That's because the body's initial response is often way out of proportion. I get the flu and my body decides to turn up the heat. There's pollen in the air and my nose goes into lockdown for weeks.
I've dislocated my kneecap a few times and the near-immediate swelling was much worse than the actual injury. Recovery took a few weeks anyway so easing my discomfort for a couple of hours made no difference.
From what I remember, turning up the heat is an attempt by your body to kill off the virus. This is a natural response, not a genetic mistake.
Our sinuses have shrunk and or airways collapsed far too quickly for evolution to adapt, leaving us highly susceptible to allergies and inflammation. This makes the likelihood of catching a cold or flu much worse. It also makes the healing process longer.
I very much recommend you read Breath by James Nestor if you suffer from allergies. Or at the very least, let chafgpt summarize it for you.
my comment is limited to "acute, traumatic soft-tissue injury", the scope of which excludes viral infection, allergic reaction, and strict joint injury.
> my comment is limited to "acute, traumatic soft-tissue injury", the scope of which excludes viral infection, allergic reaction, and strict joint injury.
The point is that evolved responses don't always properly account for nuance or proportion. If inflammation evolved for large traumatic injury, it may still be triggered for limited soft tissue injuries but then the response could be disproportionate.
I've dislocated my kneecap a few times and the near-immediate swelling was much worse than the actual injury. Recovery took a few weeks anyway so easing my discomfort for a couple of hours made no difference.