Being sick sucks...

...so I decided to make the best out of it and use my valuable time (I have to spend in bed), writing a new blog post.
Since the main topic for PC2 is health and medicine, I decided to do some research on the most common symptom everyone knows.
Do you know the feeling when everything aches, but the worst is your sore throat that wouldn't even allow you to talk?
I wanted to find out: why is it the throat that hurts so often when people are sick?
The answer to this simple question is preeettty amazing and highlights the "awesomeness" of our immune system.Very often when our throat hurts, the swollen lymph nodes are the reason for it. But, why do we have swollen lymph nodes? Does the virus/bacteria attack our lymph nodes? Not really.

Everywhere in our body we have lymph nodes, including the armpit, the stomach and the throat. All in all we have about 700 of those little "battlefields". Lymph nodes are party of our lympathic system and help to defend our body against hostile intruders. The lymph, some kind of a fluid, circulates in our body. It's task is to transport not only vital nutrients, but also bacteria and viruses. It takes the intruders to the lymph nodes, where they can be analyzed and destroyed.

For all the science geeks among you, I'll explain this more exactly:
The lymph nodes are full of B and T- lymphocytes. B-cells dock to the intruder and ingest it. The antigen is then presented on the B-cell's surface. T-helper cells then dock to the B-cells. The T-cells then know the DNA of the antigen and s
end signals, which cause the B-cell to transform into an activated B-cell that produces antibodies.Those antibodies will only be able to destroy antigens with the same DNA. Also, B-memory cells are produced. This is why, for example, children have to have had certain diseases, before they produce antibodies and are then immune against the disease. When the same intruder enters their body again, the B-memory cells know exactly which antibodies to produce.

In order to produce more antibodies, more B-cells are needed. This results in an increased blood flow. Also, in order to destroy the antigens more easily, the temperature in the lymph nodes is raised. The inflammatory process starts. The lymph nodes start to swell and hurt.

All over the internet you can find advice on what to do about hurting lymph nodes. Very often you can read: cool it with ice. This might be of help for a little while because the swelling as well as the pain will go away. But it is not a very smart decision in the long run. By cooling it, you repress the natural response of your immune system. Antigens will not be killed as effectively, and your body will just have more work raising the temperature.