When we’re sick, we want to feel better—immediately. Our bodies set out to accomplish this goal by activating the immune system to vanquish the invader as quickly as possible. Vaccines help prepare the immune system for this fight, while antibiotics or antiviral drugs serve as its allies on the battlefield, targeting the pathogens and preventing them from multiplying and spreading in the body.
But often what makes us sick is our own immune response. It’s why we take pain or fever-reducing medicine such as acetaminophen, which doesn’t affect the illness-causing pathogen at all, but does quiet the inflammation that is causing symptoms. Recently, scientists have come to realize that the body can similarly work to promote health by quelling an immune response and minimizing the damage from an invading pathogen. They are beginning to piece together some of the ways disease tolerance can protect the body from damage during infection.
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