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.

Sounds like great use of the info you asked for... All you need to do is come back in 6 months and tell us if it made a difference 😆 someone could write a thesis on your experiment

I said upthread that i am never sick but i tell a lie, i suffer dreadfully with hangovers, i can't drink a lot without being as sick as a dog.

Look after your microbiome, gut bacteria which has v strong links to immunity. Plenty of pre biotics and take a good probiotic regularly. Vitamin D, Zinc, vit C, stay hydrated, a well regulated sleep routine, keeping stress to a minimum / managing your stress and having strategies in place to close the stress loop (relax). Regular exercise doing something you enjoy, plenty of fresh air abs time on green spaces. A good health balanced diet with lots of veg, reduce sugar intake, eliminate as much as you can from your diet. Basically take good care of yourself and make sure you get to rest when you need it. Stress is domino number 1.

I never washed my hands as a child and was RARELY ill. I had one tummy bug in all of my primary school time (the one time I vomited during that time as well!)....never had a fever during those years either....rarely a cold or runny nose.

My dh and I have managed to avoid catching most things from the kids (We have 3 dc and a dog age 2-10). The kids caught more bugs when I would hand gel them and be crazy over hand washing....seriously. I have emetaphobia so I am terrified of tummy bugs and used to be crazy about the hand washing and hand gel w the kids....then I realised its not preventing them so I gave up on it. Plus I read about dirty being good for immune system....anyway that was a few years ago and that was when they stopped catching so many bugs....it was amazing...no more fevers either....except for the littlest one bc she is still building her immune system. But anyway, the other two stopped getting sick the moment we stopped being crazy w gel and hand washing...

Forgot to mention, my ds (middle child), who seems to avoid more bugs then my elder one when they were younger gets a lot more muddy. When he was little I noticed he had dirt under his nails and I was going to clean it that night at bath, when I went to clean his nails with scrub I saw they were all clean and asked how he cleaned them. He told me he used his teeth lol....so basically eating dirt from his nails....horrifying as that may sound!!!! But anyway....he does seem to have a better immune system then my older one.....

My immune system is pretty good, dc get roughly 6-7 colds per year and I usually get around 3 of them times and they always only last for a max of 3 days. I don’t take vitamins or anything like that. I have 3-5 fruit and veg a day. I do have a medical condition which hosts an array of symptoms so it may well be that I do get normal symptoms but I’m so accustomed to them I don’t notice.

@WTFCanIDoAboutThis

I completely agree about not being too clean. I think some exposure to bugs is important to build resistance. Me and DS have NEVER had any D&V illnesses and rarely get colds.

This is very unlikely to be to do with exposure and there is no such thing as lasting immunity to the majority of stomach viruses (90% of them are caused by different strains of Norovirus).

It's much more likely that you're one of the roughly 20% of the population who catch Norovirus (which accounts for the vast majority of stomach bugs) asymptomatically and just don't fall ill with it.

Multi vitamins

Also just to mention antibacterial gel does work for Coronavirus but doesn't work for non-enveloped viruses like stomach bugs.

I think it's luck and genetic. I am rarely sick and I don't go to much trouble. I wash my hands of course, but don't panic if I can't and don't carry hand sanitiser.

My house is really clean but I clean surfaces with just water and a microfibre cloth, or soap and water. I rarely use cleaning sprays or bleach except on something like shower mould. In terms of food, use by dates are just a suggestion for me.

Keeping your immune system healthy is surely all about good general health, eg

Not smoking
Not drinking toexcess
Getting enough sleep
Getting all the nutrients your body needs from your diet (most British people do not get enough Vit D and magnesium and essential fatty acids)
Keeping a healthy weight

Also taking measures to avoid infections is a good idea such as hand washing and mask wearing.

OP, have a look at Prof Tim Spector is an expert in gut health and the importance it has to overall health. Also Dr Chatterjee books and podcasts. He is a GP.

I don't think I had a single day off school in secondary school. My mum and dad used to grow all our veg so I had an amazing variety of food. Perhaps that had something to do with it?

My mum is a biochemist and never ever uses. Anything antibac. She always says soap and warm water is usually best.

I never really ill and was never ill much as a child
either. I think it’s just luck.

@cricketmum84

My DH is literally never ill. Never. I have no idea what his secret is!! He eats stuff that's gone off date, thinks nothing of cutting mould off bread or cheese, he will eat chicken that's been accidentally left out overnight.

In the 14 years we have been together he has visited the doctor once and that was to ask for a vasectomy. (Obviously apart from 2 covid jabs).

I cursed him.

We both tested positive for covid within 24hrs of me posting this!

Bad bad me.

My secret is my daughter is now an adult. I remember when she was little, constant cold type viruses, flu type as well, throat, coughs etc. We never really got noro thankfully and if we ever did the 'starve 24 hrs since last vomit, cooled boiled water only' method cleared it right up

I think it's mostly genetic, my parents (more dad) are rarely I'll. Myself and two sisters the same, it's a family joke that none of us can tolerate what seems like constant ailments from our partners as we don't understand what it's like to be Ill.

My sons also luckily has the constitution of an ox, he had his first cold the other week in more than two years, he's 9.

We have a relatively clean house, spend a lot of time outdoors and at the beach.

I also only change bedding monthly

We don't take vitamins, though when DS was young he did get an annual dose of tonscilitis at age 2/3/4 and I gave him a probiotic when he finished the course of antibiotics.

Diet is pretty average, but I do drink 2/3 litres of water a day.

I think it is a combination of things,

1. genes. I am rarely ill, and there are no history of illness (heart disease etc) in my family, we are all tough as old boots, and my kids the same
2. lifestyle. healthy eating, exercise, enough sleep, low stress.
3. exposure. I was a teacher, and I was exposed to every bug going, so I have immunity to them all. My Mum was the same.

We are not the cleanest family, so lots of exposure to germs!

Look after yourselves (exercise, diet) and enjoy your good health to the max, and don't take it for granted or be smug about it......we will all die if something at some point, our bodies will tire, sicken, falter, fade. This will be true for each and every one of us.

So be kind and compassionate and living to all those who do not have good health. Your time will come.

Loving not living

Luck
Genetics possibly (my DM and DGM are the same, eg my DGM is 93, got corona and had practically zero complaints except for a bit of coughing…women in my family are very ‘robust’).

plus
Eating veg and fruit every day
Sleep enough
Exercise regularly
I take supplements, vitamin D, iron, vitamin B complex and fish oil

Diet is very important. Lots of fruit and veg as we need a good constant supply of vitamin c to keep our immune systems working well. It also helps with our absorption of iron.
Soups are a really good way to get lots of nutrients in regularly. Add things like garlic and fresh herbs and turmeric to get an added boost of nutrients.

It's being happy and relaxed in your life.

Charles I know logically that diet is important but my diet is pretty shocking and I am never ill (over 60) ... I do think a lot of it is just down to luck.

Exercise, fresh air, vitamin D and working with the great unwashed!

Oh also one thing that affects which viruses you are susceptible to is your blood type.

People with blood type B (along with those whose body doesn't make HI-antigen) are much less likely to fall ill with stomach bugs (strains of norovirus) than people with other blood types and who produce HI-antigen. People with blood type A are more likely to get seriously ill with Covid, then people with blood type O. So there are complicated reasons why some people are more susceptible to specific infections than others.

Hand hygiene, particularly washing with soap and water is critical, even if people prefer to think that being a bit grubby is somehow helpful.