Fever pitch

Wayne, over at Niches. got the flu or at least a flu-like illness. Being a good naturalist, he recorded the event for blogsterity, including a detailed record of his rectal temperatures, along with very instructive annotations. The fever chart and his own clear-eyed post indicate he is well on the road to recovery.

The only thing I would add to his "functions of fever" explanation is that another consequence of fever is that it slows us down dramatically and decreases our appetite. Thus we don't waste energy on moving or digesting and can devote more to fightng the infection via the immune system. A great post. Go read it.