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No, the immune system attacks the virus. The coughing, the runny nose, the sneezing, are symptoms of the cold. These cause the nasal cavities, the epithelium, your throat, etc, to become inflamed. But that inflammation is generally a by product of your body fighting the virus off.
Its a buzzword these days, for sure...Not out of line with things like "Gluten Intolerance." Which is to say its a real thing but without context, its not very meaningful. How would you describe the site of a bee sting? It's inflamed.
If you have Gout, the crystals form in the joint fluid and everything gets inflamed.
Inflammation is a symptom, not a condition in and of itself usually. Though certain autoimmune diseases this isn't the case.
Right, I totally agree with this. You would say "i have gout" not "i have inflammation".. so yes, i agree that it's a symptom.
I just feel like it's not being used correctly these days.
Inflammation causes symptoms. When your immune system is fighting off an infection (cold virus, or bacteria, etc.) inflammation results, and inflammation causes the symptoms. Inflammation is generally GOOD, unless the system is somehow out of balance and the immune system is not working correctly.
For healthy people, inflammation is a good thing. It means the body is fighting something off, which it's supposed to do. Then the inflammation goes away and you feel better. If you're tired after a night of poor sleep or a day of hard physical labor, that's not caused by inflammation.
Inflammation is a process by which the body's white blood cells and substances they produce protect us from infection with foreign organisms, such as bacteria and viruses.
However, in some diseases, like arthritis, the body's defense system -- the immune system -- triggers an inflammatory response when there are no foreign invaders to fight off. In these diseases, called autoimmune diseases, the body's normally protective immune system causes damage to its own tissues. The body responds as if normal tissues are infected or somehow abnormal.
I don't know - it's caused by taking a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. All I know is that they have ruled OUT common joint conditions such as RA, OA, autoimmune disorders, etc. They just call it "a torn TFCC" for my wrists (not saying why they tore} or "disintegrated Achilles tendons" for my ankles. But it's because of the Cipro.
So yes, in this case, inflammation is a symptom of damage.
My dad had an autoimmune disorder. His white blood cells attacked his own platelets causing a very low platelet count. This autoimmune disorder is one that CAUSED some inflammation (mainly from blood clots) but even in his case, inflammation was a symptom that his body was actually trying to counteract other symptoms with inflammation. Like others have said, inflammation is a healthy response to something unhealthy going on in one's body generally speaking.
For me, inflammation is probably the direct response of my body reacting to an injured area (hence my platelet count which is high) but inflammation is a Catch 22 for me because it also increases my symptoms and pain. It is made significantly worse by both diet, and by weather changes.
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