[Closed] How often do you lot get sick with colds / viral stuff?

had the cold once in the last decade, i work driving a bus, handling money from the public with all the germs associated with that.
i do pay particular attention to keeping my hands away from my mouth while at work and wash them thoroughly before meals etc, but no special precautions other than that.

Usually? About one cold a year, but this year I seemed to have one vile, chesty, phlegmy, snotty cold that lasted for months, sort of going away a bit then coming back with a vengeance. Horrible, like Planet Snot had opened a wormhole to a point just inside my sinuses. Bleh!

depression?

Since I stopped smoking? Rarely apart from summer. Since I was diagnosed with hayfever? Less.

I had the manflu last winter, but that was the first time for a few years.
I'm outside a lot, and I try to avoid the sick and the needy.

2 a year while in a stressful (to me) office job - each would last 4 weeks even with a couple of days off to recover. Much fewer since.

Twice in last month. Same as hora junior. Ive not had a chest infection for 13yrs when I quit cigs. Now twice in 4 weeks.

not a cold,but i suffer with bad sinus problems (for as long as i can remember/at least the last 15 years).my nose is always blocked/running 🙁

I was constantly like that until I got properly poorly, now I'm usually quite well.

Once every year for the last 12 since moving to UK from RSA. Guess I don't have the immunity of those raised here since birth.

I had one last year, about 2 years before that, nowt this year so far

I used to be like that - I had really bad PVFS/CFS which started nearly 3 years ago and has very slowly got better (in fits and starts with some major dips) since. I can't put my finger on what exactly has lead to improvement, but recently I've been doing quite a lot better and have been able to regain some fitness. I've not had a cold/flu type illness for a few months now IIRC, and I used to get them all the time.

I feel as though improving my diet has definitely helped (low GI, lots of vegetables), as has taking measures to combat stress/anxiety. My friend has had similar problems and has found seeing a nutritionist very effective.

I used to get a lot of colds but since I've been taking multi-vitamins (berocca) I rarely get a cold, that's a period of 6 or 7 years. I started taking them after a conversation with a semi-pro footballer who said they take Vit C and zinc to avoid colds.

I get colds all the time, nearly all the time in fact. I'm prone to everything.

Nowt other than hayfever for over 2 years now.
De-stressing my life and a an unclinical life style, enjoying all the germs i can smear over myself to build up a good immune system..

I appear to have the constitution of an ox. I very, very rarely catch anything. I might have had 2 or 3 colds in the last 10 years. No secret to it. I don't try and avoid anything or take any precautions, in fact probably quite the opposite, which must keep my immune system fighting fit! 😉
I do like my fruit and veg though.....

Oh yeah, one other thing that has made a big difference is realising I get hayfever/pet allergies. I reckon this was contributing to the fatigue/coldy symptoms massively. I started taking regular anti-allergy stuff and I reckon it has helped a lot.

I get loads of colds all last about 1 1/2 days. Nearly always after getting wet through, then drying out over the hours riding.

Fell in a ford Sunday, took another two hours to get home, now I have the sniffles.
Seems to be a windchill thing, as riding all day in the rain wearing a jacket seems to be fine.

Twice a year. Generally one in the winter and one in the summer. I have in the past had a couple of years back to back with no illnesses but that is a few years ago now.

rarely but when I do I tend to get a few over the next few weeks/months

Hora I went through a nightmare 6 months period where I kept getting ill when junior 1 did. It was awful and I hope yours does not last

Racefacec90 you've developed an allergy? Sulphites/bacon is one such reaction I think? White wine does the same to me. Guessing but still.

Junkyard hora jnr always seems ill with something 🙁

Not often I get colds/viral. Don't know if it helps but I get a flu jab every year and the year I never bothered I got several bad colds.

my nose is always blocked

I've had this the past 20 odd years and use a nasal spray to make it run.

hardly at all since I stopped regular drinking..

Odd minor cold but no time off work in over 3 years.

Not very often - maybe every 3 or 4 years
I've not had a day sick off work for at least 20 years that I can think of

IMO [unscientific] opinion there's far too much sanitising of stuff going on, a lot of people simply don't build up enough immunity to everyday bugs and germs

Usually 2 or 3 a year but nothing for the last 18 months. I put it down to base training, proper sleep and being careful around young children. (they are proper germ factories)

Once a year if that? Just make sure I keep hands clean if I've been in contact with other people.

I genuinely think it's 90% a state of mind. If you want to feel ill you will.

proper sleep and being careful around young children. (they are proper germ factories)

oddly though.. I've had next to naff all sleep for the last three and a half years, and been surrounded by sprogs with hardly a sniffle..

I wouldn't say that we actively encourage germs in our house, but we certainly don't attempt to eradicate every micro organism that shares our environment either..

Last time was Xmas 2008 and it was flu, not just a sniffly nose that a lot of people take a week off work for.

Never.

One thing I do though is to always change my top when I get back from riding, otherwise I use to get a bit 'chilly'.

An ex-riding buddy though was always suffering from colds etc - no matter what he did.

i usually get a sore throat/cough/cold at the of october each year. By then a hectic teaching timetable and a fieldtrip has reduced my immune system enough for freshers flu to hit me.

Usually about twice a year.
Usually lasts about 25 weeks each with a week off in between (and itll slash down that week)

Seems variable.

When I was younger I had a runny nose alot but felt fine.

When at uni I'd have periods when I'd get alot of cold strike me down for a day then I'd feel fine again.

Probably to do with drinking alot.

Went through a period with less and less colds from about 23 on wards, basically didnt have a cold to speak of between 28 and 31.

Then got a tooth/gum infection dentists dithered and didnt pull it out for 6 months. Was on anitbiotics for alot of that time.

Since then almost been 2 years and not felt right. Last couple of months I havent got a proper cold but still tired and I seem to be having problems with my gut and digesting stuff (try to eat as many probiotics as possible).

last time I had a cold was Oct '09

Not often, but I've got one now 🙁

When I worked in an air-conditioned office I'd get cold-type snotfests at least twice a year. Since working in forests and computing at home / down pub - nothing.

I generally seem to avoid most stuff. Which is good because when I do get a cold I'm a whimpering wreck of a man.

I got a flu-like bug in October 2009 and a cold in February of this year.

I get a lot of mild sore throats, but I think that is a hayfever/allergy thing. Preservatives in soft drinks/cakes/alcohol set it off. So does dust and pollen.

Generally I am much healthier in my old age than in my youth.

BUT if I go on the Underground in winter (or to a Mall) I guarantee I will catch a cold. So I don't do those things.

I eat a pretty healthy diet of fresh organic food (no meat), don't smoke, where possible I wash my hands before eating or preparing food and I try to keep my hands away from my face. I don't drink much alcohol any more.

If I get symptoms I eat MASSES of raw garlic. Yummy.

I used to get them regularly, but then started washing my hands as soon as I got off the tube into the office / at home. Felt a bit of weirdy-obsessive at first, but the difference was remarkable - I reckon it is maximum two now (one usually at the start and one at the end of winter, oddly).

Can't rate regular hand-cleaning highly enough. Watching what people do in confined public spaces, it doesn't surprise me - ugh.

Which reminds me, we're coming into the season of open coughing - no covering of mouths which really disgusts me. Joy.

Snowpaul, sounds like you have classic maladaptive stress response.

The flu like symptoms you are getting are not colds/viruses, but your own bodies reaction to stress, be that due to work, relationships, exercise, food intolerances etc. It's normally a combination of factors that cause it, rather than just one thing.

Basically your body is in a heightened state of alert and does not return to a calm state after a trigger has abated. Thus whilst you might start to feel better if you rest for a while and/or remove some of the stresses, it does not take much to overload your nervous system and bring the symptoms back.

Being in a constant state of elevated stress is very tiring, hence the fatigue.

I had the exact same problem for about 10 years. Constant sore throats, aching joints, headaches, fatigue etc etc. It would rarely be "well" for more than a month. The worse I felt the harder I tried to carry on as normal. I thought riding my bike might help and it did at the time, but afterwards I would be wiped out for days.

All GP tests were negative. Was finally diagnosed with ME.

Went to a specilaist ME/CFS clinic in London and have never looked back. They took a much more holistic whole body/mind view and quickly found out what was stressing my body. They also made me realise that worrying about being ill was causing me more stress/anxiety and just feeding the cycle.

I have now only had one cold in the last two years, even though those I work with and my family have had them.