Rarely Get Sick (colds, Flu, Etc.)

[lalalisa]

Hello,

I was just wondering if anyone else is similar to me in that I very rarely get colds or flu viruses? Ever since I originally got sick 5 years ago the only frequent infections I get are sinus infections and these have been attributed to my severe allergies.

I guess I just find it interesting that despite being sick with POTS I rarely get a cold, etc. Does anyone else experience this? Why do you think this is?

I seem to think that it's because I sleep lots, exercise regularly, stay well hydrated, eat healthily, and have just slowed down because POTS has forced me to do these things in order to survive.

Any thoughts?

Lisa

[Mrs. Burschman]

I've often thought about myself that I sure am healthy for a sick person!

Meaning that aside from all these weird conditions, I really am quite healthy. So I can relate! But I can't say that I'm immune from cold viruses, unfortunately. That would be a nice POTS perk!

Amy

[wareagle]

I'm the same way Lisa. I've only had one cold since developing POTS and I'm almost at my 5 yr. mark. (knock on wood this trend continues) I'm thinking it's either b/c my immune system is in overdrive b/c there's some type of unidentified autoimmune issue going on OR perhaps it's b/c I'm not out and about in public as much as I used to be. I'll go days and sometimes weeks without coming into contact with any other person besides my Mom.

It's a mystery...but one I'm definately not complaining about. I couldn't image dealing with the flu or bad cold on top of all of this!

[carlacat]

WOW..I thought I was an alien or something because the same is with me. I never get sick. I havent had a cold going on 8 yrs now and I never have gotton the flu. My husband and everyone around me has been sick with a cold or the flu and I never catch it. Wonder if our immune system is so strong fighting these other alments we have that it takes care of the colds and flu automatically. I work in a place where there is dirty money and always sick people coming in and so far (knock on wood) I havent caught anything.

[Rachel]

I do get colds sometimes, but they very rarely make me feel worse. My nose will run and I might cough some, but that's all. Sometimes I actually feel better when I have a cold.

I've never gotten the flu, pneumonia, strep throat, or anything like that, even after I've been around those who are contagious. In my whole life, the only thing I've had besides dysautonomia is chicken pox.

Like Amy said, I'm very healthy for a sick person! I have no idea why this is.

Rachel

[DancingLight]

Lisa,

I'm just like you are. I actually used to get chronic sinus infections also, but those stopped too after I got sick.

I figure I'm sick enough...don't really need more on my plate!

But I am soooo thankful that I don't get other stuff...I think I have had one sinus infection and one bug but can't even remember since getting sick almost 10 years ago.

I agree with all of wareagle's statements....I have wondered all of the same things. I, too, often don't see anyone other than my mom and I usually tell someone if they are sick they can't come over! LOL.

I wish I understood the WHY behind it...it's so strange.

Emily

[Roselover]

Wow, interesting that you posted this. I was just thinking about it again the other day.

This is the same for me - I'm at 5.5 years of illness, and though I have very severe fatigue - I almost never catch something - even when it goes through the family. If I do, it is very light and short lived, while others in the family have it bad.

I do think I have less exposure - being home so much.

I've wondered the same thing as wareagle... about the unidentified autoimmune overdrive. But I don't fit into any typical autoimmune disease category so the doctors aren't interested.

Very good question - and interesting that there is a section of us that all experience this!

[lostkendra]

I sure would be nice to avoid colds and flus. I tend to get slightly sick about once a year with a cold or something. I get a flu shot regularly. A couple years ago, I got a cold that turned to bronchitis, and progressed to pneumonia. Now when I get sick, I call the doc office and they get me some antibiotics. I'm not going through pneumonia again if I can help it.

Hat's off to those here that don't get sick.

[Guest tearose]

Yes, hardly a sniffly cold. But if I do ever get a fever, bacterial infection, watch out! It will soar to 102.5 easily.

[yogini]

I wasn't really one to get sick much before getting POTS, though I always got a few colds every season. I didn't get any colds at all for the first couple of years I had POTS. The last couple of years I had two colds, which were thankfully short-lived. I'm not sure there is an autoimmune component to my POTS - I think my "good luck" is from being extra careful in taking care of myself - vitamins, flu-shot, hydration, rest, etc....not to mention being a recluse (not by choice)!

[ajw4790]

Yeah, that is me too a degree, as far as the cold/flu goes. I don't want to jinx myself! But, other than that the list keeps growing! But, yes I know what you mean. If I get the sniffles, it lasts for like a day and then gone. Strep a couple of years ago that I could not get rid of! I got real sick from Vicodin (felt like stomach flu)!

I can't afford to get sick, so I got to stock up on the vitamins and zinc etc.

[Sunfish]

over my almost 11yrs with a dysautonomia diagnosis this has changed for me to some degree. in earlier years i think i was pretty "normal" in that i'd have a cold or two a year, something a bit more than a cold perhaps every 1-2 yrs (a stomach virus, bronchitis, etc). some problems with ear infections too at times though figured out that was ultimately an allergy issue. those were the years that i was - while far from normal health-wise - relatively normal in terms of my interaction with the "general public" so to speak...various combinations of work, school, day-to-day errands, etc. there were certainly times when i couldn't get out at all, but overall i wasn't less exposed to things than the average joe. when i did catch something it would tend to hit me harder than others...not so much in terms of the symptoms themselves, but in that they would cause my autonomic issues to be more out of whack.

i've only had one cold notable cold in the past several years (and perhaps one other tiny one that i never could definitively differentiate between a minor cold & a bad allergy flare-up) but i pin that on my greatly reduced exposure to people carrying the bugs around. and the one cold i did have was during a prolonged hospital stay so i obviously had lots of exposure to bugs there. i certainly don't stay in the house solely to keep myself from getting exposed to bugs though we - for the most part -don't let visitors in who are actively sick & wouldn't go to, let's say, a house where there are sick family members. it's not an absolute rule though b/c, at least for my situation, my docs & i agree that there are some risks worth taking. for instance a local friend who's fighting a cold would be told "stay away until you're better" b/c that's a feasible proposition. someone passing through town from the other side of the country though with little likelihood of a return visit in the near future, if "just" fighting a cold, would likely be considered a reasonable risk. we'd stay on opposite sides of the room, take extra precautions, etc, but risking a cold is worth this sort of "once in a blue moon" visit. and obviously there are lots of people running around with colds & whatnot all the time which i by no means let stop me from getting out if & when i'm able, i.e. to get to church. i wouldn't necessarily sit next to or in front of the person sneezing like heck, but i'm not about to increase the limitations i already have by getting obsessed with staying away from every possible risk factor at every moment as i don't think that's a healthy mindset wither. but i've digressed from the topic at hand....ah well .

as most of you know i've been far from infection free, but all of the infections i've had over the past two years have been from inside my own body, i.e. bacteria somehow getting into my bloodstream from my gut, and/or acquired from hospital settings, i.e. MRSA. not the "typical" colds, flus, etc.

not sure what relevance any of this has to anyone, but in short i guess my reply is that my fewer colds & whatnot seem - for me at least - to correspond with less ability to be out & about in the "real world". i don't really think about it b/c i'm constantly fighting infections as is that i would LOVE to trade for run-of-the mill colds or even the flu!

melissa

[MomtoGiuliana]

I didn't read all of the responses, and Melissa I see already mentioned this, but in some cases could this be because we are unfortunately more isolated? Don't spend as much time in large crowds, around as many people, etc.?

I haven't noticed a change--I used to get colds and I still do, with no change in frequency. It peaked for me in Africa (I was a teacher and in the winter the kids and I were constantly sick with colds) and again when Giuliana was age 10 months to 2 years and in day care and she would get sick from the kids every 6 weeks and then often pass it on to me. She gets sick less now, so I also am sick less frequently.

The only connection I notice is that a cold can make me more POTS-y--if I don't take it easy.