Uptick in colds?

[PimTac]

So something is going around, and it’s hard to fight. It seemed for me to be related to cold weather. Twice I went to the urgent care during those because I thought I might be coming down with sinusitis or strep. They did a covid test each time but it was always negative. And they never prescribed antibiotics…

Antibiotics don’t work on viral infections. Antiviral medications do but they need to be take as soon as possible so if you are a day late they could be a wasted effort.

My doctor would say, you have a cold. It will go away in 72 hours but if I prescribe some antibiotics it will go away in just three days.

 

[JHZR2]

Antibiotics don’t work on viral infections. Antiviral medications do but they need to be take as soon as possible so if you are a day late they could be a wasted effort.

My doctor would say, you have a cold. It will go away in 72 hours but if I prescribe some antibiotics it will go away in just three days.

Of course antibiotics don’t work on viruses. I never said they did. I thought I was coming down with strep and sinusitis on different occasions…

I have no need for an antiviral medication for cold or flu either. But I dont want to mess with strep around my one year old, and sinusitis just is lousy… though most times I’ve had it I just use a Neti pot and sleep.

 

[Hall]

Blows my mind the science is or was unsettled on masks. So why do surgeons and doctors wear them? I've seen some studies done, one was from a Korea doctor, who said masks do work.

OSU (Ohio St University) Medical Center no longer requires patients, visitors, or staff to wear masks but they recommend that people do. Many staff members - you know, medical professionals - voluntarily choose to wear masks.

 

[Hall]

I have no need for an antiviral medication for cold or flu either

There's always Ivermectin, easily available at Tractor Supply and similar places If you do try and buy it though, the employees will ask questions that you need to answer to their satisfaction too. They are a private business and can choose not to sell to you. I mean, they've gotta stop those people from drinking it, rubbing it inside their nostrils, and so on !!

 

[Skippy722]

My mom, dad, and wife just got over some nasty cold/flu like thing…. Dad ended up in the ER for a few hours twice as he couldn’t keep anything down, had a pretty high fever, and ended up collapsing. It knocked my wife completely out of commission for a day as she couldn’t keep anything down either. Negative covid tests for everyone though.

Somehow, KNOCK ON WOOD!!!, the boys and I seem to have avoided catching it. Not surprised the 1 year old didn’t catch it, then again I caught him licking spilled Diet Coke out of the carpet Saturday

 

[buster]

My mom, dad, and wife just got over some nasty cold/flu like thing…. Dad ended up in the ER for a few hours twice as he couldn’t keep anything down, had a pretty high fever, and ended up collapsing. It knocked my wife completely out of commission for a day as she couldn’t keep anything down either. Negative covid tests for everyone though.

Somehow, KNOCK ON WOOD!!!, the boys and I seem to have avoided catching it. Not surprised the 1 year old didn’t catch it, then again I caught him licking spilled Diet Coke out of the carpet Saturday

Glad you escaped it.

It's interesting how some pick up things much easier than others. Working at a school has kept her immune to most common cold viruses. She never gets sick. They stopped wearing masks a long time ago. Major germ fest.

I went 6 years without catching anything, but over the last 6 months or so I've had 2 colds.

 

[alarmguy]

I think once your kids are older. No longer in school they stop bringing all that stuff home with them.
I very rarely get colds anymore, it’s been decades of maybe once a year if that much since the kids are grown and no longer kids.

Even during the world health event we went about our lives as normal as possible, did our vacations as normal, kept going out to dinner as normal as possible.

If I think I’m coming down with something I eat 2 to 3 oranges a day and take a slow release (hard to find) vitamin C at bedtime if we can’t get the slow release we take two less potent once’s twice a day, whether or not if it works I don’t know but the couple times a year I think I might be getting something I do the above and it goes away 90% of the time. Could be a mental thing to fight back.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I'm a germaphobe. I am spraying rubbing alcohol everywhere I can LOL. Feel better!

In all honesty… it’s fairly well proven that over-sanitization can result in a weaker immune system, because it’s not seeing bacteria and viruses even on the low level, and your immune system essentially becomes complacent, remaining wide open to an attack when there’s some “new” pathogen you’re exposed to.

You may have better luck eating some oranges and other foods with natural vitamin C, and getting at least 15-20 minutes of direct sunlight exposure every day to boost your vitamin D.

Think of it this way: it’s better to boost your body’s own defense against ALL illness rather than only killing off the germs closest to you.

 

[buster]

In all honesty… it’s fairly well proven that over-sanitization can result in a weaker immune system, because it’s not seeing bacteria and viruses even on the low level, and your immune system essentially becomes complacent.

You may have better luck eating some oranges and other foods with natural vitamin C, and getting at least 15-20 minutes of direct sunlight exposure every day to boost your vitamin D.

Think of it this way: it’s better to boost your body’s own defense against ALL illness rather than only killing off the germs closest to you.

I agree. I'm just doing this now with someone that is currently sick in the house. But you're absolutely right.

 

[alarmguy]

Supplements, liquids and sleep sure do limit their effect.

Agree as I posted above. I’m big on the extra fruit aspect, broccoli too.
Plus my one a day type vitamin as normal.

 

[KrisZ]

Nothing abnormal for me and my family. During the school year we take vitamin C and D daily and stop it for summer.
My youngest seems to have the weakest immune system, but even she brings in cold, not flu, so some runny nose for a few days and that’s about it.

Wife is a flight attendant so lots of interaction with people. I think she had a sore throat once or twice during winter.

 

[Dave Hess]

Some say zinc help reduce getting colds.

 

[fdcg27]

There is a school of thought that suggests that a couple of years of mask wearing, closure of certain gathering places as well as social distancing in places that we had to patronize, like the grocery, may have given rise to a loss of resistance to common viral infections in the population making us not necessarily more susceptible to these infections but more likely to suffer more serious symptoms.
Maybe this is what people are experiencing?

 

[Dave Hess]

There is a school of thought that suggests that a couple of years of mask wearing, closure of certain gathering places as well as social distancing in places that we had to patronize, like the grocery, may have given rise to a loss of resistance to common viral infections in the population making us not necessarily more susceptible to these infections but more likely to suffer more serious symptoms.
Maybe this is what people are experiencing?

Your post reminds me of basic military training where many would get a mild cold from germs, from across the USA and being in close to other people.

 

[buster]

There is a school of thought that suggests that a couple of years of mask wearing, closure of certain gathering places as well as social distancing in places that we had to patronize, like the grocery, may have given rise to a loss of resistance to common viral infections in the population making us not necessarily more susceptible to these infections but more likely to suffer more serious symptoms.
Maybe this is what people are experiencing?

Sounds plausible, but I really don't know.

 

[vavavroom]

Some pe

Antibiotics don’t work on viral infections.

True but secondary bacterial infections commonly go along with viral infections because the viral infection has already weakened the immune system. For example, if you get the flu or a bad cold, you may easily contract a bacterial sinus infection, bacterial bronchitis, or bacterial pneumonia. And it goes the other way around, too. You catch a bacterial infection and become now an easy victim of a viral infection on top of the bacterial infection.

Do you guys know why the body produces a fever when we have an infection? It's because the elevated temperature makes the proliferation of most viruses and bacteria more difficult. After vigorous exercise or exposure to cold or heat (ice bath, cold shower,, sauna) blood circulation increases and along with it body heat. This will increase your body's ability to fight off infections. Cold and heat are also stressors that activate the immune system. Nobody wants to hear that because it's inconvenient.

 

[SC Maintenance]

So why do surgeons and doctors wear them?

Surgeons at least have always worn them to keep spit and maybe traces of blood or bacteria from their mouth getting into the patient - your mouth is a nasty place - and to keep the fluids from surgery splashing into their face - in case you want to know the gory details.

Was never about viruses specifically

 

[JHZR2]

There is a school of thought that suggests that a couple of years of mask wearing, closure of certain gathering places as well as social distancing in places that we had to patronize, like the grocery, may have given rise to a loss of resistance to common viral infections in the population making us not necessarily more susceptible to these infections but more likely to suffer more serious symptoms.
Maybe this is what people are experiencing?

Sounds plausible, but I really don't know.

I travel a decent amount. Planes and trains. We traveled (flew) in the summer of 2020 or whenever it was that the pandemic was at its peak. I’ve never really stopped. Once during tyranny lockdown, I wore a mask and gloves to go to the supermarket. Beyond that, I always wore the mask but not beyond when I had to.

And I’m usually never sick, and as I said, I got the same cold and cough multiple times in the last six months. I don’t anticipate it being an issue now that it’s warm out.

 

[JHZR2]

Surgeons at least have always worn them to keep spit and maybe traces of blood or bacteria from their mouth getting into the patient - your mouth is a nasty place - and to keep the fluids from surgery splashing into their face - in case you want to know the gory details.

Was never about viruses specifically

I was told by a friend that works at a major children’s hospital that supposedly they had reasonable data that indicated a lot less secondary infections when everyone wore masks.

I think I’d tend to believe it to an extent from face value. If nothing else it gives the equivalence of space.

A K&N may not be the worlds best filter but it still does catch some fine particles.

A mask should keep much of one’s own spit and particles that would be released from talking, coughing and sneezing contained. Not perfect, got it. But it would still catch some (most). Ditto on the other side. Another party wearing one may have it catch at least some of the particulates before reaching the next person.

No claims that it’s 100%, but notionally for folks with stronger immunity, the exposure to a lower load of virus infected particulates should have some effect. Even if not the extent that would be absolutely effective.

 

[PimTac]

There is a school of thought that suggests that a couple of years of mask wearing, closure of certain gathering places as well as social distancing in places that we had to patronize, like the grocery, may have given rise to a loss of resistance to common viral infections in the population making us not necessarily more susceptible to these infections but more likely to suffer more serious symptoms.
Maybe this is what people are experiencing?

Your post reminds me of basic military training where many would get a mild cold from germs, from across the USA and being in close to other people.

The boomer generation grew up playing in the dirt and the streets. We drank from the garden hose. We all had measles, mumps and chickenpox. So our immunity was tested constantly. Military barracks or having a few dozen sailors or marines bunked in a small berthing area was a test but we were trained to be clean and orderly.

I don’t recall being sick all that much growing up despite all of the above. What I do notice these days is a timid society getting scared at every sneeze and cough.