Out of Body Fever

[JohnF]

I used to donate platelets which were taken using a machine that took blood from one arm, passed it through a centrifuge, then returned it to the other arm.

 

One day during this procedure I wondered if it would be possible to heat the blood whilst it was in the machine, then cool it back down before it was returned to me. I was thinking this might be like having a fever and help kill off any virus I had.

 

I never did get to ask the question so I'm asking it here. Would it be possible to have a useful fever like that and would it help in anyway?

[insane_alien]

well, theres more going on in a fever than a bit of heat so it would be pretty ineffective. infact, it might even help accelerate the spread of the virus causing you to get ill sooner.

[JohnF]

well, theres more going on in a fever than a bit of heat so it would be pretty ineffective. infact, it might even help accelerate the spread of the virus causing you to get ill sooner.

 

Are you stalking me?

 

Since I know nothing about such things it seemed a reasonable question. I observe that when I have flu I get a fever and then I get better. So from where I stand getting over heated is either just a sympton of the virus or a reaction to help in getting rid of the virus; hence the question. Even if there is more going on and getting hot is just one of the factors involved in killing the virus then it's still reasonable to ask if such a treatment might help.

[insane_alien]

i'm not stalking you i just have time to kill. It is a reasonable question, just like your other one. just so happened that neither works. keep asking they're a nice change from some of the crap that washes up here.

[JohnF]

Well; OK then. I'll put my baseball bat away

[YT2095]

it would indeed kill quite a few of the viruses, however there`s still plenty more inside you, muscles and organs etc...

and so although it May "sterilise" the blood part, it`s still being returned to a Contaminated body.

 

when Pyrexia happens in a body the whole system is effected, and is far more efficient as a result.

[JohnF]

it would indeed kill quite a few of the viruses, however there`s still plenty more inside you, muscles and organs etc...

and so although it May "sterilise" the blood part, it`s still being returned to a Contaminated body.

 

when Pyrexia happens in a body the whole system is effected, and is far more efficient as a result.

 

Thanks for that response. So if it would kill some of the viruses would you be able to keep using such a machine to flush out your whole system? I'm thinking that if 'cleaner' blood went back in the virus concentration would be diluted giving your own immune system less to do. This machine I was connected to didn't store the blood then return it; it was a continuous cycle of blood going in to the machine, platelets being separated and blood going back in the other arm. A dialysis machine would be another type that could be modified to give your blood a fever outside of your body.

 

Are there other components to the blood that might be damaged as well as the virus?

[YT2095]

the problem is this; when you contract a Viral illness you don`t drink gallons of the stuff or breathe in zillions of litres or contaminated air etc... you only get a Few in your system, say from a scratch or a sneeze and so forth.

(there are many vectors).

 

the point being it only needs a few, and so unless you can kill them ALL, you`ve only got to leave a Few behind and you`re back to square one again

 

as for blood components being damaged, it really all depends on the temp, the method of heating and cooling, that can`t really be answered easily.

[insane_alien]

As a side thought, could UV light be used or would that damage the blood itself?

[YT2095]

UV would introduce free radical damage.

[insane_alien]

ah yeah. should have thought of that.

[Glider]

In many cases. the fever is not produced as a defence against infection, it is caused by the infecting agents (known as pyrogens). They cause fever because it suits them, and so heating the blood would not be effective against them.

 

More important is the temperatures required to kill many bacteria would also destroy white cells and denature blood proteins. It's the same for viruses. The HIV virus (a particularly wussy virus, compared to say Hep C), is destroyed at 60 degrees C. That is easily enough to render blood useless and you really wouldn't want it pumped back into you.