How many colds do you get every winter?

[BikeRunSki]

DH has come home and gone to bed with a cold. This is his second cold since Christmas, and his 5th since September. They’ve all put him in bed for 2-3 days. This is fairly typical and I am pretty sure that’ll be the last we see of him pretty much for 2-3 days. He’s director or a medium size company, and deals with HR issues, so basically no one is chasing him. Wherever I hace worked i’m pretty sure this lea e of sick leave would trigger an HR meeting.

I’m keeping a mental note of DJ’s colds because he seems to get so many! I’ve had 1, which only required an early night! At the end of April, he’ll get wiped out with hay fever for 3 months!

DH thinks this is a normal amount of colds, and that missing 10+ days of work every winter is normal? He doesn’t see any reason to see the GP. He doesn’t eat a terrible diet, but very little fruit. Plenty of veg though.

Does this seem like a lot of colds? Every time this happens he becomes incapable of doing anything; go to work, take dc’s to breakfast club, pick them up from school, etc. I’m already mentally rearranging my day tommorow, so that I can take and collect the dc from school, go to work and probably run around after DH.

Offices are a hive for germs.

I last had one in 2014.

That’s excessive, I can’t recall the last time I had a cold. In the past maybe 1-2 a year but not enough to be bedridden. I’m diligent (not ocd) with handwashing especially after using public transport etc. which seems to have helped keep them at bay the last few years.

I think that's quite an extraordinary amount of time to have off work sick every winter just for colds.

I probably get one every couple of years...everyone I know including colleagues seem to either have been remarkably well this winter (including me) or to have had one long virus that's lasted weeks. No-one's had any time off though!

Oh yes very true women always power through.

Had about half a dozen colds in my entire life (I'm late 50s).

Had flu twice. Once as a child and once when I was 19.

And I work in a busy office with loads of colleagues sneezing and coughing over me.

Last simple cold I had was around 4 or 5 years ago. I do however get bronchitis every year or so. Starts as a cold then worsens. Often around time off or on holiday/quiet work wise times so very rarely take any or more than a day or two off for it.
Hope he recovers !

Ok, yiu have all reassured me that this is an excessive number of colds. I’m pretty sure the colds/psoriasis are linked in some way. The hard part will be convincing him to go to the GP. It’s literally 4 doors away, but you know, his head hadn’t actually fallen off, so why would he need a doctor?

What’s He taking for the psoriasus?.

How well controlled is it? Stress can make psoriasis worse; I’m not sure what colds have to do with things (but strep throat can trigger guttate psoriasis - not sure if this what he has?)

But what is he doing to reduce stress and fight against the psoriasis?

I’m not entirely sure why a cold leaves him off work and unable to take dc to school, etc. Sounds like he’s swinging the lead.

Psoriasis is controlled by moisturisers. He gets Aveno on prescription, which has made a big difference, compared to when he had Aqueous cream/DBase etc. He kind of shrugs off the psoriasis because both his parents have skin issues. I’ve sure the colds/skin area both indicative of depressed immunity.

I genuinely don’t think he’s swinging the lead. He’d manage to ride his bike if he was trying to skive! He’s a director /partner, it’s not in his interest not to be at work.

I used to get a lot and they would be horrendous. Diagnosed with neutropenia so effectively no immune system, started on meds (injections) and been fine since. I get the odd cold but ones that I can work with rather than the usual type that used to turn into tonsillitis/chest infections/pneumonia

Does he have asthma? They are linked with lung health and hence colds.

This winter I had a really horrible cold in January and that’s it so far. I did have one day where I did the school run in the morning then went back to bed for a few hours but I’ve nver taken to my bed for days with anything tbh except maybe glandular fever.

At most 1 minor cold per year, not bad enough to stay in bed; some years none

Yup, he needs to man up and see his GP

Since I started vitamin D I can get through winter without any colds. Effervescent Vitamin C to ward off any signs. Echnichea as a preventative. No harm in going for a blood test

Never heard of vitamin d helping, must give it a go, thanks!!!

By the way this year everyone I know who was always healthy seems to have continuous coughs, colds and infections. It's my first time in years being sick so maybe I hadn't noticed though!

I get 15 a year at least. I'm a teacher and really its not a healthy environment to work in. Soup of germs with children not washing hands, parents sendomg them to school when theyre not well enough as they need to work, colleagues also sick, stress. Recently I've become really unwell (M.E.) so I think my immune system has been dysfunctional for quite some time. I pick up every virus going. Maybe your DH could have some blood tests done- he might have a vitamin deficiency or there might be an underlying cause.

If he has s cold he has a cold. It’s irrelevant how many other people get!

Or are you saying he’s faking and milking it? Is that the issue?

None.

In the period between Sept and December I get two colds, and nothing after that. (Although if I go anywhere by plane, I will invariably get a cold. ) I think this might be because I hate winter, dark nights and Christmas and my immune system is depressed then.

First Defence sometimes works. In previous years I might have got 4-5 bad colds but taking 1000mg of Vit C a day seems to have reduced them. I have not had any sick leave for 3 years.

I have a similar amount of colds as your DH and have to be off work as they floor me. I also have psoriasis which is stress related. I’m on my third cold this year now and can’t take anymore time off to without questions being asked at work. I’ve reached the collusion that my body is just not resilient. I’ve had two sets of bloods done and all within normal range, but when I push myself and ‘power through’ I use up my body’s resources and either prolong an existing cold or get another one. So, I’m moving to three days a week from FT and making space for downtime, which is not easy at all as I don’t really have a pause button. Is slowing down an option for your DH?

4-5 colds a year. The bad ones will put me to bed for a few days. They tend to last, in total not just the in bed time, between 10-14 days. I do keep working though - the benefit of mobiles and laptops (just no Skype!).

On the plus side I very rarely get sick type bugs.

I've started taking Vit D and Magnesium Malate, plus some other supplements, and feel better than I have in years. Am hoping I get back to what used to be my 1-2 bad colds a year at most.

I’m certain he’s not milking it. He’s gone to work today, driven by a meeting with a very significant potential new client. He’s taken the dc to breakfast club on his way.

I’ve been googling links between psoriasis and colds/depressed immunity. He’s promised to make a GP appointment.

I hope the GP can help. I’ve always put it down to my body working harder during the winter to keep the psoriasis under control, as it’s battling with heating, hot baths/showers, cold weather, perhaps less veg and fruit than in summer, all of which make my skin worse. Then there’s less resource to battle colds.

For years dh and I hardly ever got colds.

Two very small Gdcs later, and we get a lot more - catching them from Gdcs who endlessly pick them up from nursery.
Ours are very rarely really bad, as in making us feel ill, taking to bed, etc. though - more of a nuisance.
We eat a good and varied diet and take Vit D etc. so it's not that.

Re psoriasis, I had quite a bad case around the time of doing O levels. Never saw the GP - you had to be really ill to bother the GP in my family then, and once O levels were over it just disappeared. So evidently it was down to stress. Never had it before or since.