A seven year study covering 441 children found some evidence that catching fever-like illnesses during the first year of life reduced a child’s risk of developing allergic sensitivities. The children’s health outcomes were assessed at age six to seven. One episode of fever during the first year had little effect, but two or more episodes appeared to give some protection.

No. episodes Atopic illness* Seroatopy** Allergic sensitisation
----of fever----------- %rate----------%rate ---------------%rate

--------0 ----------------30.0 ------------43.4 -----------------50.0
--------1 ----------------31.3 ------------39.7 -----------------46.7
--------2+ --------------26.0 ------------25.0 -----------------31.3

* asthma, hay fever or eczema
** a specific allergy

This suggested that, wherever possible, fevers should not be suppressed but allowed to run their course.

Courtesy of Medscape Week In Review

Much of modern conventional medicine is to do with suppressing symptoms, particularly fever, in the mistaken belief that, left untreated, it will rise to a dangerous level, leading to seizure or brain damage. This is usually not the case. An as yet unexplained body mechanism usually prevents infection induced temperature reaching a dangerous level (106°F/41°C).

A good fever is a sign that the immune system has been activated: [1] a reason to rejoice. The one exception is babies under two months old, whose blood-brain barrier is not fully formed. If viruses or bacteria enter the brain there is an increased risk of meningitis, another reason why administering vaccinations at this age should be stopped. (Some vaccinations (e.g. MMR) cause a feverish response in 50-60% of babies vaccinated).

Fever plays a vital part in fighting bacterial/viral inflammation. Many studies have shown that letting fever run its course increases survival rates, [2] as in a study conducted during the 1967 measles epidemic in Ghana.

When the epidemic began doctors followed standard practice and treated every case with sedatives, anti-fever (antipyretic) drugs like aspirin and tylenol, cough suppressants and, sometimes, antibiotics, antimalarial drugs and blood transfusions. A third of the child cases died, but the doctors noticed that the survivors tended to be the ones who had appeared to be the most ill, running high temperatures, developing the worst rashes and discharging lots of mucous and pus. The children who seemed less sick at the beginning of their illness tended to develop fatal pneumonia.* The doctors decided to stop giving sedatives, anti-fever drugs and cough suppressants (continuing to give antibiotics, antimalarial drugs and blood transfusions where appropriate) and deaths dropped from 35% to 7%. The research team concluded that it was dangerous to suppress an "inflammatory discharge" (i.e. fever).

The use of fever-suppressing drugs can increase the duration and severity of an illness. [3] Aspirin was commonly used to suppress fever until it was linked to Reye's syndrome, an often fatal disease affecting the brain and liver. Doctors switched to the "much safer" paracetamol (acetamoniphen) but this has now been linked to a raised risk of fatal liver failure. Health Canada is particularly concerned that parents do not realise that many anti-flu and anti-cold preparations contain paracetamol. Suppressing a fever with one preparation and a runny nose with another could easily lead to overdose. Paracetamol overdose, usually unintentional, is now listed as the US top cause of acute liver failure.

* Suppression of inflammation may also explain the US experience of measles, where mass (and sometimes compulsory) vaccination programmes have driven the average age of catching measles up to 17-20 years old. Because the progression of the illness is different when caught at this age, it is known as 'atypical' measles, and brings a far greater risk of developing pneumonia.

Edda West reports seeing the same pattern within her own practice. She also noted that the children who had received fewer vaccinations did better than the ones who had received more.

See also Calpol - you won't believe what's in it and, in the section on Orthodox Medicine, Darwinian Medicine and Suppressing fever and autism