Am I lucky with viruses?

[yorkie]

For most days of the week I work in an environment where the risk of exposure to viruses is probably high.

However I don't become ill; for at least the past 10 years the only times I am actually ill are when I am experiencing stress and anxiety, which fortunately for me is normally very rare (until recently anyway!)

Is it likely that I am infected by viruses asymptomatically? And if so, would that be down to luck or genetics?

Or is it likely that I am able to easily fight viruses off by having a good immune system?

Or am I just lucky to have never been ill in 10 years? It seems implausible to me that it's just luck when many of my colleagues are typically off work for at least a few days most years.

Is there any way to find out?

Edit: Since I wrote this, I have gained a better understanding as to how the body's immune system works, and have created a thread here:

We have more immunity to SARS-CoV-2 than thought

Firstly, a lot of people appear to think that anyone who does not have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies has no immunity against the virus; this is false. Anyone who has been exposed to other coronaviruses (some of which are deemed to be "common cold" viruses, though not all "common cold" viruses are...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[alxndr]

Some people are just more susceptible than others. For as long as I can remember I've had no more than one cold a year, and never bad enough to take time off work. My ex, however, was almost always ill, although she later discovered that she has MS which might explain things.

 

[Cowley]

For most days of the week I work in an environment where the risk of exposure to viruses is probably high.

However I don't become ill; for at least the past 10 years the only times I am actually ill are when I am experiencing stress and anxiety, which fortunately for me is normally very rare (until recently anyway!)

Is it likely that I am infected by viruses asymptomatically? And if so, would that be down to luck or genetics?

Or is it likely that I am able to easily fight viruses off by having a good immune system?

Or am I just lucky to have never been ill in 10 years? It seems implausible to me that it's just luck when many of my colleagues are typically off work for at least a few days most years.

Is there any way to find out?

I don’t know the answers to that, but when I worked for Social Services I know that I had the best sick record out of our whole team of sixteen people - verified by the (very honest) person that did the wages and timesheets who’s still a customer and friend of mine.
Since going self employed twelve years ago I can count on three fingers how many days off I’ve had sick (when you’re lying in bed at 8am trying to force yourself into action it’s remarkable how much of an insensitive not being paid for a day is...)
That said I’m really not looking forward to catching COVID-19 if it ends up becoming endemic and unavoidable.
Yikes.

 

[rangersac]

Without a doubt everyone has different immune systems. When I lived in Oban, the area was known for regular norovirus occurrences which regularly laid my partner and our young son flat. I never once got them despite the obvious exposure I would've had. Similarly flu virtually never affects me, although strangely enough the two times I think I've had genuine flu have been in the same year as getting a vaccination, so as a consequence I don't bother now! A few years back both my partner and two kids got flu, which was confirmed through blood tests as it hospitalised my daughter, and gave the 'wife' secondary pneumonia and pleurisy but I had no symptoms.

 

[najaB]

Is it likely that I am infected by viruses asymptomatically?

Almost certainly. It takes a certain number of active virus particles to come down with an illness.

Or am I just lucky to have never been ill in 10 years?

Pretty much, yes. A stronger immune system will help overall, as might a stricter hygiene routine, but at the end of the day you've just never been exposed to enough virus particles at a time when your immune system was at a low ebb (apparently T-cell activity is cyclical).

I know someone who had "never been sick" for many years, and then was almost killed by the flu.

 

[Cowley]

I know someone who had "never been sick" for many years, and then was almost killed by the flu.

I think that’s my worry about this virus - getting away with being well for years and then getting hit really badly by this.

 

[najaB]

I think that’s my worry about this virus - getting away with being well for years and then getting hit really badly by this.

All anyone can due is take care about your general health, practice good hygiene and apply liberal amounts of hope. It is particularly worrying that there's increasing evidence that cell-mediated immunity is less than we would have hoped.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

It could also be that an ongoing and constant exposure to a low level of viruses has boosted your immune system?

 

[najaB]

It could also be that an ongoing and constant exposure to a low level of viruses has boosted your immune system?

That is possible, though that situation isn't without risk - cf autoimmune diseases.

 

[GusB]

I have found that since I started working from home a few years ago, I've had far fewer colds that I used to. I was previously in call centres and if there was a cold doing the rounds it was almost inevitable that most people would catch it - not helped by the fact that some people soldiered on while sniveling constantly when they should have stayed at home. I do realise that some employers insist on people turning up unless they're actually dying, but there's a lot to be said for not going in when ill and I wonder if employers will look at things in a different light once this current crisis blows over.

Unfortunately, on the few occasions when I have become ill it has been far more severe. During the two most recent bouts I was totally bedridden for a time, and then spent nearly a month trying to get my voice back - not a good situation to be in when you have to deal with customers over the phone. Perhaps some office time would provide just enough exposure to keep the immune system ticking over?

 

[edwin_m]

When our son first went to nursery both of us had colds almost constantly for several months, but were then pretty much free of them for several years afterwards.

 

[nlogax]

Working from home for at least some of the week has been a godsend in recent years. Keeps me away from all sorts of viral unpleasantness. Also I don't have kids.. they're all mobile germ warfare factories

The one sick day I've had off in over years is a bit of a red herring though. I've had colds (and the resulting chest infections.. thanks asthma), I've had Norovirus twice.. but these things all seem to happen at weekends or holidays, or I'm able to work from home to prevent spreading them further.

 

[MotCO]

I've noticed that, whilst I had routine colds and flu etc when I was younger, in more recent years I have not experienced such illnesses. Is it a case that as you get older, your immune system is more effective and 'experienced'? Also, I noticed that if you are stressed or under pressure, you are more susceptible - when you're older you may take a more mature view of life and take stress more in your stride.

 

[Bald Rick]

I used to get everything, often twice in quick succession (I’d get it first in the house, pass it on to everyone else, the bug mutates, then I’d get it again a couple of weeks later). Two significant changes:

1) after I started drinking at ‘student’ levels of consumption in my uni days, I definitely got fewer bugs. I like to think that it was a result of alcohol killing bugs. It might be possible that as I was hungover regularly, the symptoms got masked.

2) much more credibly, when I started doing more exercise. Whilst I went for an occasional bike ride or walk, I did nothing ‘regular’ until I started walking to the station 11 years ago - typically I walk upwards of 6 miles a day. I haven’t had a day off work through illness since. Prior to that I would have a couple of occasions a year where I had something bad enough to be off sick for a few days. I can’t believe that is coincidence.


Taken together, the answer seems to be regular low intensity exercise and wine.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I've noticed that, whilst I had routine colds and flu etc when I was younger, in more recent years I have not experienced such illnesses. Is it a case that as you get older, your immune system is more effective and 'experienced'? Also, I noticed that if you are stressed or under pressure, you are more susceptible - when you're older you may take a more mature view of life and take stress more in your stride.

It's more that once you have had each individual strain of the cold virus, you get immune to it, so the older you are the fewer colds you get as there's not so many cold viruses left that you haven't already come into contact with. There's over 200 different cold viruses...

 

[Mojo]

That is possible, though that situation isn't without risk - cf autoimmune diseases.

I had my tonsils removed when I was in year 1 at school, so must have been prone to tonsillitis when I was a baby. I don't ever recall particularly recall being unwell with any genuine illnesses. I did catch a flu like illness during the swine flu pandemic which was probably the illest I've ever been.

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease, back in 2016. Since I started taking the medication for this (fortunately the British Society for Rheumatology Covid-19 guidance states that the medication I use gives me a score of "0" which means I am of no greater risk than anyone else). For about a year after taking this I don't ever recalling being ill as frequently; even managing to catch tonsillitis! Fortunately now I don't seem to be ill too often, although I recently had a consistent high temperature for a few days and was asleep on the sofa for almost three days, with a nasty cough for a week or so afterwards.

 

[Puppetfinger]

I am in a similar situation with work and potential exposure to many people and who knows what, but I don't seem to get much. Have to admit I can probably loosely link illness around periods of increased stress etc at work though.

My big change though was in mid twenties when I had a lifestyle change and shifted a major amount of lard and got fit. Before I could feel rubbish and pick things up easily, now I seldom do, in fact the only thing that gets me is me pushing myself too hard and trying to do to much.

 

[43021HST]

I just use Avast, and complete resets when required and haven't had any problems since. (Couldn't resist that)

I don't go out of my way to exercise, and diet, although I am firm believer in everything in moderation and I seem to stay skinny and healthy, I've never had the flu and get a cold about once a year, a member of the household caught something that showed all the symptoms of Corona Virus, and I didn't seem to get any trace of it, although I made sure I didn't go outside at all for the entire duration.

 

[Busaholic]

Some people are just more susceptible than others. For as long as I can remember I've had no more than one cold a year, and never bad enough to take time off work. My ex, however, was almost always ill, although she later discovered that she has MS which might explain things.

Three years ago today I travelled from Cornwall to London, in the course of which journey I had a medical episode that changed my life forever, and eventually led to my being told last July that I had M.S. of the unremitting Primary Progressive type. It wasn't a shock to be told this: in fact, I'd have been more surprised if it had been another diagnosis.
The official position on M.S. is that the cause is unknown, because the burden of proof is so onerous scientifically speaking it may never come to fruition. However, there is very compelling evidence that it's caused by a virus, with the Epstein-Barr virus in the spotlight. This virus is best known for causing glandular fever, which I contracted around A level time in 1966 and again in 1970, although I may never have recovered wholly from the first episode. In theory, you should be immune from it after catching it, but I do remember being told as a primary school child that I'd had three bouts of German Measles, now known as rubella, which as far as I can tell appears to be medically impossible: however, it may explain why I had two spells in Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, before the further spell I had aged eight when I overnight developed rheumatoid arthritis and became immobile for weeks. Rheumatoid arthritis is also a product of this particular virus, apparently.

All of the above suggests I've been very sickly, but the almost fifty years since my gradual recovery from the last bout have been relatively uneventful medically speaking with one exception, until the last three years. What it appears to show for me, though, is that I appear to have gained no immunity, indeed may be autoimmune. As it happens, on the date the lockdown legislation was enacted I had a long-standing appointment to see the head of the Neurology Dept at my local large hospital, which in the event became a phone conversation. I asked him directly whether someone with my form of M.S. was either in greater risk of contracting Covid-19 or, in the event of doing so, it might have increased deleterious effect. His reply was no and no, except for certain patients taking certain medicines which suppress immunity, or are having stem cell treatment, or a form of chemotherapy, none applicable to me, as I'm on no specific drugs for the simple reason that none are available (in practice, anyway.) One advantage of having the full-on disease!! Oh, and thankfully I've no reason for being on the government's little list of people in full lockdown (or lockup): I'll take my chances, thank you, though I'm being cautious and careful. The neurologist did gently remind me that I'm 72, though, and that might be more significant should I contract this dreadful virus.

 

[baz962]

When I spent a lot of time working out , I had far less colds . Around twenty years ago and before my rail career , I worked two jobs and was self employed in both. The jobs would cover six or seven day's a week between them and I would be up twenty hour's a day for around three day's a week. Also I would only take around two weeks ( separate ) off a year and I always only got sick on them two weeks. Could be wrong , but I am convinced that when I relaxed , so did my immune system.

 

[cb a1]

I do remember being told as a primary school child that I'd had three bouts of German Measles, now known as rubella, which as far as I can tell appears to be medically impossible

Apparently after I got German Measles (Rubella) for the 5th time (too young to remember), they worked out that it was actually an allergy to peniciilin.

 

[Bayum]

It’s likely that you will have had some form of illness which has either been so insignificant you’ve not noticed, or that you’ve only exhibited very mild symptoms that you’ve brushed off pretty quickly. You’re an adult, so a lot of the usual techniques to prevent illness are easier to adhere to - handwashing, practising good respiratory hygiene etc.

Similarly flu virtually never affects me, although strangely enough the two times I think I've had genuine flu have been in the same year as getting a vaccination, so as a consequence I don't bother now! A few years back both my partner and two kids got flu, which was confirmed through blood tests as it hospitalised my daughter, and gave the 'wife' secondary pneumonia and pleurisy but I had no symptoms.

The flu vaccination isn’t an absolute preventative, it’s designed to allow your body to mount a better response to flu should you be unlucky enough to acquire it. Indeed the complications your daughter and wife suffered are reasons that millions of people a year receive the vaccination for as the complications would be more likely to occur and more likely to hospitalise a significant number of people.

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which is an autoimmune disease, back in 2016. Since I started taking the medication for this (fortunately the British Society for Rheumatology Covid-19 guidance states that the medication I use gives me a score of "0" which means I am of no greater risk than anyone else). For about a year after taking this I don't ever recalling being ill as frequently; even managing to catch tonsillitis! Fortunately now I don't seem to be ill too often, although I recently had a consistent high temperature for a few days and was asleep on the sofa for almost three days, with a nasty cough for a week or so afterwards.

Where did you find the scoring system? I’ve had a(very) quick look on the website, but can’t find anything. Interestingly, I did find the patients for shielding identifier (https://www.rheumatology.org.uk/Por...patients_220320.pdf?ver=2020-03-24-171132-407) which confuses me greatly. Are the patients in the second group final example only on either a single immunosuppressant? When it mentions MRX or single biologic, does that mean completely separately - just one or the other? It does mention ‘single regimen’, so I might be reading it incorrectly.
I’m shielding regardless as any combination of drugs would put me in the highest category, but it’d be interesting to see what score I’d get.

My mum and sister are interesting with regards to getting ill. Both are only poorly very very rarely, but when they get poorly, they’re poorly; bedridden, very high fevers etc.

 

[Mojo]

Where did you find the scoring system? I’ve had a(very) quick look on the website, but can’t find anything. Interestingly, I did find the patients for shielding identifier (https://www.rheumatology.org.uk/Por...patients_220320.pdf?ver=2020-03-24-171132-407) which confuses me greatly. Are the patients in the second group final example only on either a single immunosuppressant? When it mentions MRX or single biologic, does that mean completely separately - just one or the other? It does mention ‘single regimen’, so I might be reading it incorrectly.
I’m shielding regardless as any combination of drugs would put me in the highest category, but it’d be interesting to see what score I’d get.

It was emailed to me by the hospital in answer to a totally unrelated question.

I have attached the PDF below. Let me know how you get on.

 

[Bayum]

It was emailed to me by the hospital in answer to a totally unrelated question.

I have attached the PDF below. Let me know how you get on.

I got 5

the rheumatology centre for Leeds gave us a flow chart to follow. No matter what or how I changed things I ended up in the same category. Oh well! It’s keeping me and many others safe.

 

[Busaholic]

Apparently after I got German Measles (Rubella) for the 5th time (too young to remember), they worked out that it was actually an allergy to peniciilin.

Now, that figures. My sister has an allergy to penicillin. In my own case, when asked if I have allergies to any drugs I answer 'not as far as I know' or, more often, 'no.' On the other hand, no antibiotic has ever had the slightest effect on me, for good or ill, and I've turned them down in the few times in the last twenty years when I've been offered them. More worringly, after a hernia operation when I stayed in hospital overnight and was given morphine it had not the slightest effect and I was screaming in agony, such that the nurse on duty had to be given special permission to administer another dose!

 

[Comstock]

I've only ever had something I could possibly describe as 'proper flu' once, aged 20 when I was seriously abusing my body with booze and late nights in smokey clubs.

Since then I've had the odd cold, usually mild and a couple of bouts of 'man flu' requiring a couple of days max off work.

I've also been free of tummy bugs for a good few years, so I'm lucky in than respect...

Mental health....however....hmmm.....

 

[Tracked]

Had a really bad cold/flu in the late 90's, proper struggling to get up thing, but since then I maybe get a bit of a cold a couple of times a year. I've worked in a couple of large offices with what seems to be the usual awful air-conditioning, and until recently have been getting the train to work - I think I've had more slight colds since starting doing that.

Nothing this year though, usually have in Jan/Feb and it was only late Feb that work started putting out the hand sanitiser. A couple of people sat right next to me had really bad colds at the end of January, both had a few days off at the worst point and came back in still full of it for a couple of weeks afterwards (we did wonder if it was Corona). It was right before I had a week off, I was expecting to get it given both of them had been sat within 2/3 metres of me, but in the end I missed that one.

 

[Crossover]

I suspect there are a few things that play a part. I guess I, too, have been fortunate and usually the worst I get is a cold every now and again and it is rare that I have been laid up for any length of time in the memorable past. That said, I don't rest on my laurels and, particularly at times of higher stress anxiety (which has happened a few times in the last two to three years, for various reasons) I am probably hyper-aware of everything I feel!

 

[jumble]

I too had my tonsils removed about 50 years ago which thankfully was the last time I was admitted to a hospital
I have not had a day in bed in about 10 years
I put it down to having worked outside for years, no smoking, no drugs and effectively no drinking and most importantly very long walks with my cocker spaniel
I am married to a Practice Nurse and regularly work in the same type of environment as Yorkie does.

 

[philthetube]

Good sleep patterns, healthy diet, exercise and generally looking after your body help.

Central heating and air conditioning definitely have the opposite effect.