treating colds?

I disagree. It's my understanding that the immune system in action is what causes the increase in temperature. I don't agree that the increase in temperature increases the action of the immune system. What study was this? Did you interpret it correctly?

I remember reading that the raised temperature you get with colds etc is the body fighting the virus as it doesn't in fact cope with a raised temperature and is killed by it .... so maybe there is a reason that this works.

I tie a plastic bag around my head until I pass out. It's fun, you should try it.

Wait, is this the thread about sex techniques? Nevermind...

"Some studies have shown" is by no means an assertion of truth -- and, honestly, it's information I got second-hand from my organic chemistry prof a couple of years ago, so I cannot give you a site without a lot of digging -- just that there is a potential mechanism at work. An infectious agent itself does not raise your body temperature. Body temperature is regulated by the brain; fever is your body responding to the pathogen. That said, there are plenty of proteins -- the ones responsible for pigmentation in a siamese cat's coat, for instance -- that are temperature sensitive.

The inflammatory response -- another poorly-understood immunological process -- also results in raised temperature, which is both caused by and helps to push forward increased blood flow to the region and increased migration of white blood cells out of the bloodstream and into the infected tissue. Temperature is part of the regulatory mechanism for the inflammatory response, so I see no reason to think it unlikely that it's also part of the regulatory mechanism of the fever response. Indeed, it seems to me that the two responses are closely allied.

patiodog: Nowhere in my comment did I say that an increased temperature was not involved as part of the immune response. I said that I didn't believe increasing a temperature would increase the immune system's activity. In other words, I see temperature increase as a by-product of the immune response but not a creator of an immune response.
Also, I don't quite follow your last paragraph. I know that increased temperature will cause vasodilation, which is one way the body reacts in an attempt to maintain ideal body temperature. Is this what you are referring to? And yes there is an increase in leukocyte activity at the infected area, but it would be the release of cytokines from leukocytes and possibly the damaged tissues themselves that would be pyrogenic and not the blood flow alone.

The common cold is a virus. Just do whatever makes you feel more comfortable while waiting for the thing to work it's way out of your system.

That be the ultimate answer pessimism!

Kind of surprised that something I heard years ago could be found on the web, but try this:

Mayo Clinic.

This is a fairly sever treatment, by the way, but malaria does produce a very high fever.

I read about that too roger. Although the organism involved in colds is, as cavfancier mentioned, a virus whereas the organism in syphilis is caused by a bacterium. Bacteria are independent life forms whereas a virus cannot replicate without a host. Its structure can be denatured by heat, however I believe the temperature needed to do so is outside the range capable by the human body.

Or maybe you were just mentioning this as a point of interest?

No, I mentioned it for its possible relavence to the discussion. You believe the temperature needed to denature a virus is outside the range of which the human body is capable. Your belief may be correct. It may not, and if I knew, I would say so. In any case, some viruses are more tenacious outside an organism than others. HIV is a weak one; the rhinovirus responsible for colds is a bit more tenacious.

I do know that colds are caused by a virus and syphilis by a bacteria. The high fever is a body defense against bacterial disease. You say you don't know that the same defense applies to viral disease. I don't know either.

I think the fever response is part of the whole immune package. It makes the environment more inhospitable to the infecting agent, but I don't think in and of itself it's going to provide a full defense. Other immunity agents acting with increased body temperature together provide the defense.

I tried to find information regarding the temperature at which a rhinovirus would be destroyed. (Or rather its capsid -- i.e. covering shell -- since the virus itself is made out of genetic material, the same stuff we humans have, and would be destroyed at the same temperatures as our own genetic material.) I couldn't find information specific to the rhinovirus, but I did find others are destroyed at temperatures of 60°C. (Temperatures of 42.8°C can be fatal to human beings.) I did find several online sources that indicated the rhinovirus best replicates at 33°C, the temperature inside the upper respiratory tract, which is why it usually does not develop down into the lower respiratory tract or introduce itself systemically. However, I also read about a study on the NIH web site which stated various serotypes replicate well at temperatures higher than 33°C.
Abstract on the NIH web site regarding the rhinovirus

Considering where the rhinovirus commonly infects, (lining of the upper respiratory tract) it seems unlikely that fever plays a significant role in ridding the body of this virus. In fact, after looking up differences between the cold and the flu, I found information stating colds typically do not result in significant increases in body temperatures. So a marginal increase in body temperature may be all that is needed to prevent the rhinovirus from other areas of the body, but this is not the same for the lining of the upper respiratory tract which would never reach those elevated temperatures.

I still believe in the old chicken soup cure and lots of sleep. I'm not big on cold meds or any medication but if I get desperate the only think I ever take is nyquil. Put me out till the cold is over.

I agree with ya roverroad! (Except since I'm a veggie, I don't use the chicken soup part.) I have found that certain doses of vitamin C help. When I wuz taking 250 mg twice a day it seemed to help! Thinking more of a good thing would be even better, I tried 500 mg. But it seems there is too much of a good thing because taking 500 mg didn't seem to help at all. Go figure.

caprice- As I understand it, the body excretes any excess Vitamin C that it cannot use.

That's not quite what I heard, Phoenix, but my hearing was from industry sources. Anyhow, my understanding is that as you take more, both the amount retained and the amount excreted is increased. Also heard that there is a rebound effect. Taking high doses is supposed to strengthen the immune system, but a sudden cessation will weaken it.

All unsubstantiated gossip, so far as I know.

I'm not sure if I can find the information from here, but I do recall that there were a number of studies indicating that too much vitamin C can indeed be a bad thing. Perhaps not as bad as too much iron, but the correct balance on a number of essential vitamins and minerals is not as loosy-goosy as some people seem to think

phoenix wrote : "
caprice- As I understand it, the body excretes any excess Vitamin C that it cannot use". i can confirm that, can i ever !!! for some reason i must have overdosed on vit. C somehow; can't tolerate it at all any more. even orangejuice etc. gives me cramps. i have no problems with pineapples, kiwis and strawberries, also tomatoes and tomatoe-juice are fine, but vitamin C has become a NO-GO (literally !). hbg

Cramps! Interesting, that's happened to me, I noticed a definite correllation with vitamin C and wasn't sure if that made sense. Did some search at some point, didn't come up with anything. One time at work I was fighting off a cold (didn't know what patiodogh said about vit c and colds... makes sense) and I had some little chewable things that were yummy, and then I also had some oranges for lunch, and I think there was one other thing, and then I had some horrible pain/ cramp in my shoulders. Really quite painful. Has happened other times I've "OD'ed" on vit c.

How does that work, physiologically? Just curious.

Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin. As such it isn't stored and the excess is primarily excreted in urine. (I mentioned on another thread somewhere that the vitamin B's are the same...they turn your pee a bright yellow, try it! *L*)

Even though they are water soluble, too much can be toxic, however, I believe it would likely have to be quite a large amount to entail a true overdose.

sozobe: I looked up "vitamin C" and toxicity together and there are a few different sites that mention some have a lower tolerance than others for the negative side effects. At the Medline web site it states the following, which would be one concern:


As far as the physiological aspect, there could be several reasons why you experience what you do. I'm guessing one possibility would be akin to those with lactose intolerance. You may not be absorbing as much vitamin C as others do and the unabsorbed portions are used by the bacteria that normally colonizes your lower intestinal tract. The by-products of the bacteria could be responsible for causing your discomfort and diarrhea. I got the idea from this web site (at The Microflora and Nutrition section):

http://gsbs.utmb.edu/microbook/ch095.htm

For more information on vitamin C, here are a couple of other sites as well.

http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/nutrition/factsheets/vitamin-c.pdf
http://www.hmc.psu.edu/childrens/healthinfo/articles/vitaminc.pdf

This article discounts the effectiveness of vitamin C for colds.

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/colds.html

I have always read and always heard that the best place to get your vitamins is from natural sources and not supplements. I think hamburger's post attests to that idea.