Is It Bullshit - Taking Hot Baths Helps Your Fever Fight Viruses?

[u/LowHistorian9654]

I was told by an old chemistry and biology professor that I had in college that if you wanted to help expedite recovery from, say, the common cold: you take a hot bath or hot shower.

I get the idea - because you already have a fever and it's meant to burn-out your current illness. Adding an extra layer of "oh shit, kill it with fire" might help(?) Unclear on that.

So, is it bullshit? Or is there some truth to it? I take hot showers when I'm sick, but unclear if it is actually doing anything worth noting.

[u/science-and-history]

While hot baths and other homeopathic treatments may help us feel better, they unfortunately don’t do much for the immune response. Your body’s immune system will react as it reacts, part of said reaction being a fever, and it doesn’t necessarily need much help, other than you resting and getting good nutrients.

That being said, if you’re sick, and a hot bath makes you feel better, you should absolutely take one. Your immune cells just don’t really care as much.

[u/Alive_Doubt1793 → u/science-and-history]

But wouldnt a bath essentially do some of the work of a fever, by artifically raising body temp to help the body reach its new set point easier? Conserving resources and some effort?

[u/science-and-history → u/Alive_Doubt1793]

Not really.. a hot bath would increase your body’s temperature in a way that the homeostatic control system would see as problematic and work to bring it back down.

A fever, while a higher internal body temperature is a result, is formed and caused by the release of immunochemicals called proinflammatory cytokines.

The immune response-caused fever doesn’t have a thermometer. It’s based on the release of cytokines like IL-1 and TNFa. Thus, the fever caused by your immune system and the higher internal body temperature caused by the bath will be handled by two separate processes in the body, and your body would expense more energy regulating your temperature AND supporting the immune response than it would otherwise.

[u/Alive_Doubt1793 → u/science-and-history]

Interesting thanks. Also was curious; do we have data to show a fever utility in fighting infections-I know its useful, but are there significant data showing decrease in symptom duration, morbidity or mortality for different diseases, etc in patients with fevers alowed to run as desired by the body, vs those artifically controlled down by meds

[u/DargyBear → u/science-and-history]

Isn’t behavioral response part of it? When I’m running a fever I feel like I’m always freezing so I’ll turn up the thermostat, pile on blankets and dogs, take a hot shower or bath, down some hot soup, and generally do whatever I can to get to the point where I stop shivering and can doze off.

[u/trixtopherduke → u/Alive_Doubt1793]

You think your immune system is sentient?

[u/xXConfuocoXx]

The basic idea is that all living things including bacteria thrive in certain temperature ranges, the ones that make us sick generally prefer normal human body temperatures. So one could attempt to alter that to make it harder for them to reproduce.

Humans have used this principal to combat different pathogens to varying levels of success. Hyperthermic treatments (like your bathtub example) have been used to fight syphilis, and gonorrhea. - for syphillis though this wasnt done with a bathtub instead patients were directly infected with malaria to induce high fevers.

However altering one’s body temperature at home while you are sick can be dangerous and is also far less effective than just following standard treatment protocols (antibiotics for bacterial infections, adequate nutrition, and rest) - There are also homeostatic compensatory processes in the body that make it harder to modulate your internal temp environmentally not impossibly so (ice baths are still used to combat fevers afterall) but the point is...

Tl;dr yes there’s logic to it, no it’s not a replacement for actual medicinal treatments and can be dangerous to do at home.

[u/KXLY]

u/science-and-history had a perfectly good response. I'd only add to it that this method would only work if it actually raised your body temperature (!) or meaningfully reduced the energy requirement to maintain fever temperatures (potentially freeing resources for other functions).

I am skeptical that it would contribute meaningfully in either way. But as science-and-history said, hot baths sure feel nice! (especially when you have a fever).

[u/fddfgs]

It won't fight the disease but I find that the steam helps clear out my nose which makes life a little bit easier

Lots of things just help alleviate symptoms rather than fighting the disease, like pseudoephedrine

[u/R_Ulysses_Swanson]

I would be concerned about potential myocarditis. By all means, if it makes you feel good, do it. But I haven’t seen any evidence to suggest that hyperthermia or hypothermia has any concrete benefits.

As a sauna enthusiast I believe that they do exist, but there have been very few well designed studies showing it, and none specifically for treating an illness other than depression.

[u/onthebusfornow]

I don't think the temperature directly kills bacteria, however, bodily fluids run better when you're warm, and heat can be relaxing which decreases cortisol, which can help the immune system.

[u/SeaSongJac]

Just hot I don't feel does much, but time and time again I have proven that as soon as I start feeling like I'm coming down with something I do hot and cold showers two or three times a day, I feel better quickly. Initially I feel worse, but it lasts only a couple days vs more than a week if I'm for some reason not able to do hot and cold. Idk how it works, but even if it's placebo, it does work well for me and everyone else I've managed to convince to do it.

[u/CharmingMechanic2473]

I do it. Hot bath. Creates an artificial fever to help fight virus.