Here’s my basic question, I’ll put my details in a reply to it:
What are the best or most thorough ways of filtering out cold/flu germs from your face (mouth / nose / ears / eyes), yet won’t look ridiculous or cost a fortune? Also, what methods might allow you to play sports (i.e. allow sweating and not be too bulky)? All I can think of for full protection is a gas mask, but I don’t want people calling the police… I don’t understand why you don’t see people with low immune systems like me, or people with AIDS, walking around in full-body germ gear… (I actually had a nurse laugh at me for wearing a face mask in a hospital. Like wow.) Thanks for any replies!
I have a quite poor (and strange) immune system. I get sick when I go out a lot or don’t take high multivitamin dosages. I especially get sick when I play field sports. I organized a pickup field sport my entire adult life up until 2 years ago, when I started getting sick immediately after the game. (It was so bad that I eventually realized that even when I didn’t attend the game, I would still get an immune boost when I would have played, and got sick at exactly the time I would have stopped that day. My system actually organized its cycles based on the weekly game time.) I want to keep playing, and socializing in general, as that gets me sick now too, but I can’t do it as I used to, as even if I build up my immune system over years and feel okay, I’ll know it’s still taking a toll on me long-term. (This is mainly back story, I’m not looking for medical advice. Let’s just suppose I have AIDS or am really old, as these are low-immune groups.)
**ANYWAY… ** What could I wear on the field that would give me maximum germ protection yet let me sweat? I buy antiviral face masks, but I have to duct-tape them to my face because they let air in around the rim. Then there’s the fact that cold/flu germs can enter through the ears, and eyes I think, too. So I’m not covering all bases by just protecting my mouth/nose, as there’s sweat and breath flying everywhere. (This is ultimate frisbee, where we all touch the disc, and are constantly feet or inches away from each other. We also yell stall counts a foot away from someone’s face, breathing in their breath, etc!)
All I can think of is a full gas mask. Are there any mild ones that wouldn’t look completely scary, but would cover my mouth/nose/eyes/ears? We’re just talking cold/flu here… I’m trying to get creative, maybe just put plastic bags and elastics over my ears, or ear plugs, and wear goggles, I don’t know… It looks ridiculous in public though… A hospital nurse actually laughed at me for wearing a face mask (duct-taped) in the hospital! I don’t get why I don’t see people with AIDS walking around with full-body germ gear… I mean even if you have a normal immune system, wouldn’t wearing something stupid be a moderate price for not missing 10 days a year of work or family time? Thanks for replies…
The people who know what they’re doing only wear protective gear when there’s a decent chance of there being something they’d need protection from. Just walking around a hospital is no reason to need a barrier. Are you in danger of being splashed or sprayed with something? Are others in danger of what might be coming out of you? No? Then leave the barriers at home or, better, on the shelves at whatever store you bought them from.
Airborne viruses (e.g. cold/flu) are generally in the air wherever people are breathing, or at least have XYZ probability of being there. If you’re someone who gets colds or flus (most humans), you can reduce the risk by wearing a mask, period. I’m not sure where you’re getting your information from, this is very basic stuff… I’m just wondering if there’s special gear for athletics, or what total protection (whole head) there might be in general that doesn’t cost a fortune or make you look excessively scary.
A suggestion to change your activities or at least look into other activities. Hiking for one comes to mind, even in groups (and usually has a social aspect and after hike drink/meal). Scuba diving also would work and the scuba gear should isolate you from other people’s bugs if you did come in contact and no one would be calling the cops.
If you want more competition perhaps timed sports, like a bike race, would work.
How your body responds to such a change should also give you better insight as to what is causing the stress/cold symptoms and help you manage it better. i.e. if you are hiking alone and still come down with the symptoms it is not sharing sweat nor ‘breathing in’ ‘someone’s breathing’ out that is doing it, and body isolation may not have done anything for you as hinted at by this line you posted:
Changing your activity to one that is low risk of infection may also help break the cycle you mentioned here, allowing you to continue to occasionally go back to playing.
As a clinician, I would make a diagnosis that a patient with the type of “immune” problems you describe actually has a psychiatric illness, and that no amount of “protection” would suffice.
It doesn’t sound like your illness is due to infection. Colds and flus have incubation periods of days, not minutes or even hours. Perhaps the problem is more allergy based. It could be the grass or something they spray on the grass. Physical exertion can make allergy symptoms more pronounced, especially respiratory symptoms.
Getting sick at the time of the game when you aren’t there can only be explained by psychological causes. Allergies and infections require physical contact, not timing alone.
Not at all. Soliciting free advice on an anonymous message board can’t replace consultation in person with medical professionals. This is the reason we move such threads to IMHO.
Not at all. Soliciting free advice on an anonymous message board can’t replace consultation in person with medical professionals. This is the reason we move such threads to IMHO.
Have you considered that maybe you might have OCD? Seriously, wearing a full on gas mask? Dude, that’s not normal, at all. I would definitely seek psychiatric help before anything else.
Place the thread where you feel is right, but just for reference, I specifically stated I was not trying to seek medical advice. That’s why I put details in a separate post. My first post and main question is extremely basic/factual: What are various methods to reduce cold/flu by protection?
I definitely appreciate the specific advice, but does anyone have any (more) answers to the more basic questions? I.e.:
Q1) Types of gas masks that are inexpensive? (Obviously military-grade masks can be worn during intense physical activity, but that’s pricy and scary!)
Q2. Why don’t we see people with AIDS walk around in 100% full-body germ protection? That’s life and death. I guess scuba diving is a great idea for certain environments! But what else on land?
Q3. Ways to protect individual body orifices from incoming germs? Nose, mouth, eyes, and ears may all contract diseases. I’m coming up with creative solutions but I’m wondering if things like this are out there somewhere already. I mean shouldn’t just a simple nose clamp or earplugs prevent viruses from entering those orifices?
ROFLMAO. Humor aside, though, this is actually what full-body germ gear might look like! Why don’t we have a fashionable version of a Darth Vader suit we can buy?
These are great suggestions! Thanks! I do try to do things like intense fat-burning cardio exercises in my living room; that helps, although it’s a bit boring/lonely. It would be tricky to start up a new outdoor sport because ultimate frisbee has been a major part of my life, more like a family I’m in charge of raising. I started and ran the group for 15 years, starting at 18. A few players are friends from back in high school, it’s basically my main posse…
I’ve run these sorts of tests. I’m sure of my scientific-method analysis based on cold data. I’m extremely objective and aware of contaminating factors like placebo and denial. It’s happened a million times. The 2 foremost pieces of experimental evidence are: 1) The more places I go out in public in a short period of time, the worse I get sick. All the time. 2) When I stop taking my (expensive) multivitamin product, I get sick. Always.
Ughhhh. I almost didn’t even mention those details. They’re not a major issue right now, but let me defend them just for the record…
Yes, on the surface, it seems psychosomatic. (I am far too versed in such things to not understand the unorthodox nature of the thesis and the instinctive clinical interpretation.) If you carefully look at the data, though, my theory is extremely reasonable.
Nutshell: The human body is extraordinarily adaptive. When we force conditions on it, especially for long periods, it responds by reforming its entire structure around such. We run farther and faster when we push our bodies through exercise; we build enormous muscles the more we force our bodies to lift weight; our chemistry is vastly changed by our long-term diet… Because this routine of mine has been extremely steady for my entire adult life up until 2 years ago (15 years), i.e. playing the type of sport every good-weathered Saturday for all these years, my body has (naturally) become accustomed to this cycle. It knows the routine that I need exponentially more immunity on Saturday afternoons than the rest of the week, since the germs are 700 times more present than sitting in a chair alone in a room. It’s natural that it would save up and build immunity chemicals and release them exactly when I need them, or at least be ready to.
Try it. Do intense all-day track every Monday for 15 years, then stop suddenly. In a clinical interpretation, you may be in a high risk group for Restless Leg Syndrome, and may easily notice that such is more prominent on or around Mondays, even for years (i.e. your legs may feel really antsy like they want to be exercised.) This is one thing that has happened to me; my legs are physically more restless on weekends now that I’ve stopped playing.
It’s not just that I’ve played, I’ve run the group, I’ve had to be superman physically and psychologically for Saturday afternoons, manically greeting everybody, focusing intensely on the field and people around me, scanning the perimeter constantly to make sure no children walk onto the field and get hurt, etc., etc. Your body only has so much dopamine, endorphins, calorie energy, and immune-fighting chemicals. It’s natural to suppose that you can train your body to release these in regular intervals. After 2 years these cycles have generally diminished, but I still do get restless legs on the weekend, and feel extra functional/friendly/focused on Saturdays, etc. I’m sure there’s some layer of placebo, but the general principle is that it’s chemical. My main thing now is that I get sick when I’m exposed to germs, not in these cycles, but I don’t want to go ***back ***to playing and have them resume full-force.
We often are continuously fighting off viruses in our systems. Untreated colds/flus can last indefinitely and even kill you. We may have less energy to function when we have a disease, and we can often choose when to use that energy. Maybe our cold/flu will let us run for 20 minutes a day, but not 3 hours. Based on how we rest and feed ourselves, we can customize the timing of that 20 minutes, hence the body itself can become accustomed to releasing chemicals we need at certain times, and not at other times. Putting up an intense immunity shield when I’m most exposed to germs is the best time to protect against infection altogether (and hence not initiate an incubation period at all), while simultaneously tabling/masking symptom manifestation that may already be there. After Saturdays and into the week, yes, I would get sick over the time period of days, but it makes that in that long-term period, the body can customize/formulate the manner/timing in which it heals that infection, i.e. to do whatever’s necessary to ensure the disease is cured or at least held in check, by the ***next ***Saturday.
That’s the point of the thread, to find lesser solutions. It’s a theoretical. In my mind there’s a gap I need to fill between a medicated cold/flu mask–a poor idea for heavy breathing and sweating; the chemicals would drip off or be inhaled more than intended (I wear some and I can taste the chemicals just breathing in while sitting)–and a gas mask. I don’t know quite what else there is.
***Clinical ***paranoia or obsession is isomorphic with behavior resulting from what actually is existent. If a schizophrenic says he’s talking to aliens (and can’t provide evidence), this is clinical psychosis. However, aliens are scientifically and logically feasible. An alien abduction that the aliens leave no evidence of because they don’t want to alert us of their presence, is a perfectly possible scenario. If the schizophrenic’s explanation is logically plausible and self-sustaining, then you just can’t know whether it’s psychosis, or they are actually correct. Watch K-PAX. Everything Prot puts forth defending himself as an alien in human form is scientific, logic, and plausible. My aunt once asked me about the movie, “Which do you think it was?” I said “both”!
If I present information such as I have a statistically low immune system and can’t go out and be with people for very long, then the behavior of seeking extreme solutions is isomorphic with somebody who doesn’t have a physical problem yet fixates on such solutions anyway. You might even wager that the person with no proof is not obsessing, but rather doing something productive that just can’t be seen scientifically (such as engaging in long-term germ protection).
Here we have a virus going around (Norovirus) that has a 50% kill rate. Wearing full-body germ gear would appear completely obsessive because nobody does it (even knowing the dangers of the virus), not because it’s not a scientifically good idea. If 4 people you know die and you were alive because you were the only person in your country who decided to walk around in a Darth Vader suit, then you’re the one left laughing.
I find that any instincts I have that might be classified as OCD, are almost always purposeful. I might have the urge to twist my ankle at an odd direction, and I’m like well why the hell do I have to do this, then I study physical therapy and realize that I was instinctively performing a proper muscle exercise or stretch. I might flick my fingers as a nervous habit in a weird direction I don’t get, and then realize it’s a guitar strumming pattern I was trying to figure out earlier, or a useful method of disc/frisbee throwing.
I suppose I could go on forever with why nobody diagnosed via Western Abnormal Psychiatry should be thinking of themselves as disordered. You are only a “sufferer” to an extent where your just plain ***different ***brain causes problems for you. If you have blue skin, some people will laugh at you, yet others may say it’s kickass. In the grand scheme, people might enslave blue-skinned people, or worship them, it’s all dependent on the system processing the intrinsically neutral/atypical attribute.
The “lesser solution” is to get professional help. There is no need to wear a surgical mask at all, let alone one with duct tape.
Look, the bottom line is, what do you think would be preferable: finding a “lesser solution”, or not have to worry about this kind of thing at all?
(Also, keep in mind that not EVERY person with OCD is a germophobe. It does, however, seem to be the most common obsession. You sound like a textbook case.)
No, this is not how infection and immunity work. They do not develop long-term rhythms as you are describing. That sounds more like allergies or psychosomatic illness. Have you tried taking an antihistamine before you play?
