to have my ELEVENTH cold since September?

[coldaftercoldaftercold]

Long time lurker/occasional poster with namechange!

....I don't get mild colds...I get humdingers - really nasty viruses that wipe me out for a fortnight.

I've been in tears all morning because I have ANOTHER cold and frankly my life isn't worth living at the moment. I cannot remember a day when I've felt 'normal'. Every two weeks...I can almost set my clock to it.

I went to see my GP two months ago to explain that I really can't cope with this constant illness and to get some advice and she was very rude and abrupt. She basically said 'tough shit' and 'there's alot of it around'. Great, thanks.

Short background in case it's relevant - I have a one year old DD. I care for her during the day and I work 2-3 days at the weekend as a singer. DP and I split finances down the middle.

Anyways I need you fine ladies to help me get some perspective on this as I feel like giving up, I really do. I've got to go out and sing for 2 hours tonight and I've no idea how I'm going to manage it.

I used to get cold after cold too, really disgusting ones, but have just recently realised it must be allergies. It couldbe the case for you too. I would suggest you go and see a different GP and ask them to prescribe you Flixonase - takes a couple of weeks to work, but if it does, you may have your answer :)

FWIW between dc I had endless viruses, laryingitis, tonsilities, sinusitis, colds, coughs, influenza, etc., endless sore throats. The GP wasn't very helpful. Oddly when pg with dd I had pleurisy and iv antibiotics in hospital for several days. After that, everything cleared up. Although medics have never acknowledged it, I am convinced I had an underlying infection somewhere that made me vulnerable and dragged me down generally and I am convinced the iv antibiotics finally dealt with it.

Hmmm...I'm really nervous about going back to the doctor now though

You might be right though RJRabit. People have been saying 'Oh yes, there's a lot of it about', but come on! I don't know anybody who is constantly ill like this. One of my main issues is nasal itching and congestion, even when I don't have a cold...I've been using Otrivine every day for months!!

I'll look into that, thank you.

onceami I wonder this myself, but GP's do have this 'oh do fuck off dear, you have a cold' attitude, so dificult to get anywhere. I just want to be well again fgs.

Ask to see a different GP.

But I agree - the nasal itching and congestion does sound like it may be allergy related, particularly if those are your main symptoms - take an anti-histamine every day, see if it helps.

I am very sympathetic, after 6 colds back to back then a flu with a chest infection over Christmas, by New Year I was really fed up. You sound run down, you are essentially doing two jobs and that will make you tired as you are not getting any rest on the weekend when perhaps it would normally be shared (being a lone parent must be equally exhausting). I got to the stage I just felt so ill all the time, I just couldn't go on feeling quite rubbish through daily life so...

The things I've done since New Year which have worked very well are a) eaten properly and paced myself, so no working like crazy one day then slacking the next b) taken zinc as a supplement, iron in a liquid form and echinacea which has always worked for me and c) gone hand-washing crazy and got my children to do the same (only before eating and so on, not OCD level). This has helped enormously, in two months I've had one minor sniffle which I've knocked off pretty quickly.

I would also investigate the hayfever link, as the blocked nose, feeling achey etc can definitely be that, and perhaps anti-histamines would help relieve the symptoms if nothing else.

Good luck with the gigs, and remember a year after having a LO is not very long and it is normal to be run down after all those sleepless nights, but it's also a good idea to build yourself back up again a bit so life doesn't become one long cold.

I've also done inhalations if I feel I'm getting a cold, very quick, just boiling water with some Olbas oil in it, head under a towel, for a few min of deep breathing. My mum went on and on about it and I really thought she was bonkers, but now I do that if I feel like a cold might be coming on/tired and achey and it seems to see them off. I also realise the handwashing thing seems a bit trivial, but the children are the main source of viruses coming into your home, so if you can cut them off at the pass, it's great.

I thought my recurrent colds couldn't possibly be hayfever due to the time of year - wrong. After feeling wful all morning this week I went to the doctor and was told it was hayfever and down to tree pollen which starts in Feb. I have had a non droswy antihistamine in the morning every morning since and I finally feel normal again.

If it's not hayfever you might have ... I think it's perennial allergic rhinitis, which happens year round with an allergy to dust.

Try antihistamines, failing that then echinacea and vit c

I feel your pain. I am on my 4th cold since October and they last 2-3 weeks - always the same - starts with me losing my voice with no warning, just a few hours of huskiness and then gone. The gradually moves into my sinuses and ends in a dry hacking cough (which never goes) I am well and truly fed up of it. I never knew my body was capable of making and expelling this much snot! I go through a box of tissues a day.

My GP was quite nice at the end of the year and I gave in and took some AB's as my sinuses were so painful. I hate taking them as they always end up destroying any immunity I have left and giving me something worse - and true to form they did, so I spent Xmas in bed with the worst flu I have ever had which then became pleural inflammation - hurrah!

I am very lucky to have had a sunny holiday in February and was fine for that - but within 2 weeks of being back, the cold came again - grrr - I hate it.

Honestly I am not an "ill" person and hate feeling/being like this. I know there is some underlying cause and unfortunately the NHS/GP's are not very good at dealing with that. They want to treat symptoms not causes iyswim. My immune system is obviously on the floor as I also have had 2 cold sores and now it seems I may even have a verucca (hello - I am 13 again!) I know the climate does not help and I have a toddler who brings every virus going thru the door. I am also trying to up the hand washing and have bought 2 massive bottles of hand sanitiser. I think I am also going to head off for some acupuncture and I already have regular craniosacral therapy sessions. Plus I am going to up my vits and get some fluradix. I do find that doing an inhalation every night before bed does help a bit too.

Mostly though I am depressed about it and I am angry now too. So just wanted to say I feel for you and understand a bit how you are feeling. I am dreaming of being normal again - bring on the spring!

PS - good luck with the gig tonight - if you have a sore throat - manuka honey and lemon is great, also Throat Coat - it's a soothing tea, available online/health food shops etc

Thanks everyone

I'm on Zinc/Echinacea now and will up the handwashing! The allergy possibility sounds well worth investigating.

Couple of brandies at tonight's gig I think!

I've also had masses this winter. I never used to get these things going around, then I got swine flu and since then I get everything. I have no idea if swine flu lowers your immunity but I can't attribute it to anything else.
I've just started taking zinc too but despite lots of handwashing that didn't keep things away.
I am hoping I've seen off the last of the winter viruses and things will be ok from now on.
I hope you get better too cold, and feel much better very soon.

Possible allegies aside, I would say - you have a 1 year old, does she do any day-care or do you do toddler groups and the like? Because the minute my son started "socialising" and we were mixing with other children who were in day-care, I had 1,309,233,599 colds one after the other.

It goes on for about 7 years before you build up immunity to every virus and possible mutation on planet earth.

They then slowly mutate over the next 7 years by which time your children are teenagers and dont come near you therefore dont transmit.

So just 7 more years

Gosh I am the same. I am always feeling ill. I had a long illness nearly two years ago and had to take course after course of antibiotics which I am sure have destroyed my immune system. I could take better care of myself fitness wise- but I find it hard to exercise when I feel so rubbish. Sigh...I do feel for you OP.

I have had a Lot of colds this year too - I seem to get them cyclically every three years or so. I would recommend lots of fruit (berries particularly) and veggies to keep your immune system healthy, but yeah, it's a pain to keep getting them, so lots of sympathy! :(

Worth checking the allergies out though - I alternate my colds with allergies to tree pollen, grass pollen, tree pollen again (takes it almost all year round), with dust mites in the winter just for fun!