Why does our body temperature go up when we have a cold?

Answer 1

A cold is basically a viral infection. So, your immune system in your body has to fight against it, and this causes your body temperature to rise (chemical reactions, etc.).

Answer 2

It's one response that the body has to infection... raise the temperature to a point where the infecting organism stops working (or stops working so well) while the body systems carry on working.

It doesn't work with some bugs because of the usual biological warfare race... the bugs adapt to survive the higher temperatures and they reach a point where the body stops working before the bugs do... and the patient dies. Fortunately colds are not that adapted and drugs help kill other germs.

And some don't trigger a temperature rise at all...

Answer 3

Fever itself is a resetting of body temperature at an elevated "set point." Contact with a variety of pathogens, such as viruses or bacteria, will result in the release of chemicals, called interleukins(ILs). Initially was thought that IL-1 mediated fever, but IL-6 has gained some support. Either way, this is a small protein released from the host's white blood cells. This protein circulates to the brain where it is thought to raise the temperature set point via the production of prostaglandins.

The prostaglandins are synthesized from arachidonic acid (a "fatty" acid), by an enzyme called cyclooxygenase. Aspirin and other NSAIDs block cyclooxygenase preventing the fever.

Fever is used as a defense mechanism by the body. Bacterial and viral enzymes, love 37oC (which happens to be our body temp and where _most_ of our enzymes work best). Raising the temp moves the bacterial machery out of its "sweet spot" and makes it move more slowly, giving the body a helping hand in fighting off the invader.

This is one of the reasons that some physicians advocate for NOT treating fevers.

Answer 4

Getting cold means you are having infection. Your body has lines of defense. Having an infection means there are "intruders" in your system and so you body defense would act. The chemicals released caused by the infection are the factors that signals your system to be on an alert. The thermoregulating center would respond to increase the temperature as a signal that the system is in a "fight" against invaders. It aims that by setting the body temperature, the activities of microorganisms causing the infection would slow down.

Answer 5

It's a defense mechanism. Like us, viruses biochemical processes work best at certain temperatures. Viruses, and for that matter, bacteria that infect us have adapted to where they often reproduce fastest at our body temperature. So, when our bodies detect infection they may raise the temperature in order to slow or stop virus or bacterial reproduction. I recently got over the flu. My temp was hitting 102 for a day or two. I took something then, but when it was 100 to 101 I didn't take anything if I could. I wanted to be able to track how my body was fighting the infection. And, I wanted to let it use natural means to help fight the infection.
Your body is the same as well. If your body temp gets too low or too high your biochemical processes may be impedded. Same as the pH of your blood is important for life. Your body's ability to keep all these variable in a certain range to sustain life is called, homeostatis. It requires a lot of food as fuel to self-regulate these processes. So, we have to eat, drink and breath regularly. But, it also allows us to exist in a lot of different envirnoments because we can maintain a body temp of around 98.6 even if the outside temp is 32,110 or anything in-between. A lot of organisms can't do that.

Answer 6

Temperature is regulated in the hypothalamus. Substances that induce fever are called pyrogens. These are both external or exogenous, such as the bacterial substance LPS (Lipo Poly Saccharides), and internal or endogenous. The endogenous pyrogens (such as interleukin 1) are a part of the innate immune system, produced by phagocytic cells, and cause the increase in the thermoregulatory set-point in the hypothalamus. The endogenous pyrogens may also come directly from tissue necrosis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever

Answer 7

I agree with ashton, i think it is the interlukins released by the immune system when they are fighting the various bugs..in the case of cold it is the viruses. the immune system also releases different heat shock proteins which raises the body temp. also the body takes that as a measure to kill the bugs (some controversy over that)

Answer 8

A cold is a type of infection and when the immune system generates action to fight the infection a fever usually results.

It has a beneficial effect of making us rest as a fever usually tends to take some of our energy away from us. Rest is beneficial in healing from the cold.

Answer 9

Viruses are susceptible to heat- the body reacts to allergens invading it and the immune system is activated. Among the responses is increase in body temperature.

Answer 10

Cos your body gets a temperature when it fights infection.