Predisposed to sickness?

[lahnnabell]

I dunno what's up with some of the ladies I work with, but they are ALWAYS sick. Every time I see them again they're sniffling or coughing. Granted, we work in retail, but are their immune systems just that bad?

I have a tiny cold at the moment, but I can feel my body fighting it. I'm trying to do things to help it along by drinking a lot of water, eating soups and full meals, fruits, etc. I feel that this is a much more proactive way to prevent sickness instead of waiting to pop a bunch of pills once I do get sick.

My recent ex came from a pill-popper family. From anything to headaches to sore throats, they rely on meds. I don't like the idea of my body becoming dependent upon the relief of meds or pills. I'd much rather provide my body with a more organic form of relief and let my immune system do the bulk of the work.

Am I alone in feeling this way?

[shheadz]

I used to know a trucker. A real man's man. He had a son that was 6-7, or something like that. Anyway, the kid got really sick, but dad refused to do anything about it. People were bitching at him for not being "more responsible". The kid did of course get better, and I'm sure he's going to grow up being much healthier than his peers, cause his dad was smart enough to let the cold run it's course without using pills.

I don't even understand most parents today. They practically keep their children in germ free plastic bubbles. Their bodies never learn to fight off all the bad things the world is going to throw at them as adults. I dunno. I'm sure a lot of people are susceptible to sickness for that reason.

[Coco]

Yes I am with you. On my mother's side they are Native American (Kanaka Maoli (which is Hawaiian) and Crow. Somewhere back there someone was medicine man of the tribe. He would be my Great (x5) Grandfather. Anyway they believed in natural remedies, spiritual cures and all that. LOL! Sometimes my great grandmother still tries to pull that on some of us. Hahaha It's pretty funny. But cool too. I don't really like the idea of poppin' pills but sometimes if it is extreme I will.

[lahnnabell]

I can understand something like an ear infection or strep needing antibiotics. I used to get ear infections constantly as a little kid, and I was miserable because of it. Something like a cold can be awful to deal with, but if there's no fever, immediate pain, or obvious breathing troubles, I don't think every illness requires prescribed medicine. The trouble with kids I think though is that they can go from bad to worse VERY quickly if not monitored properly. Their immune systems are still so new and they require mommy and/or daddy to be looking out for them 'cause they can't do it yet.

Healthy diets, exercise, proper water intake, and lessons on hygiene go a lot further as an adult I feel.

[Gigabitch]

Some people appear somewhat healthy on the outside but they eat bad food and never drink water. They are the ones who are sick all winter long. I used to work with one of those. At least twice a winter, she was on another Z-pack, nuking her system with more antibiotics. This gave her terrible yeast infections, which there was all manner of TMI about.

****, I don't miss that sick bitch at all.

[Coco]

Anyone ever put that castor oil in your ear? Arghhhhhhh. Or what about the Oblas oil up your nose to help open you up. Blahhhhhhhk!

[lahnnabell]

I've always been intrigued by the Neti pot. I think I'd end up burning my brain somehow though.

Vicks Vap-o-Rub is my friend though! And anything else with peppermint oil.

[Gigabitch]

I've always been intrigued by the Neti pot. I think I'd end up burning my brain somehow though.

Just used one this morning. Still grosses me out a little bit, but not doing it seems gross now too. It makes you feel VERY clean.

[lahnnabell]

How does it work exactly? Does all the junk and mucus come out with it? I'm not easily grossed out. This will help if/when I start vet tech school.

I can imagine one would feel very cleansed afterward. The worst part of any cold for me is the sinus pressure, and stuffiness. I used to cram tissues up my nose as a kid, but I'm trying not to subject my boyfriend to my old habits.

[Tallgeese]

People who take relief pills are only masking their symptoms. Eating healthy at the onset of a cold will help reduce the severity and duration of a cold.

[cmacattack1]

Lots of sleep too. That's why Nyquil is so popular, it is putting your body down for the count.

You are right though, I always notice how girls are always complaining about being sick all the time and I rarely get sick. Even in college when drinking four nights a week was normal except that time I got mono from what I think was sharing beer pong cups at a frat party. Yikes. The floor of the basement was dirt I think.

My mom takes pills for everything and I just can't understand why you'd want to. Her liver must be the size of a car battery.

[vashti]

If you were exposed to a lot of crap when you were little, your immune system as an adult would be heartier than someone who was rarely sick as a child.

I can only remmeber being sick once as a child, but I caught everything when my kids were in preschool.

[starbuck]

When I was working in the office, the people who always seemed to get sick were the folks who partied alot. Lack of sleep and massive amounts of alcohol seemed to be a bad combo for the immune system.

For me, stress seems to be a big deciding factor on whether or not I get sick. Especially job-stress. Last year I started a new job that I ended up hating and quitting after four months (yes in the middle of a recession...it was THAT bad). I got the flu twice in four months as well as a staph infection for which I needed to go to the emergency room.

Right now I'm working from home and a bit less stressed. I haven't gotten sick since last summer.

[Gigabitch]

How does it work exactly? Does all the junk and mucus come out with it? I'm not easily grossed out. This will help if/when I start vet tech school.

There's not all that much up there, unless you're actually sick. You just pour warm, salty water in through one nostril with your head tilted so it comes out the other, blow your nose, repeat on the other nostril and you're done. It's not really all that gross, it just feels weird.

[ChatterBox]

Until recently, I ate like a dog, drank milk by the gallon, drank water like a fiend all summer, and ate all sorts of food, junk, lots of fruit, lots of fiber, breads, cheese sandwiches, ham and lettuce on sub buns, yum, and almost never got sick. Sick to me is like a foreign experience. Anyway, over the past two years my diet drastically changed and I have been getting small colds and I can't sleep without slippers so now I am working on rebuilding. All I know, is that those idiots who follow those vegan diets tend to get sicker and I sincerely hope that in time I rebuild my health as well as my diet.