate, the preliminary findings already seem to have provided the first definite proof that fever – far from being a product of illness – is instead a sign that the body is fighting back against foreign bacteria.“
