Is severe stress bad for immunity to acute infection?

[ItsVeryComplicated]

Hi,

I wondered if I could ask a quick question about the effect of severe anxiety and isolation on immunity to acute infection?

My son had a really bad time at school the last few years and is now home schooling with an EOTAS package. He's still severely anxious every day and really struggles to keep his anxiety under control from minute to minute throughout the day. It's mostly just us alone at home and he doesn't see his friends.

I convinced him to be super-brave and go to see a GP this week, and he did it and managed. But I think he caught something like the norovirus while he was there and he had an absolutely awful time with the symptoms. I've never seen such a bad gut virus.

I feel so bad for him as his year was a train wreck already, and he did this brave thing by going out, and just got absolutely pounded.

He had a lot of trouble with endless long gut infections in his toddler and infant school years, but we found a vitamin supplement that worked for him and he's been bullet-proof for years, as long as he take the supplement. Literally 100% school attendance every year for years.

We're both a bit perplexed that his trusty supplement failed us, and so dramatically.

I wondered if anybody might know what is going on? Is it the anxiety, or the isolation, or is there a particularly bad bug going round?

I wish I could offer him some reassurance about why it happened or what we could do to avoid it happening again.

The bug was D&V with very sudden onset, and prolongued. it went from nothing to D&V in two hours. He was only able to start drinking 2 days later.

When I got it, the first symptom was a sudden and intense change in my sense of smell which felt neurological rather than like a bug in my stomach, so it really felt very different from anything I've experienced before.

My DS's covid test was negative, but the test was a year out of date.

I would be really grateful if people could avoid recounting tales of their own gut viruses as I'm quite squeamish.

Thanks!

Yes stress can affect the immune system.

But also, viruses happen. Unless the GP was literally the only place the whole family went, you don't know you caught the virus there, it is possible it was contracted via a different route.

If you're over the virus now, that's all sorted.

Is your son getting appropriate support for the anxiety?

Also throw the out of date COVID tests away, they are unreliable.

Try and look at it from another perspective. Out of all those years your son has only been ill once, sounds pretty good to me! And that was when he went to a place where people are ill in the winter when bugs are rampaging about.
As horrible as it sounds I think you are doing well

I think in general Norovirus can infiltrate even healthy immune systems. It’s that contagious. There’s a very tiny percentage of the population that are immune. The rest of us don’t tend to build up immunity so just need to avoid if we can.

I wouldn’t worry too much - it sounds like bad luck.

If your son isn’t out and about mixing with people, his immune system will become weaker

That norovirus bug is very very infectious. Only need a minute amount to catch it.

also if you’re secretory IGA is low, it can mean you’re more prone to picking stuff up. You can get a blood test.

some probiotics can raise it. Worth looking at. Bifidobacteria b12 and optibac do an immune gummy.

Norivirus is brutal and highly infectious. I've had it once and honestly, it's like nothing I've ever experienced, really violent cramps and spasms. Putting it crudely, I didn't know which end to put on the loo first. High fever, sweating and shivering. I have a really robust GI too, so I don't think, your son's experience is related to his previous issues. It's just a horrible virus.

@unsync Thanks that's good to know.

DS is on the mend now. Eating again.