From approximately February 2001 to September 2003, I had a pretty great bill of health. I never got the flu, never caught a cold, never had a fever, nothing. And it’s not like I was getting flu shots or taking measures to stay away from sick people - in fact, my roommate gets a good 4-5 day illness that reduces her to bedrest at least once, and sometimes twice, a year. Never caught it.
This has all changed. Last September, I visited my older brother in Florida to meet my (at the time) one month old niece. The poor little girl had a cold. And, well, three days later, so did I. It wasn’t a particularly bad cold, just a regular run-of-the-mill week of sniffling, sore throats, and whatnot.
Here it is, 10 months later in June of 2004, and right now I am on cold #4. WTF? The one I have right now is really mild, but it’s there.
So what kind of floodgate was opened when I caught that cold from my niece? Why am I so prone to sickness now when I had a two and a half year streak of healthiness?
Both real medical advice and complete “here’s what happened to me” conjecture are very welcome It’s not a particularly serious inquiry (as I’m not dying or anything), but I am curious as to what might be going on.
I think you should see your doctor. It sounds to me like your immune system is suddenly shot to … oblivion. This doesn’t usually happen without a reason (Qualifications: spent four years doing research in the lab of an immunology prof. I wasn’t doing immuno, but I had to take the coursework, and you don’t spend that much time working with someone without hearing a lot about their “line of work”.).
Have you made any changes in your lifestyle? Started/ended a relationship, lost a close friend or relative, changed jobs, moved (can’t think of any other major changes just now)? Any major change in your life can have an adverse effect on your health, and this sounds like a fairly dramatic change in your health, which doesn’t usually happen without a reason.
Wheb I first started working out regularly, I was generally healthier, but got sick a lot more. Before, I hadn’t got sick in maybe 8 years or more. (But before that I was a frequently sick kid).
I suspect virii were passed via the exercise equipment in the public exercise room.
I used to get what I thought were colds, every few months, for years. Turned out I had a chronic sinus infection, that gave me the sniffly nose, and a sore throat due to irritation from post-nasal drip. My immune system would knock it back into hiding for a while, then it would rear its ugly head, and the cycle continued. I had a (presumably unrelated) infection in my jaw, related to removal of wisdom teeth, and was given some seriously heavy-duty antibiotics…Keflex I believe…not pansy-ass amoxicillin.
Never had it happen again. The oral surgeon said it was a chronic sinus infection, likely penicillin resistant, and the Keflex for my jaw infection completely eradicated the problem.
The other suggestion, is that perhaps it is allergies. You don’t have to have sneezing and watery eyes for it to be an allergic reaction. Perhaps you were sensitized to something on your visit?
I don’t know your age. OTOH, I don’t know your genome or family health history, either, so this is still guesswork (and you may still need to have some tests run). Whatever your age, you may have just crossed one of the numerous boundaries where metabolic function decreases by some fraction, that anyone who lives a reasonable lifespan (by standards of our society, i.e., more than 50 years) will encounter from time to time.* One of the consequences may be, as others have suggested, either vulnerability to sinus infections, allergies, or both.
Do you take vitamins, or any other food supplements? If not, I strongly suggest you start with a good daily multivitamin (Centrum, frex, or reasonable analogs; I use the Spring Valley {a WalMart brand} Centrum analog {and yes, it does disintegrate in tepid water, so the nutrients are available}). If you’re already taking one of these, perhaps you need to start taking additional doses of the antioxidants (C, D, E, A {or beta carotene instead of the A})?
My intake of vitamins A & C affects my (pollen) allergies; of that I have direct evidence.
*I will expand on the meaning/significance only if requested.
I’m 26 (27 in August) and have taken a daily One-A-Day vitamin for something like 6 or 7 years. Personally, I’m finding it easiest to blame my 10 month old niece for this whole mess
Then you are old enough to start seeing changes in your metabolism. It’s unusual in people under 25, and I hadn’t the foggiest notion before. If I’m correct in this, you will probably see another change in 8-10 years, and at the same frequency, whatever it is, for the rest of your life.
I think maybe you could see benefits from starting on antioxidants. You might try 250-500 mg of “C” daily, and 8,000 IU of “A” twice a week, for starters. See whether you start feeling better.
If you don’t want to do that, I’d see a doctor, and ask for investigation into either (specifically) allergies, or your immune system generally.
It’s not a particularly serious inquiry (as I’m not dying or anything), but I am curious as to what might be going on.
This doesn’t usually happen without a reason (Qualifications: spent four years doing research in the lab of an immunology prof. I wasn’t doing immuno, but I had to take the coursework, and you don’t spend that much time working with someone without hearing a lot about their “line of work”.).