# Why are some people ill ALL the time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046 "2008-12-13T20:29:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046/61 "2008-12-15T05:37:21Z")
I don’t know why some people seem to get sick more than others, but I just realized that I have never seen my mom get sick in the 26 years I’ve been alive. Like…ever. Not the flu, not a cough, not even a freaking cold. And she’s worked in a hospital for over 35 years surrounded by sick people! Actually, she’s always been in the OR, and that’s a pretty sterile environment with lots of hand washing. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046/62 "2008-12-15T07:03:19Z")
> [@](#): > > If you know anyone who claims IBS who hasn’t changed their diet, tell them they’ll get no sympathy until they do! Yep yep yep. I KNOW that if I eat bacon, for instance, that I will suffer the consequences. Sausage is even worse. So guess what? Most of the time I don’t choose to eat bacon, though I love it dearly. It is a terrible choice, but I know that I will be quite unwell if I eat it. Sometimes, I don’t care, and I eat it anyway. But it’s my own fault. Other ingredients are even worse…try avoiding pepper, for instance. It’s EVERYWHERE, even in some cookies and hot chocolate and tea! Even a very dense person can usually make a connection between cause and effect. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046/63 "2008-12-15T18:57:18Z")
I’ll probably curse myself by saying this, but I almost never catch anything communicable. I don’t know why, but my immune system improved terrifically after I gained weight from way too skinny to just a few pounds overweight. (I still have a healthy BMI, but I weigh about 15lbs. more than I want to.) I haven’t had a cold in years, and I can’t remember my last flu. I still get _sick_, i.e. have to take sick days, but it’s usually allergy attacks, or UTI’s, or migraines. ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046/64 "2008-12-15T19:05:57Z")
When I lived in a huge apartment building I got 7 colds in an year. Seriously. I now live in a townhouse and the only 2 colds I’ve gotten were a result of flying. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046/65 "2008-12-15T19:19:58Z")
A lot of illness is perception or relativity. Yeah, if I have a cold that sucks, but it’s not nearly as bad as if I’m throwing up or when I had the shingles. Life is definitely do-able with a cold and I rarely consider myself sick unless it’s severe. Fortunately, the barfing and shingles happen extremely rarely and when they do, then I really consider myself sick. On the other hand, my husband acts like he’s dying every time he gets the sniffles. It probably feels pretty bad to him and I try not to think he’s being a drama queen (or king), but his threshold for illness or the perception of illness is obviously very different from mine. ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046/66 "2008-12-15T20:43:05Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > As soon as I decided to make a change, one of the first things I decided was that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time, and I wasn’t going to be sick anymore. And whaddayaknow, I wasn’t. I pretty much immediately became completely immune to every cold and flu virus that circled around my environment. When I’d get sick, I’d take Eccinacea and it’d be over in, at most, a day or two - and be very minor in that period. Simply because I had decided in my mind, and continued to reinforce on a regular basis - that I didn’t get sick anymore, that I wasn’t going to allow myself to be sick. Curious. Your experience is almost exactly the same as mine. I used to get sick all the time, and I had allergies up the wazoo. One day, I had enough of the drugs, enough of the allergy shots, enough of being sickly. So I stopped. I’ve been pretty healthy ever since. Even with a kid in daycare. My partner is now the canary in the coal mine, catching every little thing the kid brings home. Not me! I am extremely hesitant to tell anyone else that it is “just in your head.” But for me it really was mind over matter. Making a decision not to be sick. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the\_deuce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/71e660/32.png) [@What\_the\_deuce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the_deuce)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046/67 "2008-12-15T21:27:50Z")
Just thought I’d throw in that I had worked at a company for 3 years and had never taken a sick day. I’d had colds on occasion, but nothing that would require me to stay home from work. One thing that bothers me, though, is that I may have given my boss the impression that everyone else who takes a sick day is a malingerer. One of my co-workers (a nice lady) got fired 2 days after taking a sick day. I hope I wasn’t the reason. ☹ I’m not working at that place, anymore, but for future work I will try to take sick days at least twice a year just so that it won’t risk causing a co-worker to be fired (or myself, if I suddenly _do_ need to take a real sick day). ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046/68 "2008-12-15T21:44:10Z")
I’m hardly ever sick. I mainly attribute that to being slim, which I attribute to my metabolism. I’m also a bit of a neat freak, I wash my hands when they’re dirty and like to keep things clean. I also try to eat vegetables at least every couple days and not overdo junk food. If I eat out it’s usually Subway. I ate a lot of oranges and drank a lot of milk as a kid, maybe it’s vitamin C and D. My parents didn’t smoke. I see a lot of people stressed out and running around from one errand to another all day, that can’t be good for your body in the long run. You have to rest to give your body and mind a chance to recuperate. When I’m tired, I rest. Even 15 or 20 minutes will help greatly. When I’m sleepy and it’s night, I sleep. Might be 9:00 or might be 2:00 AM. I eat when I’m hungry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-people-ill-all-the-time/477046.md?page=3)