Why was I so sick this winter?

[LightBright]

Hi Everyone. For the first time in my adult life I seem to have been sick nearly all winter this year. I started with a virus in late October. I’ve been sick for an extended period of time, including antibiotics for a secondary infection during the time I contracted confirmed H3N2. I’ve been sick enough to have a temperature at least five times this winter. Things had been better for the last month and a half until I came down with some sort of flu (likely type B from the symptoms) this week.

Things I did this year: my son started kindergarten and I volunteered at his school twice a week. I got the flu shot for the first time. I attended a couple toddler classes per week with my daughter.

I didn’t think things would change all that much because up until now I had been taking my son to a fairly large preschool every day. And my daughter was going to the same classes. But this winter kicked my butt.

Is there any indication that the flu shot causes more cases of the flu? What is the scientific basis for why it seems to reduce immunity if you get it two years or more in a row? (I’ve heard of this but neve could find any scientific reason that this would be the case.) I’m not trying to start a war on whether to get the flu shot or not, but this winter was so dramatically different from the rest of my life in terms of illness. Up until this winter, I had literally never gotten the flu, ever, and I’d never gotten the flu shot. This winter I DEFINITELY got the flu several times.

How do I prevent this next year? Should I wear a face mask? Etc.

 

[luv2sparkle]

I didn’t get sick at all this past winter other than a very short lived cold. I don’t get flu shots ever. I have had the flu once in the last 10 years. I did change my diet though in February 2017 to keto which eliminates carb and sugar. That seemed to help to me. We went on a cruise late February and the wife of the couple that went with us came down with the flu at the end of it, and was hospitalized when she got home. None of the rest of us got it and we were together constantly and ate together at every meal. She is on some heavy injectible pain meds for migraines and neck pain, which might have made her more vulnerable.

 

[lyra]

No, the flu shot does not cause the flu! That is a myth. I'm immuno-suppressed and I didn't get sick once this winter. I avoided people, and crowds at all costs. I'm never around children. My family gets their flu shots as well otherwise they can't be around me. I wash my hands and change my clothes first thing when I get home from doing errands.

Honestly, it sounds like your main issue was just having kids in school and being at school a lot. When my kids where in elementary school, it was always bad.

 

[blueMA]

I started with a virus in late October. I’ve been sick for an extended period of time, including antibiotics for a secondary infection during the time

It all starts with antibiotics. It kills your good probiotics and compromises your immune system. Also, kids are bug magnets, so your exposure has gone up. Get a very good quality probiotic (pay the price), such as Renew Life 50 billion and rebuild your gut flora while restricting carbs and sugar.

 

[LightBright]

No, the flu shot does not cause the flu! That is a myth. I'm immuno-suppressed and I didn't get sick once this winter. I avoided people, and crowds at all costs. I'm never around children. My family gets their flu shots as well otherwise they can't be around me. I wash my hands and change my clothes first thing when I get home from doing errands.

Honestly, it sounds like your main issue was just having kids in school and being at school a lot. When my kids where in elementary school, it was always bad.

I suspect the kindergarten exposure too. My son also got sick quite a few times.

 

[LightBright]

It all starts with antibiotics. It kills your good probiotics and compromises your immune system. Also, kids are bug magnets, so your exposure has gone up. Get a very good quality probiotic (pay the price), such as Renew Life 50 billion and rebuild your gut flora while restricting carbs and sugar.

Ok, I did start taking them and I have some for my son, but I haven’t been as regular. I was on a Zpack when sick and that completely wiped out my gut. I’ll get back on the antibiotics. Thanks for the brand recommendation.

 

[Elizabeth35]

Flu shots do not cause flu!
You are probably getting sick more often due to the ages of your children and your exposure at their schools and classes. This is a normal part of this phase of being a parent. Some years will be worse than others based on what germs are going around, as well as how diligent other parents are about keeping their ill/contagious children home. If you have a high proportion of parents who send sick kids to school--your kids will be ill more often and share their germs with you.
Young children and toddlers get something like 5-10 colds/viruses per year. You will pass them through the family during these years.
By late elementary school it will improve greatly.
In the meantime, basic self-care will help. Vitamins, good diet, adequate rest, exercise, good hydration, etc.

 

[ksinger]

I'm not saying this to be all callous I promise, but welcome to reality of stuff happens. The pain for you (the individual) comes from buying into the myth - and it IS a myth - that if you just DO everything right, you won't get sick.

You do what you can, exercise, eat right, etc, but after that, getting sick when you know you've done everything right, falls under the heading of we are just not in total control, although we like to tell ourselves we are. Too many variables.

I could come on here and wonder why I didn't get sick this last winter. I'm immune suppressed, and spent 2 solid weeks around a husband who was running a fever and hacking up a lung, and let's be honest, probably germing up everything he touched. I know I was kinda like, oh well, because I didn't have the energy to follow him around with a can of lysol or bleach wipes all day, and couldn't boot him out to the shed - that would have just been mean. The point is, I just knew I was going to get sick, but nope.

Bottom line, the flu shot does not cause the flu, the flu shot this year wasn't all that great, children are adorable little disease carriers, and for whatever reason, you were more susceptible.

I'll repeat, do what you can, but do not ever think you'll be able to avoid everything, because you won't.
Conversely, don't pat yourself on the back when you don't get sick either. Because the day will come when that immune system you're so proud of, will not work as well as it did when you were 30, no matter what you do. (See husband above: 20 years teaching. never got sick until the last couple of years. We could blame whatever, but I'm thinking it has something to do with loss of Spring Chicken status. )

 

[blueMA]

Ok, I did start taking them and I have some for my son, but I haven’t been as regular. I was on a Zpack when sick and that completely wiped out my gut. I’ll get back on the antibiotics. Thanks for the brand recommendation.

Of all the probiotic brands I've tried thus far, that one seems the strongest and most potent, but obviously quite expensive. Once you've taken it for a month or so, you should be able to dial it way down. Definitely reduce refined carbs and other sweets. Good luck!

 

[Snowdrop13]

Wash your hands. A LOT. That’s my best advice and helped me avoid several bugs my kids had.

 

[anne_h]

Wash your hands. A LOT. That’s my best advice and helped me avoid several bugs my kids had.

Totally agree. I also have the kids wash their hands as soon as they get home, every time. I also use ColdFX. I know it's controversial but I believe it works for me.

 

[Dancing Fire]

How do I prevent this next year? Should I wear a face mask? Etc.

Skip the flu shot. . Never had a flu shot in my life. A few of my friend who took the flu shot had to rest in bed suffering from the flu while I was healthy as a horse all winter. . My germophobic daughter do get sick a lot.

 

[WeeOui]

The year when I caved in to the pressure from the nurse at the school where I worked and got the flu shot was terrible as far as illness goes. I didn’t get the flu, but I was sick all winter. I’m not going to wade into a flu vaccination debate, but that was the last year I got the shot, and I haven’t had a period of sickness like that since. It’s been about 8 or 9 years.

 

[Ellen]

Being around the public always carries a risk of getting sick, so your exposure to the school kids could have attributed. But I too will echo, the flu shot very well could have done it. You'll hear all day long the flu shot can't make you sick/give you the flu. But I know many people personally who have been absolutely fine, got the shot, and became sick. From just kinda sick, to deathly sick, to my husbands co-worker who literally almost died. Went into renal failure and came just this side of dying.

At some point it stops being a "coincidence". You couldn't pay me to get one after what I've seen.

 

[OoohShiny]

I did change my diet though in February 2017 to keto which eliminates carb and sugar.

O/T for this thread (but then when does that usually matter on PS? ) but kudos on cutting out all carbs and sugar!

I don't know how you do it - I start the day with a massive bowl of carbs (porridge and about a pint of milk) and am virtually dying on me feet if I just have protein for breakfast instead!

 

[blueMA]

I don't know how you do it - I start the day with a massive bowl of carbs (porridge and about a pint of milk) and am virtually dying on me feet if I just have protein for breakfast instead!

IT does take some transition time, but once your body starts burning fat for energy instead of glucose, you won't even feel hunger. I do strict Keto once in a while to reset my system, and it's basically a simulated fast.

 

[luv2sparkle]

O/T for this thread (but then when does that usually matter on PS? ) but kudos on cutting out all carbs and sugar!

I don't know how you do it - I start the day with a massive bowl of carbs (porridge and about a pint of milk) and am virtually dying on me feet if I just have protein for breakfast instead!

It wasn’t as hard as you would think. I have been a carb/sugar addict all my life. There are days I still struggle a bit, and days it is hard to keep my carb count under 20. But most days it is pretty easy. The first couple weeks are the hardest to be sure. But within the first two weeks all of my joint pain reduced so much, I knew I would do this for life. Now, if I eat carb/sugar I don’t feel well. It’s really just learning how to cook differently with slightly different ingredients. I don’t miss anything. This morning I am having blueberry muffins for breakfast with my coffee as heavy cream. And I have lost 40 pounds eating this way.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

I think it is too accepted these days that kids get sick so much, almost like it's normal, it's not IMO. Some doctors are way to trigger happy on the antibiotics and treat the symptoms rather than trying to solve the underlying problem.

Some will dismiss this as luck but my three year old has only been seriously sick with a virus once, no ear infections, no back to back colds or sore throats. My 11 year old has missed five days of school since Kindergarten and I do not send him to school sick. Neither attended daycare (not sure how much that matters). The kids are below "normal" weight because the doctor told me that the growth curves they use are skewed since so many kids are above a normal weight range so she goes by their own personal growth curve.

Since flu shots were mentioned I will say we don't get flu shots, my first son had one but none since then.

 

[lyra]

Doctors don't give antibiotics for viruses here, only for infections. But you get tested for an infection before they give antibiotics via whatever method is quick and accurate. It's definitely a good way to curb over prescribing antibiotics.

 

[OoohShiny]

I think it is too accepted these days that kids get sick so much, almost like it's normal, it's not IMO. Some doctors are way to trigger happy on the antibiotics and treat the symptoms rather than trying to solve the underlying problem.

Some will dismiss this as luck but my three year old has only been seriously sick with a virus once, no ear infections, no back to back colds or sore throats. My 11 year old has missed five days of school since Kindergarten and I do not send him to school sick. Neither attended daycare (not sure how much that matters). The kids are below "normal" weight because the doctor told me that the growth curves they use are skewed since so many kids are above a normal weight range so she goes by their own personal growth curve.

Since flu shots were mentioned I will say we don't get flu shots, my first son had one but none since then.

I think this obsession with 'Kills 99.9999999% of all known bacteria!!!1!1!" cleaning agents must be decreasing population immune system strength as well as increasing untreatable mutations of what are usually harmless bacteria and germs.

There are already increasing incidences of 'superbugs' that are resistant to even 'last line of defence' antibiotics, AIUI, yet the populace seems to lap up all this biocide-laden nonsense like kids lap up Halloween candy, with no thought to the long term consequences. It's even getting difficult to actually find non-99.9% products in the shops over here in the UK now, one has to hunt for them amongst the rows and rows of shelves promising Operating Theatre-sterile levels of cleaning!

I grew up in a household that had one of those dishcloths that hung over the kitchen taps and was swished round anything and everything, never really drying out properly and certainly not bleached or thrown away between uses. Did it kill me? No, and I can count on two hands (perhaps even one) the number of days I've had off genuinely sick from work since going into employment many, many years ago.

Kids these days are growing up in a sterile bubble, like those kids born without an immune system who are trapped at home in a clinically sterilised room, unable to go outside or hug their parents in case they catch something that kills them. How is the body to grow strong if it's not presented with things that it needs to fight against? It's like saying that one shouldn't exercise 'just in case' one strains a muscle, meaning one would grow up to be skinny stick of a person with zero muscle mass or physical strength.


Anyway, this is a pet peeve of mine, as you may have guessed lol

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@OoohShiny, I totally laughed about the dishcloth, we had the same one in our house, too funny! We have a variety of pets so that also probably helps with the immune system and no antibacterial soap ever, people think they need to bleach the heck out of everything and Lysol the house. It also probably doesn't help that c-sections are so common these days so they don't get all that good bacteria from the birth canal, they are coming into the world at a disadvantage (both of mine were c-sections).

Their pediatrician is big on "let food be thy medicine" which is great because they don't teach kids anything about proper nutrition in school. Especially serving sizes, that's what they really need to start teaching. How many times do you see a kid eating straight out of a large bag with no sense of how much they've had or what an appropriate amount is? Then they wonder why so many kids have weight problems.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Handwashing handwashing handwashing. Changes toothbrushes frequently (especially after colds). Hydrate well.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Dancing Fire]

Kids these days are growing up in a sterile bubble, like those kids born without an immune system who are trapped at home in a clinically sterilised room, unable to go outside or hug their parents in case they catch something that kills them. How is the body to grow strong if it's not presented with things that it needs to fight against?

Yup, I survived from zillions of germs in HK during 60's and a few millions of American germs ain't gonna kill me. think GIANT roaches and rodents living with you in your house + no fridge to keep your foods cold.

 

[ksinger]

@OoohShiny,
Their pediatrician is big on "let food be thy medicine" which is great because they don't teach kids anything about proper nutrition in school. Especially serving sizes, that's what they really need to start teaching. How many times do you see a kid eating straight out of a large bag with no sense of how much they've had or what an appropriate amount is? Then they wonder why so many kids have weight problems.

And they wonder why teachers - arguably one of the most idealistic groups of people - all over the country are striking and bailing on the profession.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@ksinger, I'm not really sure how you meant your comment about teachers. Granted, parents are first teachers and the onus should not fall onto the teachers but the reality is not all parents are capable (for whatever reason).

There is mandatory physical education taught in schools so how difficult would it be to incorporate some teaching on nutrition? Kids should be able to read a nutrition label as a requirement certainly by 5th grade if not sooner.

 

[ksinger]

@ksinger, I'm not really sure how you meant your comment about teachers. Granted, parents are first teachers and the onus should not fall onto the teachers but the reality is not all parents are capable (for whatever reason).

There is mandatory physical education taught in schools so how difficult would it be to incorporate some teaching on nutrition? Kids should be able to read a nutrition label as a requirement certainly by 5th grade if not sooner.

Ah yes, in the immortal words of Jeremy Clarkson, "How hard can it be?"

OK, since you have added a new requirement for something you see as appropriate to prioritize and that should be easily mastered by a certain age, have you decided what other subject(s) that currently take up the finite instructional time in a school day, shall have their time reduced, or be removed completely, in favor of nutrition, correct portion sizing, and label reading, and how much time that will be? How much time is required for mastery? However, if time must be added to either the day or the year or both, how much more in the way of taxes are you willing to pay for this? How much time are you willing to add to your child's time at school?

Here's a newsflash: they are already trying to cram 23 years of learning into 12 (see the time research has indicated is needed for mastery of all of Marzano's standards. Marzano is the current educational deity whose standards are used to derive many of the states' standards).

So your parental and societal response ala "how hard can it be" (and the corollary of, since it's so easy that we're not going to pay you for all these additional things we want you to fix for us, and nothing else better suffer) that is driving teachers out, and keeping young people out of the teaching colleges. Teachers are breaking under the strain of your expectations of their duty to save society.

Finally, let me give you an example of how these new oh-so-critical requirements by parents or whoever, often go down in the real world.

In my state, the predatory payday loan problems resulted in lobbying for there to be a graduation requirement for "financial literacy". The requirement was duly added. But it's not enough for a whole class, so in order to find the time for this, they shoehorned that requirement into the also-required government class, cutting the instructional time given to government, IN HALF. Naturally they are still required to pass the government part with half the instruction, or teacher heads will roll. Or at least firing used to be a threat. Now the career guys have gnawed off limbs to get away, and the districts are so desperate they're hiring anyone who is upright and has a pulse, and whose felony conviction was over 7 years ago.

No, I'm not making this up or exaggerating.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

@ksinger, sorry but I really don't quite understand why you felt it was necessary to take such a harsh tone with your response. I was simply saying that it might be beneficial to have some nutritional instruction, that is all. Obviously a lot goes into that, I'm not looking to have a debate, it was just a suggestion.

 

[OoohShiny]

@ksinger, sorry but I really don't quite understand why you felt it was necessary to take such a harsh tone with your response. I was simply saying that it might be beneficial to have some nutritional instruction, that is all. Obviously a lot goes into that, I'm not looking to have a debate, it was just a suggestion.

I get the feeling that there is a great deal of passion and frustration behind @ksinger's post - it comes across to me that there is already an incredible amount of pressure to get kids up to the standards that they are being asked to meet, but there is simply not enough time in the educational year to give the ideally-required amount of attention to everything and do each element justice, so steps have to be skipped, coverage has to be thinned, and the best teachers can see they are on a hiding to nothing trying to achieve the impossible, so are getting out of the industry.

I don't envy teachers!

Parents should of course be passing on what they have learnt to their children, including with regards to nutrition and exercise and health generally, taking some pressure off teachers, but I think we all know that parents' education (and effort...) levels vary greatly, and some kids are disadvantaged because of this. Ideally we should be educating everyone so that the whole population benefits, but it is hard to teach those that don't want to be taught, which (sadly and depressingly) often seems to be the case (and is an attitude that such parents seem to pass on to their children, which is not exactly helpful...).

Anyway, preaching to the choir here!

 

[Dancing Fire]

but it is hard to teach those that don't want to be taught, which (sadly and depressingly) often seems to be the case (and is an attitude that such parents seem to pass on to their children, which is not exactly helpful...).

They need Asian parents.

 

[Dancing Fire]

O/T for this thread (but then when does that usually matter on PS? ) but kudos on cutting out all carbs and sugar!

What's been keeping me healthy all these yrs?. Noodles and milkshakes.