Why does taking aspirin for a mild fever slow recovery?

Question

Why does taking aspirin for a mild fever slow recovery? Also, how do aspirins work?

Do they kill the bacteria that caused the initial rise in temperature?

Answer 1

Fever is a result of your body increasing your metabolic rate in response to an attack by foreign agents on the body, an infection by biologic or virul agents. Raised temperature promotes immune cell growth and the immune response of the body in general. It is a natural effect. Most every disease of the body results in raised temperature, except for cancers, which act by a wholly different method of attack. Why do you think the 1st thing they do is take your temperature, followed by blood pressure? Experience shows these are the 1st and primary indicators of almost every problem with the body. So, by taking aspirin to reduce your temperature, you feel better since your temperature lowers and is closer to normal, no more shivering and chills, but you slow the metabolic processes which are taking out the bad guys and doing the healing, so it takes a while longer, but even though you slow things down, you still DO heal from the infection as your immune response acts, but your feel less of the effects by lowering your temperature. There is no such thing as a free lunch. There is always a price to be paid for any benefit. Would you rather be uncomfortable and heal faster or relatively comfortable and take a little longer? You be the judge. Either way, your body will do its best to heal within the constraints of your immune sysem abilites to fight off infection.

Answer 2

Aspirin is one of the medications called salicylates. It works by stopping the production of certain natural substances that cause fever, pain, swelling, and blood clots. Aspirin does not kill bacteria.It does not slow down or hasten recovery if you got any infection. To recover faster, you should know the cause of fever and have proper treatment. If there is any infection requiring antibiotics, then you must take. Increasing your body's immune system by good nutrition is another important point especially if there fever which is a signal that your body probably has infention.

Answer 3

It might slow recovery if it lowers body temperature (fever) that the body uses to kill invading organisms. Aspirin is an anti inflammatory which is why it reduces pain and body temp.

Answer 4

aspirin (ASA) is a salicylate...
the reason that ASA (acetylsalic acid) slows recovery...is because it is an antipyretic (among other things) and when you reduce the fever in light of an infection, the foreign protein (bacteria, virus...) can resume production of proteins...and thus reproduce
when the hypothalmus recognizes a foreign protein, it raises the temperature setpoint to inhib protein synthesis by the foreign agent...reducing this setpoint is not good in this case

Answer 5

Fever is actually the body's way of fighting invading organisms. If the temperature is too high, they die, so taking aspirin lowers the temperature and retards the body's ability to kill them.