always sick?!?

[laurenc]

I've always been a pretty healthy person (I was the kid who was never home sick from school), but for the past two years, I seem to get a big cold once every 8-10 weeks or so. I had 6 colds during the 2005 calendar year alone (plus several other assorted infections), and that translated into many miserable days home from school and work. The colds and infections are not devastating or life-threatening, but they are annoying and uncomfortable.

When I talked to my doctor about this, she didnt' seem to have any answers. I've tried to isolate out the different factors, but no luck; for example, I thought I was getting sick because I was working at a hospital, but I don't work there anymore and I'm still getting sick... so that can't be it. I take Vitamin C, Echinacea, Zinc, eat healthy (and generally organic), exercise, wash my hands... but I still seem to be always toting around tissues. What's wrong with my immune system???

I plan to go back to my doctor soon, but it'd be helpful if anyone has any insights or suggestions. Could this be an allergy? Is it just the stress that's wearing me down (I'm a grad student)? Or am I just plain unlucky?

Thanks in advance...

[mrsdrummer]

Have you lived in the same house the whole time? You could have mold in your house. THat'll make you sick.

[houseblend]

It sounds like you have a very healthy lifestyle. The one thing that stands out is that you are a student with a lot of stress. Stress can definitely wear down your immune system.

Do you have symptoms other than a runny nose? I'm guessing it's not allergies if you have sore throat, achy, fever, etc. It doesn't hurt to get tested, though.

Dairy products supposedly also can wear down your immune system, so you may want to try to reduce those from your diet as well as finding techniques to help you cope better with the stress (it's challenging as a grad student!).

Good luck and I hope you find a solution that works for you!

[lil_geek]

I can sympathize ... and have no suggestions! Both my sister and I are 'healthy' but we seem to catch every cold that goes around.

I also have a continually stuffed up nose/sinuses, post nasal drip (which leads to a sore through) and mildly swollen glands.

But yep, I'm healthy. The above symptoms suggest allergies, but according to the 'prick' tests I am allergic to nothing but dust (and really, you can't control that). I have always suspected a food alergy/sensitivity.. but I don't have the patients to do the elimination testing for figure it out.

[Annette]

I was sick often when I was in college. It was probably a combination of stress and other sick students, because most students would go to class sick. Have you had your tonsils checked? I noticed that after I had my tonsils out, I didn't get sick as often.

[laurenc]

thanks for the replies!

mrsdrummer -- i hadn't thought about mold. we bought our condo in june 2002. it's the bottom floor of a 110-year-old house, but not everything is 110 years old -- over the years parts of it burned down or was torn down, and rebuilt. the most recent renovations were (i think) in 2000. i don't think there's mold, but i will look into getting a professional opinion.

houseblend -- yeah, the stress thing is the one constant... i do have the sore throat, low fever, congestion, and am achy, and the symptoms cycle in such a regular way that i know approximately how long i'll be sick (and how bad it'll be) based on how long i've had the initial sore throat! so i'm not inclined to think it's an allergy. i hadn't thought about dairy, but now that i think about it, that's one thing i can try to cut back on. i probably drink more milk than the average person. i do try to exercise to cope with stress, although i wonder if that runs down my immune system more? hm...

lil_geek -- ugh, sorry you go through the same thing... it's so annoying isnt it??? i wouldn't mind going through the battery of allergy tests if my doctor thought it would be appropriate, which i guess is something to bring up in our next appt. although i seem to recover fully from each bout, so who knows...

Annette -- i went to the doctor in august and she looked in my throat, so i would assume she checked my tonsils? especially given that i brought up frequent colds as a specific issue. but i will bring that up at my next appt.