Sick of being sick 😫

[PeacheyPeach]

Every winter I get ill 🤒 😷 but not just once I get coughs , colds, viruses, I practically find myself ill Every 3 weeks. It's so depressing
How do I prevent this from happening next year? I have been taking vitamin D every day without fails since September but I don't think this had actually done anything!!
What do you do that prevents you from falling ill constantly in the winter!

I am going through what the OP has described. It's absolutely depressing to have to juggle work, small children and a household with one virus after another. I've been sick since mid August and am now starting to feel like I need to see my doctor because my mental health is suffering so much. The constant exhaustion is so prohibitive and I'm living the life of an old woman, not someone in her early 40s. It's awful. My mother has several complex chronic health conditions and she is worried about me. Imagine that.

Zinc apparently helps at high doses (google it.) I’m the same, sick from November to March almost the whole time.

I know this sounds daft but when you take multiple.vitamins do you take them all at the same time?
Do you order them off the Internet or head to Holland and Barrett, boots etc?

@gerbo it must be a nightmare dealing with ill children all the time, I find my younger kids are picking up so many more illnesses than my older ones did, I feel like since covid people just send their kids into school really poorly now for some reason 😢

@MooseAndSquirrelLoveFlannel Its awful isn't it, I feel like I get the family's illnesses aswell, my dh might get the occasional cough or cold but it doesn't seem to take a hold of him like it does with me, which then leads to me feeling like a bit of a loser!!

70-80% of your immune system is in your gut so it’s worth focusing on improving gut health. Lots of different fruits and vegetables, (variety is key) whole grains, then things like kefir, kombucha, kimchi.

I also supplement with iron, magnesium and zinc as this all contribute to a healthy immune system. Vitamin D like you already do.

If I feel like I’m coming down with something I take high dose vitamin c and echinacea. Also a ginger, garlic, lemon concoction. Raw garlic also good.

Vitamin c, zinc and a good multi vitamin, vitamin d, probiotic and omega 3 has helped with this for me...even if I do get sick it's not as bad.

I feel you, it's crappy. Covid is going about again and it lowers the immune system then everything else comes in...so I'm finding.

@gerbo I work with children that age too. Snots everywhere, little hands touching me all the time. I may need to increase hand washing at work or use sanitiser a bit more. Between that and 3 kids at school there's a lot of exposure in our house.

I cook and eat healthy dinners but I eat a load of crap too, mostly sugary stuff. When I'm feeling tired and down I eat and I don't have the mental strength to give up my vices, plus exercise becomes too difficult so I get stuck in a vicious cycle. Being overweight makes everything in life harder.

I've worked in schools for years and I have a 4 year old.
I rarely get ill. In fact I'm convinced working with children actually helps your immune system once you settle into it.

I think some people are just more susceptible than others. It's all in the genes.
People are affected differently as well. My DH gets alot of sore throats and mild fevers, I tend to get sinus pressure/infections. I know people who get several sickness bugs a year yet I can't remember the last time I was sick.

I don't think it's necessarily environmental. Good health and hand hygiene obviously helps but I don't think it'll make a huge difference.

OP are you me? I could’ve written all your posts. It’s bloody depressed me this year, it’s been one cancelled plan after another followed by stress and overwhelm at all the stuff piling up not getting done in meantime. I eat well, take vit D, city C, drink lots of water, don’t drink much, walk everywhere and have been sick almost continuously since October.

I’m convinced my lack of sickness is in part due to switching summer holidays to winter ones.
We stay at home for summer and get as much exposure to UV as possible (without burning obviously) then take a winter sun holiday.
If you look at the actual statistics for vitamin D deficiency in Europe, here in the uk we are nearly all deficient. In part due to not enough sunlight on skin.

Also in winter we need plenty of melatonin so you need to ensure you don’t expose yourself to too much artificial and blue light (especially after sunset) and that you get daytime light in your eyes and on your skin (even on dull cloudy days).
We all live near indoor lives these days and it’s not good for us.
I second those saying raw garlic and elderberry too.

I struggle with Parkinson’s, if only bugs!
it’s progressive too.
i think you a reality check, you get over viral stuff

Whilst it's sad that you have parkinsons and all that entails the OP is well within her rights to be upset about constantly picking up sickness. Lots of us have chronic illnesses but that still doesn't mean viral stuff isn't a pain. I've just had some sort of virus that was kindly passed to me from my mum's neighbour. I've got lupus nephritis so viruses can be dangerous for me but it happens.

Op look up Dr Xan van Tuleken's Con or Cure, about vitamins as some shouldn't be taken at the same time.

I think it's in the genes too...I knew a woman who never ever got a cold or flu or any kind of respiratory virus. I found this amazing. I am currently sick...it's miserable. I feel for you op...stops you just being able to get on with life

Sorry to hear that.

Obviously there's far more serious conditions than a cough/cold but to be fair when you do have one, it can really stop you getting on with things...yes it's a temporary but it's a pain. My teenagers have had colds this week. They've had headaches and been napping a lot. Couldn't go to school. During the short time you're unwell, it's not particularly pleasant. But, yes there's worse things

Adding zinc and a probiotic to my shopping list. At this point my bedside table looks like Holland and Barrett.

I'm never ill. In my 60s, work in a school, socialise regularly.
I cook everything from scratch, tons of veg and garlic and I exercise. I take vit D but that's it.

The most annoying part is when you're constantly ill but it's not bad enough for you to be off work and rest. So you are still trying to do everything whilst feeling like shit.
That's when it can really get on top of you.

I think if you've been like this for a while there's no harm in having a few days off just to let your body 'recharge' and try to fight it off. I tried to get my DH to do this last year after catching about four colds back to back over a couple of months but he wasn't having it.
As a result it took him longer to get over it.

What dose vitamin d do you take? I would take 4000 units plus vitamin k2 if you are this run down. Also 500mg vitamin c daily going up to 1 g when feeling ill.
this year we are using boots dual defence spray and that seems to work.

Totally read this as sambuca

Watching with interest as my health is poor and it limits me a great deal - can't work because of it :(

What helped me get less sick overall was a kill-or-cure - I started winter swimming in very cold water. It isn't for everyone but it significantly improved my whole system, including immune system. It's been almost, but not quite, a magic wand - get much less sick, helps with energy, helps skin, helps mood (you feel great after you've gone home and had a lovely warm shower), helps energy a bit which is a huge issue.

As pps have said, good sleep is a cornerstone to good health though.

@PeacheyPeach Lol, happy to help, hope you get better. Feel free to ask me anything.

Take them in order.

1. Iron first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, take it with vitamin C and/or glass of orange juice. Wait 30 minutes before eating.(If you find it binds your stomach/stool then you're not eating enough and if it causes pain, you can eat spinach while taking it, which also increases absorption)
2. Next is your fish oils, take a spoonful or break the capsule & get the oil under your tongue.
3. Time for breakfast, fry an egg & leave the yolk soft, slightly runny but not raw. Have whatever else you want but have your high sugar things after the filling breakfast. So for example: Fry up first then jam on toast or readybrek after. The order you take sugars effects your body in a big way.
4. Take your multivitamin, Vitamin D3, Vitamin A & Zinc as soon as you finish your meal. Because D3 & A need to be taken with fat & zinc can cause headaches if taken on an empty stomach
5. Wash it down with vitamin C (effervescent) or water.
6. Don't have sugars for the next hour, to give your body time to break down the vitamins.

Tid bits:
Artificial sugar depletes all nutrients so just keep that in mind.
Birth control & HRT deplete iron, zinc, vitamin D, all vitamin B's, selenium (eat 1 brazil nut a day, amazing for hair & women's health), phosphorus and magnesium.

And now it's time for me to bow out & do this whole routine. ✨

Good info @MissBubbla I knew that about the pill (sadly after taking it for a good 20 years!). Stupidly didn’t consider that with regards to HRT so such a good point to raise. Haven’t started yet but if/when I do..

@DancesWithDucks Yes! Cold water swimming is great for the immune system (and loads of other benefits). I swam in our local lake throughout spring and summer but eyeing it up at the moment. Do you wear a wetsuit or just swim suit for full benefit? I do cold showers every morning which definitely help.

I’d love to know! I have RA and take biologics so my immune system doesn’t fight off illness properly. I’m a healthy weight, don’t drink, healthy diet. Blood tests last fortnight showed no deficiencies and vitamin D is great- I make an effort to get outside every day regardless of the weather.

I CANNOT shift this awful bug. Cancelled all my weekend plans and slept. Still no better and phoned in sick to work which I feel guilty about. Covid tests are negative.

Id happily try most things if it would help.

I’m immune suppressed, slow release vit c and zinc, vicks or boots equivalent first defence spray and as others have said vitamin d. Hand washing is also super important too and still see so many walk out of public toilets without washing their hands!

@MissBubbla
Oh wow, I need to up my game. Wait come back aha, I've been taking 1,000iu a day for 2 months now & haven't felt a difference, should I up to a dose similar to yours, because you seem to really know what you're talking about. I'm a bit lost with this sort of thing. Thanks