system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Eli5 - Why is the body so reckless with its immune responses?

A common issue regarding viral infections or any kind of immune based matter is that the body is rather cavalier about how it goes about killing pathogens to the point where it completely disregards collateral damage.

The question is why? You would think if the body is able to discern foreign objects entering from domestic ones, it would also be aware that “oh hey sorry let me just turn off friendly fire.”

I understand there are some cases where to kill the wolves you have to burn the forest but it seems that even minor ailments leave a mess by your immune system’s own hands.
gpt
It does, in fact, go to considerable lengths to protect your body. Every antibody you produce basically gets "tested" against your body's own cells, and destroyed if it reacts to them. This isn't perfect, but it's pretty darn good.

Minor infections don't leave much of a mess. You survive them, almost always, without permanent or even significant damage. That's what evolution is optimizing for. It doesn't "know", at the time you're infected, whether a particular pathogen could kill you, and so it's worth deploying a heavy response because the alternative might be leaving you to die.