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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Why do I get sick so much?
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
OK, this is meant as a heavenly topic, not a debate or rant.
Since I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from Detroit, I get sick a LOT more (used to be one cold or flu every couple of years; now it's 3-4 per year). My theory is that it's down to one or both of two things: First, the population density is greater here; second, I ride public transit here whereas back home I owned a car. I can't help but wonder if one of those factors is more relevant than the other. For me, they go together. I'd have to either start driving a car here, or live in Detroit again but take public transit, in order to see if the population density has any effect.
I'm curious if anyone else here has noticed similar trends. Did you, for example, stop or start taking public transit and notice a difference in how often you get sick? Or some other factor - moving to a new place, getting a different job and being around children more, etc.?
Maybe we can uncover some trends in a very unscientific, anecdotal way. Who knows, maybe we can devise clever or crazy experiments to test our theories! Or at least we can commiserate.
Serious and silly posts are equally welcome here.
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
(For Doctor Who fans)
And...my brand new poetry blog
Posts: 6933 | From: Detroit, but currently in San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: Feb 2004
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jacobsen
seeker
# 14998
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Posted
what's the comparative air pollution?
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But God, holding a candle, looks for all who wander, all who search. - Shifra Alon
Beauty fades, dumb is forever-Judge Judy
The man who made time, made plenty.
Posts: 5246 | From: Æbleskiver country | Registered: Aug 2009
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
Hmm, I don't know. I do have asthma. I haven't noticed either place to be significantly more polluted, but you probably can't always detect such things...
It's funny because if anything you might expect the weather extremes in Detroit to make you sick more than the generally mild weather we have here in the "East Bay" where I live (that's significant because the fog that keeps SF so damp and cold sometimes burns off before it can arrive here in Oakland).
I really suspect the public transportation, though - it sort of seals you up inside an enclosed space with lots of people, different people each ride you take. Lots of chances to be exposed to stuff, I would think! I wonder if any studies have been done comparing the frequency of colds &/or flu in people who ride the bus v. people who drive their own car in the same city (so all other factors will be fairly even given a large enough sample).
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
(For Doctor Who fans)
And...my brand new poetry blog
Posts: 6933 | From: Detroit, but currently in San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: Feb 2004
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Viola
Administrator
# 20
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Posted
It's other people that are the problem. I work with children. Children who have no qualms at all about wiping their nose on my hand/ trouser leg/ violin. For the first few years of teaching, I had every cold going. Every holiday and half term break started with the scratchy throat of doom. Then it settled down. That famous 'teacher-immunity' kicked in. Hurrah!
Then I moved area and the whole process started all over again. I reckon I've got about another 3 terms of regular colds until I build up immunity to the local germs.
But then - I now teach in posher schools where the kids all go on exotic holidays and bring back exotic foreign bugs, so maybe it's never-ending now...
My father blames my hometown for his regular colds. He moved there as a student, married my mother, so is still a newcomer at only 55 years in. He blames the valley location - apparently all the germs come down from the hills and can't climb back out again.
Get yourself some of that hand sanitiser gel that the hospitals recommend. I have bottles of it in the car, teaching bag, instrument case... Don't know if it works, but it at least feels as though you're making an effort to ward off other people's snot.
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"If ye love me, keep my commandments" John 14:15
"Commandment number one: shut the hell up." Erin Etheredge 1971-2010
Posts: 4318 | From: West of England | Registered: May 2001
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Viola
Administrator
# 20
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Posted
Oh - and I usually get a cold after a plane trip, so I reckon there's something in that sealed transport + recycled air theory.
Either that or it's everyone's foreign germs again.
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"If ye love me, keep my commandments" John 14:15
"Commandment number one: shut the hell up." Erin Etheredge 1971-2010
Posts: 4318 | From: West of England | Registered: May 2001
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PeteC
Loyaute me lie
# 10422
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Viola:
Oh - and I usually get a cold after a plane trip, so I reckon there's something in that sealed transport + recycled air theory.
Either that or it's everyone's foreign germs again.
I usually get some sort of bug within a week of landing chez Wodders ![[Waterworks]](graemlins/bawling.gif)
Posts: 18040 | Registered: Sep 2005
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Jengie Jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
Autumn term going to and from Birmingham I have had a cold after every trip. My theory is that it using public transport coupled with temperature changes that are involved in doing so.
The most effective thing short of wearing a face mask isn't the sanitiser gel, but just occasionally you can find anti-viral spray for on your hands, used regularly on the train it sometimes allows me to avoid some colds but I have to use it before I make contact with the germs. Sanitiser you use before you eat, drink or bring your hands in contact with your face for other reasons. Oh and I also dress for the coldest situation, and layer.
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
my blog and thesis progress
Posts: 17646 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Huia
Shipmate
# 3473
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Posted
I really agree with Viola on the use of hand sanitisers. I cycle or use public transport to get atound. Last winter swine flu was rampant here, so I used it freely and managed to avoid even my usual winter cold.
Huia
Posts: 6592 | From: Te Wai Pounamu | Registered: Oct 2002
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Cottontail
Shipmate
# 12234
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Posted
New place, new germs. In my first year of teaching in a whole new part of the country, I survived the first term unscathed. But by the second term I was worn down, and it was winter, and the bugs all came and got me all at once. I had three seriously nasty colds AND a flu, which all segued into one another, so that I was ill for a total of 8 weeks with only a couple of days in between. The start of the flu coincided with a school inspection, and the inspector actually sent me home!
Most of my illnesses I now get from my mother who, good Christian that she is, will insist on visiting sick people. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
(After she gave me a flu which developed on the plane to the US, I actually banned her from visiting a sick friend before I travelled the next time. If traveling to the US with the flu was bad enough, flying to Germany with D & V would have been a whole lot worse.)
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"All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies. And whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first, they must catch you ..."
Posts: 1766 | From: back home | Registered: Jan 2007
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Moo
Ship's tough old bird
# 107
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Posted
When my daughters were in school, they rode the school bus. In the first six weeks after school started every year, they came down with more ailments than they did for the whole rest of the year. The air on school buses is full of germs, and until their immune systems got used to it, they were sick a lot.
Moo
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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.
Posts: 16788 | From: Alleghany Mountains of Virginia | Registered: May 2001
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Zappa
Ship's Wake
# 8433
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Viola:
Oh - and I usually get a cold after a plane trip, so I reckon there's something in that sealed transport + recycled air theory.
Definitely. I rarely encounter recycled air, but knew as I went to and returned from OZ last week that I would catch something. I have. Fortunately my antibodies are, it seems, pretty tough and are fighting back, so it's never been more than a sniffy nose and an achy breaky throat.
Though I have a theory, too, that chlorine kills bugs. I swim. I rarely catch bugs. The last two weeks I haven't been able to get to the pool much, and the bugs gathered on the plane have attempted to sneak up on me. Kill the bastards, antibodies, kill 'em!
Muahahaha!
[ 07. June 2010, 23:03: Message edited by: Zappa ]
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sermons are back in fashion
Posts: 16528 | From: top dead centre | Registered: Sep 2004
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ErinBear
Shipmate
# 13173
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Posted
Hi Churchgeek,
Like you, I live in the Bay Area also, and I ride public transportation a great deal. I make it a point to wash my hands immediately when I get off the bus or the BART train (whatever form of public transit I'm on). That's my first task! I do it before I do anything else. I think that has done a lot to help me stay healthier.
I wonder about another thing. I know you mentioned asthma. Do you also suffer from allergies? Moving to another area would expose you to a whole different assortment of allergens, and that might stress your system as well. The Bay Area has a longer active allergy season than much of the rest of the country since our "winter" is so much shorter. That might be something to take into consideration too. If you do have allergies and you plan to stay here for awhile, you might consult your physician about it as there are various helpful treatments available.
Blessings,
ErinBear
Posts: 1783 | From: California, USA | Registered: Nov 2007
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ErinBear:
Hi Churchgeek,
Like you, I live in the Bay Area also, and I ride public transportation a great deal. I make it a point to wash my hands immediately when I get off the bus or the BART train (whatever form of public transit I'm on). That's my first task! I do it before I do anything else. I think that has done a lot to help me stay healthier.
I wonder about another thing. I know you mentioned asthma. Do you also suffer from allergies? Moving to another area would expose you to a whole different assortment of allergens, and that might stress your system as well. The Bay Area has a longer active allergy season than much of the rest of the country since our "winter" is so much shorter. That might be something to take into consideration too. If you do have allergies and you plan to stay here for awhile, you might consult your physician about it as there are various helpful treatments available.
Blessings,
ErinBear
Yes - I do, and this has been a terrible year so far for allergies. Last weekend, I was struggling with allergies; this weekend, I thought it was allergies again but turns out it's a cold. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I also wash my hands first thing after using public transit.
I don't tend to use the sanitizer gel because they're mostly alcohol and I have really bad eczema on my hands. The auto-immune gods really don't like me! ![[Razz]](tongue.gif) Last year, I also discovered I have alopecia areata, but thankfully it only seems to appear in years when I am awarded an academic degree. (I had a small bald patch in '93 when I graduated from college, but at the time I blamed it on hair dye. Last year, when I got my MA, I got a larger patch and a diagnosis. And a couple of hats! I'm working on my PhD now...) I wonder how many more auto-immune disorders I have to collect before I win a bingo. And I wonder what the prize is?
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
(For Doctor Who fans)
And...my brand new poetry blog
Posts: 6933 | From: Detroit, but currently in San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: Feb 2004
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Welease Woderwick
Ship's Feckless Layabout
# 10424
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Posted
Vitamin C
Lots and lots of Vitamin C, on a daily basis - at least 500 mg per day.
It works for me.
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
I love talking about nothing. It's the only thing I know anything about. - Oscar Wilde
May the rainbow always touch your shoulder.
Posts: 34916 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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piglet
Shipmate
# 11803
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Posted
I'll certainly go along with the new place/new bug theory - I had a couple of fairly nasty colds when we moved to Northern Ireland (I worked at a local college), and then had hardly any for the next 14 years. Since we moved here, I've had a few more; as I'm not working (and not mixing regularly with such a wide circle of people) it may be taking me longer to build up immunity.
I also agree with the aeroplane theory - I frequently get a cold when I've crossed the Pond.
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Elspeth
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alto n a soprano who can read music.
You can talk to God in any language, but He prefers Latin or Cranmer's matchless prose.
Posts: 8190 | From: St. John's, Newfoundland | Registered: Sep 2006
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
As Erin Bear said, wash your hands. Anti- viral, anti-biotic, alcohol, may not kill whatever is on your hands. Thorough washing removes the nasty beasties. Careful touching your eyes, mouth or nose until you do.
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Minds are like parachutes. Just because you've lost yours doesn't mean you can borrow mine.
Despair.com
Posts: 5951 | Registered: Dec 2008
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by piglet:
I'll certainly go along with the new place/new bug theory - I had a couple of fairly nasty colds when we moved to Northern Ireland (I worked at a local college), and then had hardly any for the next 14 years. Since we moved here, I've had a few more; as I'm not working (and not mixing regularly with such a wide circle of people) it may be taking me longer to build up immunity.
I also agree with the aeroplane theory - I frequently get a cold when I've crossed the Pond.
There must be a LOT of bugs here, then - maybe tourists bring them? I've lived here 5 years now.
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
(For Doctor Who fans)
And...my brand new poetry blog
Posts: 6933 | From: Detroit, but currently in San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: Feb 2004
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Japes
Shipmate
# 5358
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Posted
For the last year, I've travelled by train and bus almost every day, work in a large educational establishment, and have never been healthier. The previous year, when I was new on the job, but only on a once or twice a week basis, and lived in a more restricted environment, I caught everything going, and had the worst flu ever.
I'm putting this year's improvements down to several facts. I'm eating much, much more healthily than I was the previous year, I'm much happier, and I've built up an immunity!
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Blog
Posts: 1521 | From: Somewhere in the middle | Registered: Dec 2003
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infinite_monkey
Shipmate
# 11333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
Vitamin C
Lots and lots of Vitamin C, on a daily basis - at least 500 mg per day.
It works for me.
Buy that Emergen-ce stuff at your local drugstore. One a day, every day. I work with some of the less hygienic children imaginable (we're talking one needs a behavior plan for attacking others with boogers...) and I almost never get sick now that I use it.
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His light was lifted just above the Law,
And now we have to live with what we did with what we saw.
--Dar Williams, And a God Descended
Obligatory Blog Flog: www.otherteacher.wordpress.com
Posts: 1357 | From: left coast united states | Registered: Apr 2006
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Alfred E. Neuman
What? Me worry?
# 6855
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Posted
Agree, infinite_monkey. That stuff is pretty potent, though I haven't used it since living in Alaska. My theory suggests close proximity to thousands of strangers over years of exposure builds up your resistance to most viral infections. I haven't had a cold or flu since the mid-70's and it's not because of any particularly healthy lifestyle habits. I've made six airline flights in the last year and the worst effect is dry nose from high-altitude air.
Maybe it's the high levels of blood in my alcohol stream.
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--Formerly: Gort--
Posts: 12954 | Registered: May 2004
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Daffy Duck
Shipmate
# 13488
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Viola:
Get yourself some of that hand sanitiser gel that the hospitals recommend. I have bottles of it in the car, teaching bag, instrument case... Don't know if it works, but it at least feels as though you're making an effort to ward off other people's snot.
Colds for me are a fact of life. I pick one up in late Autumn, (fall), and that sees me through the winter. I just go with it and wipe me nose when necessary. (Not on other people ![[Smile]](smile.gif) ) When I was young my dearly beloved mother always said you have to eat a peck of dirt before you die, and as that was a tenet of our lives I developed an immunity to most common bugs, and some less common farm bugs.
I suspect many people re so protected now, from the world of germs, that they lack the immunity to shrug off the various infections that surround us. Sanitiser Gel? You can keep it, I've better things to do with my money than make pharmaceutical companies rich.
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Arohanui
Jayne( in aroha, hope and Faith ) nz
mailto:enyaj@xtra.co.nz
Posts: 259 | From: Gore, NZ | Registered: Mar 2008
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Yorick
Infinite Jester
# 12169
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Daffy Duck:
Colds for me are a fact of life.
...Sanitiser Gel? You can keep it, I've better things to do with my money than make pharmaceutical companies rich.
Uh huh. See any connection here?
Keeping your hands clean significantly reduces the probability of your contracting a viral infection. Alcohol gel works (but not if you drink it, Gort).
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این نیز بگذرد
Posts: 7027 | From: Natural Sources | Registered: Dec 2006
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Yorick:
Alcohol gel works (but not if you drink it, Gort).
Whiskey, applied internally, cures everything (either that or baking soda. Ah, folk medicine).
DD, if you don't want to pay Big Pharma, then carry a bottle of water and a few wipes. That saw me through China and some of the worst latrines in the universe.
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Renoir with needles.
Posts: 12351 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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ErinBear
Shipmate
# 13173
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Posted
Hi again Churchgeek,
I'm so sorry to hear of your alopecia; I have heard that can be very difficult to deal with, although I'm glad it has only been occasional and limited. Auto-immune problems are really difficult. I have some too and my heart goes out to you.
In terms of the allergies, it's been a terrible year for them here in the Bay Area (and many other parts of the country too). I know so many people who have really struggled this year. I am also an allergy sufferer and take a year-round prescription nasal inhaler. It has really worked wonders for me and is very simple to use. I think it has also helped me to be healthier in general. Most years, I never catch a cold or virus at all. I don't have a car and ride the bus for transportation where I live. I'm very careful to wash my hands right away when I get home, as I said, and to keep my hands away from my face and such when I'm out on errands.
I'm with you on the sanitizer gel - it is horribly drying! I do keep a tiny bottle with me and have used it extremely rarely in emergencies (like a state park restroom with no running water), but by and large I just use soap and water - it seems to work the best for me and certainly is easier on my hands!
Blessings,
ErinBear
Posts: 1783 | From: California, USA | Registered: Nov 2007
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Ye Olde Motherboarde
Ship's Mother and Singing Quilter
# 54
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Posted
When we travel in California, I always have an allergy attack. Sand Diego had me down for the count last year. YIKES! Too much of strange pollen thingies! In Monterey, a couple of months ago, I was living in the hotel room with a cold.
I visited a nutritionist and did some blood tests to see what vitamins and minerals that I lacked, and what I needed to build my immune system. This might be something to do.
I also am a big believer in Emergen-C and before I get on a plane, I take "Airborne".
I also have anti-allergen covers on the mattress and pillows. I try to keep the dust down and the clutter at a minimum in the house. But we have 2 dogs, so they bring in heaven knows what, I seem to be always brushing, sweeping or cleaning up after someone or something.
I also believe in the hand washing.
And, I think that the Japanese have the right idea by using surgical masks. I wouldn't care what people would think of me with masks and cleanliness routines, I'd rather be healthy. That is the most important thing to have is good health.
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13 + years and counting on SOF!
In Memory of Miss Molly, TimC, Gambit, KenWritez, koheleth, Leetle Masha, JLG, Genevieve and Erin. :tear:
Proud Member of the STEELER NATION
Posts: 4051 | From: The Desert Diva is in the garden planting | Registered: May 2001
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LutheranChik
Shipmate
# 9826
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Posted
I know that after I quit my job I quit getting upper respiratory infections -- I've gotten maybe one since my departure from my office, as opposed to about one every other month I don't know if that's entirely a function of proximity to others (we worked in close quarters, with a lot of recirculated air and a fair number of employees with germy small children who'd catch illnesses from them and then spread them around at work), or if it also has something to do with my profound unhappiness at work.
If you lead a more amped-up lifestyle, you may also be adding extra stress to your system. My new doctor, after noting my medical history and some of my current issues with fatigue and anxiety, suggested that I may be stressing/overstimulating my adrenal glands by a number of lifestyle habits -- too much caffeine; not managing my anxiety; poor diet and exercise habits. She said it was the equivalent of flooding a gas tank until the vehicle can't run. She has me on a programme that includes no caffeine and stress-reduction practices. Anyway, poor immune response can be a symptom, she says, of adrenal stress.
Posts: 5836 | From: rural Michigan, USA | Registered: Jul 2005
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Leaf
Shipmate
# 14169
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Posted
churchgeek: There are so many millions of variables between your life in Detroit and in SF that you couldn't possibly control for all of them. Differences in soil, plant life and allergens, humidity, insects, building materials, industrial pollution... who knows? Any one of those, along with using public transit regularly, could be tripping off your immune system.
IANAD but it seems like taking vitamin C to strengthen your immune system seems like a good idea.
For your hands, if I may suggest something from my own cracked-and-bleeding hand eczema experience, I would totally recommend medical-grade lanolin. It's sold to nursing mothers (this sort of thing)
and is completely safe and natural. The fact that babies can ingest it while nursing says something about it! Just before bed, get two pieces of plastic wrap ready, schmear your hands, wrap them in plastic, put mitts over the plastic, and go to sleep. In the morning your hands will be stunningly soft. If you learn nothing else from the Internet, go thou and do this.
Posts: 2335 | From: the electrical field | Registered: Oct 2008
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St. Gwladys
Shipmate
# 14504
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Posted
Don't know about colds, but I find I get some digestive problems when I visit an area with a different water type to where we live. Darllenwr gets problems with diabetic control.
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"I say - are you a matelot?"
"Careful what you say sir, we're on board ship here"
From "New York Girls", Steeleye Span, Commoners Crown (Voiced by Peter Sellers)
Posts: 2246 | From: Rhymney Valley, South Wales | Registered: Jan 2009
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Leaf:
Just before bed, get two pieces of plastic wrap ready, schmear your hands, wrap them in plastic, put mitts over the plastic, and go to sleep. In the morning your hands will be stunningly soft.
Can I also recommend the disposable gloves used in catering? (you get 'em in Costco). I wear them for all cooking and housework-type tasks, and under gardening gloves. As Leaf says, it magnifies the effect if you apply your normal handcream first (and saves that boring bit of sitting about waiting for it to be absorbed).
[ 08. June 2010, 18:42: Message edited by: Firenze ]
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Renoir with needles.
Posts: 12351 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Leaf
Shipmate
# 14169
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Can I also recommend the disposable gloves used in catering?
Even better.
Posts: 2335 | From: the electrical field | Registered: Oct 2008
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Quinine
Shipmate
# 1668
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
I really suspect the public transportation, though - it sort of seals you up inside an enclosed space with lots of people, different people each ride you take. Lots of chances to be exposed to stuff, I would think! I wonder if any studies have been done comparing the frequency of colds &/or flu in people who ride the bus v. people who drive their own car in the same city (so all other factors will be fairly even given a large enough sample).
In the UK last year there was an internet based self-reporting survey, which I took part in, which was intended to track symptom patterns in case the swine flu epidemic materialized. Fortunately that scenario didn't arise, but they did collect a fair amount of information on the way. As far as I remember, the results showed that there was no significant correlation between experience of flu-like symptoms and use of public transport - but there was between flu-like symptoms and contact with children.
If you want to check the link:
UK Flu Survey
Posts: 240 | From: In a fen | Registered: Nov 2001
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Leaf:
churchgeek: There are so many millions of variables between your life in Detroit and in SF that you couldn't possibly control for all of them. Differences in soil, plant life and allergens, humidity, insects, building materials, industrial pollution... who knows? Any one of those, along with using public transit regularly, could be tripping off your immune system.
IANAD but it seems like taking vitamin C to strengthen your immune system seems like a good idea.
For your hands, if I may suggest something from my own cracked-and-bleeding hand eczema experience, I would totally recommend medical-grade lanolin. It's sold to nursing mothers (this sort of thing)
and is completely safe and natural. The fact that babies can ingest it while nursing says something about it! Just before bed, get two pieces of plastic wrap ready, schmear your hands, wrap them in plastic, put mitts over the plastic, and go to sleep. In the morning your hands will be stunningly soft. If you learn nothing else from the Internet, go thou and do this.
Thanks, I'll try to find some lanolin lotion. I've found some decent lotions, including Rx (betamethasone), Sarna, and this new cortisone lotion for eczema. I use plastic gloves overnight with them when my hands are in really bad shape. A dermatologist told me to put plastic baggies over my hands with rubber bands, but I thought, why not just plastic gloves? They're harder to find nowadays, though - mostly you just find latex gloves. I have to check at a foodservice outlet.
It doesn't help that I'm really quite allergic to my cat, and since moving out here, I live in a studio apartment, so I can't keep my cat off my bed - in fact, she spends more time in it than I do. I have allergy casing over the mattress and pillows, and wash the bedding very frequently. I'm sure that allergy is a huge factor, though. I noticed pretty quickly upon moving here that it has affected my asthma (lung inflammation) - for example, when I'm singing, I run out of air before I should.
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
(For Doctor Who fans)
And...my brand new poetry blog
Posts: 6933 | From: Detroit, but currently in San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: Feb 2004
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churchgeek
Have candles, will pray
# 5557
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Quinine:
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
I really suspect the public transportation, though - it sort of seals you up inside an enclosed space with lots of people, different people each ride you take. Lots of chances to be exposed to stuff, I would think! I wonder if any studies have been done comparing the frequency of colds &/or flu in people who ride the bus v. people who drive their own car in the same city (so all other factors will be fairly even given a large enough sample).
In the UK last year there was an internet based self-reporting survey, which I took part in, which was intended to track symptom patterns in case the swine flu epidemic materialized. Fortunately that scenario didn't arise, but they did collect a fair amount of information on the way. As far as I remember, the results showed that there was no significant correlation between experience of flu-like symptoms and use of public transport - but there was between flu-like symptoms and contact with children.
If you want to check the link:
UK Flu Survey
Well, that's good. I know it's not exactly a double-blind test, but I hope it's true. I'd hate for fear of illness to keep people from using public transit. I'm personally in favor of public things - not just for the sake of reducing emissions, but for the sake of people interacting with each other in the "public square." Of course, we don't - everybody's got an iPod or is talking on the phone or doing something on their laptop or reading a book, but still...
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I reserve the right to change my mind.
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And...my brand new poetry blog
Posts: 6933 | From: Detroit, but currently in San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: Feb 2004
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Leaf
Shipmate
# 14169
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
Thanks, I'll try to find some lanolin lotion.
If I may be persnickety, don't just buy anything with lanolin in it. Some crappy lotions have a little bit of lanolin and a lot of filler and perfume. Get the real purified stuff: Lansinoh is one brand name, but other companies put out no-name versions of medical-grade lanolin.
quote:
A dermatologist told me to put plastic baggies over my hands with rubber bands
I'd be nervous about rubber bands; if they were too tight, your hands would swell. Eww.
quote:
It doesn't help that I'm really quite allergic to my cat
Holy catfish, Batman. There's your problem right there.
Posts: 2335 | From: the electrical field | Registered: Oct 2008
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jedijudy
Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by PeteC:
I usually get some sort of bug within a week of landing chez Wodders
quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
Vitamin C
Lots and lots of Vitamin C, on a daily basis - at least 500 mg per day.
It works for me.
Wodders, I think you should share!
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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.
Posts: 13986 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001
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AmyBo
Shipmate
# 15040
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Posted
churchgeek,
Get that cat allergy under control!
I had chronic sinus infections because I thought I had to suck it up and live with my seasonal allergies. It's more than that- it really wears you down. Get you some Claritin-like pill and take it daily. It'll help with the stuffy air problem people are mentioning, too.
& good luck in the new digs!
Posts: 83 | From: Minnesota | Registered: Aug 2009
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Amazing Grace
High Church Protestant
# 95
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
quote:
Originally posted by piglet:
I'll certainly go along with the new place/new bug theory - I had a couple of fairly nasty colds when we moved to Northern Ireland (I worked at a local college), and then had hardly any for the next 14 years. Since we moved here, I've had a few more; as I'm not working (and not mixing regularly with such a wide circle of people) it may be taking me longer to build up immunity.
I also agree with the aeroplane theory - I frequently get a cold when I've crossed the Pond.
There must be a LOT of bugs here, then - maybe tourists bring them? I've lived here 5 years now.
Speaking of tourists, your workplace has a lot of them. I would think that as much a potential factor as BART.
Emergen-C is awesome and Trader Joe's has the best price.
Charlotte
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WTFWED? "Remember to always be yourself, unless you suck" - the Gator
Memory Eternal! Sheep 3, Phil the Wise Guy, and Jesus' Evil Twin in the SoF Nativity Play
Posts: 6536 | From: Sittin' by the dock of the [SF] bay | Registered: Jul 2003
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Firenze
Ordinary decent pagan
# 619
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Posted
Hostly Mantel on quote:
Originally posted by AmyBo:
Get you some Claritin-like pill and take it daily.
Usual caveat: only drink/ingest/roll around in stuff if your doctor agrees.
We are not a source of competent medical advice (though the dried frog worked for me!)
Firenze
Hostly Mantel off
[ 10. June 2010, 10:36: Message edited by: Firenze ]
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Renoir with needles.
Posts: 12351 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
FYI: Emergen-C is great stuff...unless you tend to an acidic stomach. I love it, but I can't have it (even massively diluted, and mixed with aloe vera).
There's a good, alcohol-free sanitizer called "Clean Well". It comes in at least 2 sizes of spray containers. The smallest one can fit in a pocket or purse. Since you're in the Bay Area, try Walgreen's. Many other stores carry it, too.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
That's very fascinating, in an NPR sort of way.--"Elementary"
Posts: 11511 | From: Somewhere, out there... | Registered: Oct 2001
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Jengie Jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
Uhm, don't use lanolin for eczema some eczema sufferers symptoms are actually made worse by it. In the UK there are treatments that are available without prescription, but if you suspect eczema perhaps the best advice is to talk to a pharmacist.
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
my blog and thesis progress
Posts: 17646 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Squibs
Shipmate
# 14408
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Posted
Some people leave visible residue on the trains and buses over here. I'm guessing it is no different with you.
Perhaps it has been mentioned before, but along with all the normal precautions of having a balanced diet and getting regular exercise etc. (I should be taking my own advice) it would be prudent to invest in a travel sized bottle of hand sanitizer for your post public transport adventures.
Posts: 1123 | From: Here, there and everywhere | Registered: Dec 2008
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Squibs
Shipmate
# 14408
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by AmyBo:
churchgeek,
Get that cat allergy under control!
I had chronic sinus infections because I thought I had to suck it up and live with my seasonal allergies. It's more than that- it really wears you down. Get you some Claritin-like pill and take it daily. It'll help with the stuffy air problem people are mentioning, too.
& good luck in the new digs!
Are you supposed to take such things daily? I can't imagine ingesting any pharmaceutical over sustained periods is good for your body.
Posts: 1123 | From: Here, there and everywhere | Registered: Dec 2008
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daisydaisy
Shipmate
# 12167
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Posted
(my apologies if this has already been raised - I didn't see it before but I might have missed it....)
What is your work environment, Churchgeek? When I worked in a large (between 100 and 200, depending on the day of the week) open plan office with no windows to open (air-con) I had a constant run of colds and flu, regardless of the time of year. Then I moved to a smaller (8 of us) office with windows to open and my health improved considerably, even though I commuted by train for a few months of that time. Now I work from home with the occasional visit to a huge (100 to 200) office and airline travel (flights of up to 3 hours, so admittedly quite short), and I haven't had more than the odd winter snuffle since then, not even after the flights.
Posts: 2709 | From: southern uk | Registered: Dec 2006
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Gracious rebel
Rainbow warrior
# 3523
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Posted
Flying back from Denver to London this week there were a family (American) just in front of us who had brought sanitiser spray onto the plane (in special tiny bottles that complies with liquid requiremnts in hand luggage) and as soon as they sat down, got them out and sprayed their arm rests, tv screens, tray tables etc. My husband and I thought they were being ridiculously paranoid, but reading this thread, maybe they were being sensible?
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Fancy a break beside the sea in Suffolk? Visit my website
Posts: 4220 | From: Suffolk UK | Registered: Nov 2002
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moron
Shipmate
# 206
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gracious rebel:
Flying back from Denver to London this week there were a family (American) just in front of us who had brought sanitiser spray onto the plane (in special tiny bottles that complies with liquid requiremnts in hand luggage) and as soon as they sat down, got them out and sprayed their arm rests, tv screens, tray tables etc. My husband and I thought they were being ridiculously paranoid, but reading this thread, maybe they were being sensible?
Who knows?
IMO you need to toughen up your immune system by subjecting it to as much crap as you can. <we need a 'nod' smiley here>
My process was MANY years in very busy retail stores; early on I got bugs fairly regularly but hardly ever now.
I stop just short of ingesting muck. ![[Paranoid]](graemlins/paranoid.gif)
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I'm saying this is the South. And we're proud of our crazy people. We don't hide them up in the attic. We bring 'em right down to the living room and show 'em off.
Posts: 4008 | From: Bentonville | Registered: May 2001
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Avila
Shipmate
# 15541
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Squibs:
]Are you supposed to take such things daily? I can't imagine ingesting any pharmaceutical over sustained periods is good for your body.
Long term use of many pharmaceuticals is keeping people alive!! (as host declaimer - unde Dr's advice)
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http://aweebleswonderings.blogspot.com/
Posts: 973 | From: west midlands | Registered: Mar 2010
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gracious rebel:
There were a family (American) just in front of us who had brought sanitiser spray onto the plane . . . and as soon as they sat down, got them out and sprayed their arm rests, tv screens, tray tables etc. My husband and I thought they were being ridiculously paranoid, but reading this thread, maybe they were being sensible?
I'd say they were being ridiculously paranoid. It almost makes you want to cough in their faces.
I've read that overuse of sanitizer spray, anti-bacterial diswashing liquids, etc. not only weakens your ability to build immunity against common environmental germs, but also encourages the rise of a new breed of germs that have successfully resisted such attempts to mitigate against them.
I can usually count on one good cold per winter -- last winter I actually had pneumonia -- but I can usually relate it to having done something foolish, such as rubbing my eyes after touching some public surface or visiting certain, erm, unsavory places.
Although you can't be alert to every reflexive habit, I think it's far better to observe, and teach your children to observe, common-sense sanitary precautions, such as never rubbing your eyes, always covering a cough or sneeze, trying to avoid being around people who are clearly suffering from colds, and -- most important of all, in my mind -- always washing your hands before eating, even (or especially) when eating out in public.
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I sometimes wonder whether the reason that puritanical religious types are so keen on marriage is their certain knowledge that it's the one way to make sure that people get the least amount of sex. – Louis de Bernières, A Partisan's Daughter
Posts: 7057 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
I dunno, but every single &*$(#&% time my family gets on a bloody airplane we get sick. Usually LC, but often the whole lot of us. And we're pretty healthy by and large.
We thought we had escaped for the first time in, oh, thirty trips? when we got back from Granddad's funeral. Ha. 24 hours later we're all down with fevers and diarrhea.
It's enough to make you want to bring a plastic bubble.
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Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 14306 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
Oops, the frequent sickie is the kid, not me.
Although I DID have fourteen bloody colds in my first year with never-mind company. Where, of course, I had no time off built up. So my ever-compassionate boss brought me up on disciplinary charges.
And THEN my darling Mr. Lamb went worker priest at a medical place the next year, and HE was constantly sick (and occasionally shared). More discipline. Because nobody's REALLY sick that much.
I just can't stand it.
Anybody know of a good muckhole I could roll in/ingest/smear on in order to never ever ever have a bug again?
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Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 14306 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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