If you never get sick, please tell me your secret!

[Zoraflora]

Im 45 year old female non smoker, rarely drink, stone overweight, eat mostly healthy diet, takeaway once a fortnight and sweets / dessert probably about 4 days per week.

Get enough sleep, exercise about 3 times per week, no major stress in my life.

Im clean, my home is clean. Practice hand hygiene etc

I seem to get sick a lot (not tummy bugs) Ive had flu, covid and a couple of head colds since last Christmas. Why, what am I doing wrong?

My husband on the other hand never gets sick despite eating similar to me & never takes vitamins.

Is it just down to an individuals immune system or is there anything I can do to stop getting ill so often.

You cannot take flu in your stride, it completely hits you like freight train.

That's not always true, though. You can have flu asymptomatically - or it can kill you. It's like covid in that sense. I've never knowingly had flu, but I might have just written it off as a cold, as I would gave last time I had covid, if a test hadn't told me otherwise.

There probably are reasons why some people have stronger immune systems than others, but until there's been a lot more research into individual responses, and whether it's childhood environment, cleanliness (over or under,) genetics, working environment (I strongly believe in open windows and a good blast of fresh air rather than sealed windows, climate-controlling air-con, for example, as the latter is likely to circulate and concentrate any bacteria and viruses in the air,) - it's going to be some time before we really know. It's probably a mix of things. We just don't yet know the details.

Im 52 year old female non smoker, drink probably 6 units a week, stone overweight, eat mostly healthy diet, takeaway probably three times a month. Not big on sweets but love crisps, eat too many.

Don’t get enough sleep, don’t really exercise, bit stressed as dads being treated for cancer.

Im clean, my home is not clean, pretty dusty. If I’m honest I don’t practice good hand hygiene.

Dont really get sick, last time I was off work unwell has got to be two years ago and before that 2013. I just don’t get sick. I have got a neurological disorder but my tablets keep me functioning but as far as coughs and colds, nothing and unless a test was faulty, I never had covid.

It's just luck. I'm never sick, nor is Dh, nor are ds's. And if we are we just carry on.

Genetics and good diet probably. My dear old dad was a Health Inspector back in the day. He came across everything in his job, and was never ill. I remember us being quarantined for some deadly disease at one point! He was a farmers son, so lots of exposure to bacteria when young too. Came from a very long line of long lived rellies. He died aged 68 of pancreatic cancer, so didn't help him much in the end 😔

I also rarely get ill, never get tummy bugs, last one was about 20 years ago when the kids were little. Never have antibiotics for anything. Had COVID once, and this year.

I don't drink, don't smoke, don't formally exercise, just walking and gardening. I do go out most days and get sun and fresh air.

Vitamins really don't make much of a difference, most you just piss away. Vit D is really the only one required.

working environment (I strongly believe in open windows and a good blast of fresh air rather than sealed windows, climate-controlling air-con, for example, as the latter is likely to circulate and concentrate any bacteria and viruses in the air,)

Ugh l hate that environment. I hate draughts of any kind. My house is always warm to hot. I’m never unwell. Even when l was teaching.

I think sleep as the biggest impact. That’s what repairs your immune system.

I am never really get sick. I am 50 and can probably count of one hand how many times I have been sick in my life and I have maybe been to the doctors twice in my life (except pregnancies)

It’s genetics and luck I think. I take hand hygiene extremely seriously. I was my hands a lot and don’t touch doors in public without tissue paper if I can avoid it. Apart from that I am normal and not particularly health conscious.

I work in a primary school. I get a couple of sniffles a year bar Covid times. I wash my hands regularly and always before eating and when I get home. I’m an avid window opener too even in winter.

Nurse- hardly ever get sick. I was sick for a whole month at new year virus/ chest/sinus infection and I was such a baby about it because I never get ill or if I do I just carry on and bounce back quickly. I think its exposure with my job, i must just have loads of antibodies. 37y, 2 small kids in school
and nursery so plenty going around. I never catch these stomach bugs going around. Caught Covid a couple times but hardly any symptoms. Not had it for well
over a year. Diet and exercise quite good although partial to a drink. Dont take vitamins so not doing anything special

I think hand hygiene is a biggy that u til Covid many were lax about. I automatically walk to the sink when I get in from anywhere. I open doors with my hands etc but if I put petrol in the car and there are no gloves, I’ll gel my hands in the car. Same after using supermarket trolley.

Good genes. I'm 45, slim but do nothing to get/keep that way, hardly exercise but do try to do regular yoga, stressful job, insomniac, eat too much sugar, drink too much coffee etc etc.

I rarely get ill, never had Covid, got pregnant twice first time trying, babies popped out fine, never picked up any bugs when they started nursery (despite them constantly being ill)....

My parents are both healthy in their mid 70s and my grandparents all lived into their 90s. Genes have to play a part.

Meh. I have never done any of this, didn't even possess sanitiser in the pandemic, and I am still hale and hearty.

I get sick plenty enough thanks to having a child in nursery but recently a very nasty bug went around my entire family except for me, and I was the one taking care of everyone. My entirely scientific theory the reason I escaped this is because the last few weeks I've been taking an ice cold shower every morning (supposedly its helps the immune system).

Just to add, people say hand hygiene a big factor but I’m not so sure. In work (nurse) of course hand hygiene is paramount so I am steadfast with hygiene, and before/after toilet and eating. But out in public life I’m certainly not reaching for the alco gel dispensers and must admit to filthy habits such as nail biting, so I dont think its that simple.. or maybe its Because of the lifetime of nail biting and touching stuff in public that I get exposed to a lot?!

I think it's luck.

I'm in my 50s, a bit overweight, rarely drink, don't smoke, vegan but eat plenty of crap as well as the healthy stuff, walk a lot but no time for other exercise, don't get enough sleep, never take vitamins or other supplements.

I'm rarely ill. The occasional cold but I haven't had to take time off work for years.

I don't know what your first thing means but I've never taken vitamins and I'm never ill

If it was possible to identify why some people are always illl and some never are dont you think we'd know about it

Even when my children were young I was never ill and neither were they, it's not like it's universal. No one in my wider family is ever I'll either so maybe genetic

I should say though that having a cold is not what I'd call being ill

The first four years of having toddlers/school kids was awful and i think I was constantly sick.

Now I seem to have encountered everything and be made of (mostly) Teflon.

However my genetics aren't good and I was a sickly child.

I'm hoping I've just already been through most of it now

Spent many years working with 3, 4, and 5 year olds.. By the end my immune system was cast iron. It took a few years of regularly getting sick to get there though.

Me neither. Hate hand gel.

Never ill

Yeah I hate hand gel too but it serves it’s purpose if I can’t get to a sink.

I'm hardly ever unwell, I haven't had a day off sick in over a decade but I'm self employed so maybe a lot of it is mind over matter?! I've had covid but wasn't at all poorly with it, can't remember the last time I had a cold.

I drink a lot of coffee, don't have a particularly healthy diet and don't get as much sleep as I should, the only exercise I get is being on my feet 12hrs a day!

It’s luck.

It's 100% luck for me. If I do get ill, I recover quickly. I don't do anything particularly to excess, and that includes healthy choices as well as unhealthy ones.

I’m very, very rarely sick. I’ve had 5 sick days off work in 12 years. Never had covid even though I was testing 2 times a week for work. Rarely get colds, general viruses etc.

To be honest I put it down to being surrounded by germs! I’ve got a young child, I teach infants, have a house full of pets and rarely wash my hands (other than public toilets) as there is just no point.

Other possible factors- vegetation, daily exercise, non smoker…

I'm late 50's, overweight and a smoker (which I intend to give up soon). Never had covid and the last time I was ill was around a decade ago when I spent a week in bed suffering from the flu. I think it's partly genetics as, hand on heart, I cannot remember my dad ever taking a day off work through illness.

@Bobby80 tou don’t wash your hands after the toilet? Before preparing food? After handling raw meat?