If the smoke alarm went off in your house and you pulled out the battery to stop the noise (symptom) you not only disable the warning for that night but all others that you continue to suppress the alarm.
This is the mentality that so many people apply to their own body. When you have a symptom your body is telling you that something is wrong and that you should rest and allow your body to heal. When people hide symptoms they don't allow the body to heal properly and this causes problems later in life, chronic pains or dysfunctions such as bad backs, bad shoulders, bad knees, etc.
2. WHAT YOU EXPERIENCE WHEN YOUR BODY IS REPAIRING A PROBLEM
Your immune system is predominantly made up of white blood cells. These white blood cells travel around in your circulatory system.
This is how the immune system gets from the circulatory system to any part of your body that needs to be repaired:
1. Your body produces certain chemicals (Histamine, Prostoglandins etc.) which are released when any part of your body is damaged or infected.1
2. These chemicals tell the white blood cells (which are your immune system) to travel to the damaged or infected area.1
3. These chemicals also open up microscopic pores in the capillaries (the smallest and most numerous blood vessels in your body) to allow the white blood cells to leak out, this is how the immune system gets to different parts of your body to repair damage.1
This process is inflammation and it is the only way your body can repair itself.
Inflammation causes many symptoms ranging from a runny nose to any type of pain and it is how your body fixes problems! When people stop inflammation they stop or slow the healing process to temporarily feel better.
The nervous system controls and coordinates all functions in your body, this includes the immune system.
2 The nervous system has direct control of immune cells (white blood cells) and in the current scientific literature the immune system is referred to as "the traveling nervous system".3-6 The nervous system also controls where blood is allowed to travel to. This is controlled by opening or closing valves (precapillary sphincters) which either allow or stop blood from flowing to certain areas in the capillaries.1