Our bodies are supremely well protected from within. We’ve evolved multiple mechanisms to defend ourselves and neutralise harmful pathogens. Controlling things, the immune system: comprising many types of proteins, cells, organs and tissues – all working together in an elaborate protective network.

So when foreign bodies and harmful agents like bacteria and viruses attack, the immune system responds. And inflammation is one of the visible signs of the body reacting to infection, irritation or injury. It’s a type of non-specific immune response – characterised by: redness (rubor), warmth (calor), swelling (tumor) and pain (dolor).