People who don't get sick all the time... what's your secret?

[blackcoffeenosleep]

Long story short since the end of September me and my family (DH and 3 kids) have had the following between us: Novovirus, normal cold, ear infection, bronchiolitis and now 3 of us have hand foot and mouth.

Once we are past this how can I build up our immune systems? We already practice handwashing before /after the loo, beforw eating, after changing nappies/blowing noses and when we come home and just generally throughout the day. Hand sanitiser used reguarly by the kids at school and in shops etc. We're in scotland so still wearing masks in most places. We all take vitamin supplements and eat a healthy varied diet.

Are we just unlucky? Today is halloween and my middle child has woke up covered in HFM spots after being up all night with a cough and temp. Im just getting over it and his baby sister had it last week. My oldest son has had a cough too so think its going his way now too... DH seems to be immune to these things (except Novovirus.. that one got him bad 😩) no trick or treating for us tonight. Luckily we have pumpkins to carve and halloween crafts to do to keep us entertained.

Really this is just a moan but any other advice is welcomed! (I will add we all tested for covid at first sign of cough/temp and all neg) we all do regular lft as well.

My mum taught me to air the room thoroughly every morning - so bedclothes off, windows open, especially if there was any sickness in the house. That, plus homemade chicken soup, multivits, Vit D, fish oil and a fairly healthy diet seem to keep us mostly OK. We do all use public transport regularly, too, except littlest dd. But I think there’s a lot of luck involved, and my DC are KS2/KS3, so they’ve had a bit of time to develop their immunity.

Rarely ill... I think I had a cold in 1999
I echo... Fresh air, not being fussy about dirt and germs. Exercise and I also think some is perception of illness...
I had a sore throat last week, just took paracetamol and carried on... Definitely woukdbt say to anyone I am ill.
Dstep daughter had similar, and I heard her on phone to her work and her mother describing herself as 'ill with a bad throat'
She wasn't ill... She was perfectly capable of normal activities.
My dp.. Is same... A sniffle and he is "ill"
So I think some of it is our own perceptions of what being ill is.

No idea if it's just good luck or anything to do with lifestyle but we rarely get ill. The last time I had symptoms of anything was covid in March 2020 and I could have easily gone to work through that. DS tends to get a viruses that result in a morning cough for weeks but few other symptoms, he had whooping cough when he was younger though.

We eat very little processed foods, mostly cooking from scratch. Many processed foods and alcohol just make me feel unwell so I avoid them. I drink the odd half pint or bottle of cider every few weeks.

We drink raw milk and kefir, eat raw sauerkraut, raw honey, sourdough bread. I get 7 to 10 serves of fruit and vegetables a day, DS 5 to 7.

We've never had hand sanitiser, antibacterial soap, alcohol wipes or sprays. We have bar soap, that's it. I looked for hand sanitiser in March 2020 but it was sold out everywhere, didn't bother after that. We've mostly followed the rules but not anything that wasn't a rule.

I think there's a lot of luck to it, possibly genetic luck. I don't catch infections much, my father and my sister are similar (my mother isn't, she catches everything going and amplifies it), and so are all but one of my children. The other child had more days off sick from school than all of the others combined, though she's become more resilient as an adult. I keep my house reasonably hygienic and my job requires a lot of handwashing, but I've never gone in for spotlessness.

I remember years ago reading that a study had shown children with dogs/cats as a child had less days off ill than those without. All the crawling about on the floor with pets around built up your immune system. I go with that as a family of 4 we are rarely I'll. My two DS never had colds, green runny noses etc. I've worked over 20 years with small children so have built up my immune system that way

We are rarely ill. I put it down to my general lack of hygiene and gung-ho-ness over eat by dates etc, so that we've all developed great immunity to everyday bugs.

For those saying they dont use anti bac, what do you use to clean your home? Kitchen table? Food surfaces etc?
I soap the stove top with the dish scourer sponge and washing up liquid. I wipe the kitchen and dining table with the dish cloth, hot water and a few drops of eucalyptus oil. I mop infrequently with hot water and a bit of washing up liquid (kitchen and bathrooms). I have bleach for the loos and bathroom spray for the shower.

I just think stress can make it all worse. So try not to worry about it.

I just wipe surfaces with a dish cloth that I change maybe once a week. I use antibacterial spray once a week when I do my weekly kitchen and bathroom clean.

I read once about a doctor who never got ill because he didn’t touch his face. I trained myself out of touching my face and it really did make a difference.

Hot water and some sort of soap (washing up liquid or soap flakes). The loos get eco toilet cleaner (not every day). Bacteria are not bad, per se. We need bacteria! That's why live yoghurt is good.

I'm rarely ill touch wood, not even a cold most years. Caught Covid it was no more than a sore throat. Have dogs and cats in the house. Eat healthily (no processed food), spend as much time as possible outside whatever the weather or season, running, cycling, walking. 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I live in the countryside so I'm lucky as there is very little pollution, that also helps.

We don’t really get ill. I think some of it is down to constitution and luck. We’re both teachers and I commute by train and bus so exposed to a gazillion germs daily. I’m pretty laid back about germs generally ( obviously different with COVID although even then we didn’t worry about post/groceries etc).

It's young children OP! You mentioned nappies so I assume yours are little.

I was CONSTANTLY ill when mine were tiny. Just all the time. This was a combo (I believe) of sleep deprivation, bugs picked up at preschool and stress.

Now they're older I'm almost never ill. I also have a full night's sleep most nights which I think helps massively.

Genetics and luck. DH not me. He is never bloody ill, so annoying .

My kids were much less ill once they hit 8/9 years old.

@WaterBottle123

We're never ill. I'm the sort of parent that lets kids eat sweets they've dropped on the floor of the bus and they don't wash their hands before meals. That plus they have my genes, it's incredibly rare for me to catch anything.

Also vegetarian plus we eat a ton of garlic.

We wash our bedding monthly too...

Bit boasty but we are never ill. I can't remember the last time any of us had a cold or anything else., years and years. I am definitely on the lax side of hygiene, we wash hands after going to the loo but that's it. Some people seem to wash their hands so much. Never use hand sanitizer unless forced to in a shop, only wear a mask if it's mandated etc. Also would eat food that's dropped on floor, cut mould off bread, eat out of date stuff etc. House is pretty clean though.

@kowari

For those saying they dont use anti bac, what do you use to clean your home? Kitchen table? Food surfaces etc? I soap the stove top with the dish scourer sponge and washing up liquid. I wipe the kitchen and dining table with the dish cloth, hot water and a few drops of eucalyptus oil. I mop infrequently with hot water and a bit of washing up liquid (kitchen and bathrooms). I have bleach for the loos and bathroom spray for the shower.

Similar here but rarely put anything but a bit of soap down loo but I do wipe it inside and out daily. Blast of toilet duck gel up round the rim once a week.

I am sure it's luck. I am very fortunate to have no allergies and very rarely sick. I've always had furry pets so that might be a thing, not great at cleaning and I don't use anti-bacterial stuff, just soap for self and house cleaning. I've not had COVID yet despite everyone I live with getting it. I do stay active and spend as much time as possible outside. I don"t seem to feel the cold so have windows open more than most people so maybe that helps?

I'm rarely ill. I've never had flu or norovirus, haven't caught covid or even the bad cold that's going around. To me, the extent your handwashing and sanitising sounds really over the top, I'm much more relaxed about cleanliness, I'm afraid. I do eat at least 10 portions of fruit and veg a day and take plenty of exercise outdoors.

Gut biome is supposed to make a big difference if you can eat 30 different fruit and veg per week plus fermented products and not much highly processed

Obviously it's hygienic but constant handfasting and sanitising is going to do the opposite of building your immune system

I dont get ill much. I wouldn't say i live a hugely clean life but I'm not a germ freak or cautious about stuff

Healthy diet (fish, fruit and veg, nuts, wholemeal carbs, protein, no processed meat)

Reasonable exercise, although mainly walking

Plenty of sleep

I am overweight and don't eat as well as i should, but i am almost never ill. I didn't have an antibiotic until i was 50, i got a uti after a sexfest weekend away with dh. My dh and 5 dc are almost never ill either, apart from the odd cold. I definitely think that low cleaning standards help with immunity to various illnesses, and i don't use hand sanitiser, i am scrupulous about washing my hands though. Luck plays a part too imo.

OP, I don't think the lockdown has helped as kids need germs to boost their immune system.

Please watch this short video on pine needles tea, also check out how to make it.

It also tastes rather nice.

We are never ill compared to work colleagues and friends. My DC are now 8 & 10 but even when younger we never got constantly ill. We also never have anti bac in the house- just ordinary soap and clean with non toxic/non anti bac spray.
I'm not big on handwashing. My DC are not forced to wash before meals etc.

I also secretly think it's because they were breastfed, who knows..

We are v rarely unwell, even with colds.