WEBVTT - How Fever Works

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<v Speaker 1>Get smarter in sixty seconds with brain Stuff from how

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<v Speaker 1>stuffworks dot com Hi Marshall Brain. When your body temperature

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<v Speaker 1>rises because of an infection, it's called a fever. Fevers

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<v Speaker 1>are caused by chemicals called pyrogens flowing in the bloodstream.

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<v Speaker 1>Pyrogens make their way to the hypothalamus in your brain,

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<v Speaker 1>which is in charge of regulating your body temperature. When

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<v Speaker 1>pyrogens bind to certain receptors in the hypothalamus, your body

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<v Speaker 1>temperature rises. So where do the pyrogens come from? One

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<v Speaker 1>common pyrogen is called inner luken one or I L one.

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<v Speaker 1>I L one is produced by white blood cells called

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<v Speaker 1>macrophages when they come into contact with certain bacteria and viruses.

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<v Speaker 1>One purpose of a fever is thought to be to

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<v Speaker 1>raise the body's temperature enough to kill off certain bacteria

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<v Speaker 1>and viruses that are sensitive to temperature changes. One interesting

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<v Speaker 1>debate right now, therefore, is would you lower a fever. Aspirin,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, will reduce fever, But if the fever is

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<v Speaker 1>actually helping rid the body of infection, then lowering it

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<v Speaker 1>might not be such a good idea. On the other hand,

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<v Speaker 1>people sometimes die from fever. Right now, the general medical

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<v Speaker 1>consensus falls on the reduced the fever side of the coin.

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