Does symptomatic relief slow recovery?

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Medicines that relieve symptoms of diseases may potentially slow recovery, as many symptoms are part of the body's natural defense mechanisms against pathogens. For instance, fever can inhibit bacterial growth, while vomiting and diarrhea help expel harmful bacteria. However, excessive symptoms can be detrimental, leading to discomfort or health risks, which justifies the use of medications in certain situations. Pain serves as a warning sign, and using painkillers may lead to over-exertion, hindering recovery. The appropriateness of symptom relief depends on the disease's cause and specific symptoms. For bacterial infections like E. coli, treating symptoms such as diarrhea is often discouraged, as it can impede the body's ability to eliminate the bacteria. The discussion also touches on common illnesses like colds and low-grade fevers, indicating a need for further exploration of symptom management in these cases.
matthyaouw
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I've been wondering, do medicines that relieve the symptoms of a disease slow your recovery from it? It's been my understanding that many symptoms arise as a side effect of your body's attampts to remove a pathogen, for example altering temperature to inhibit bacterial growth, or inducing vomiting/the sh**ts to get rid of bacteria in the digestive tract. Would that mean that taking medication to get rid of these symptoms is actually detrimental in the long run, or have I misunderstood something?
 
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Too much of something good can be bad. If your temperature raised too high, it's bad for you so you should relieve the symptom. If you are vomiting all the time, you won't be happy either. You should first let your body take care of itself, if it starts to bother you too much you can relieve the symptoms.

Another thing to take note of, is that pain is also a warning sign of your body to slow down. If you start taking pain killers you can definitely slow recovery due to over-exertion.
 
matthyaouw said:
I've been wondering, do medicines that relieve the symptoms of a disease slow your recovery from it? It's been my understanding that many symptoms arise as a side effect of your body's attampts to remove a pathogen, for example altering temperature to inhibit bacterial growth, or inducing vomiting/the sh**ts to get rid of bacteria in the digestive tract. Would that mean that taking medication to get rid of these symptoms is actually detrimental in the long run, or have I misunderstood something?

It depends on the cause of disease and on the symptoms...
 
That makes sense, thanks. :smile:
 
I know that for many bacterial infections that cause diarrhea such as E. coli, treatment of this symptom is not recommended because it impedes the bodies ability to expel the bacteria. In the case of Clostridium difficile infection it can even increase the liklihood of dangerous complications.

I'm curious myself about more common things like colds and low to mid-range fevers.
 

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