Myth - you need a strong immune system to beat a cold

Esperahol

Active Member
The idea is that you need a stronger immune system to beat a cold, but in fact like allergies colds are simply the immune system spazzing out. In fact at least a fourth of the population has no colds at all there entire life and that is with the over 200 viruses out there labeled under the title cold. So the question then becomes - should a person be gobbling down immunoboosters?
 

shaunche

Member
I consider myself to be healthier than most people and I haven't had a cold for over a decade now. The people I work with who are always suffering from a 'cold' are generally unhealthy and have a weak immune system. Bacteria and bugs etc will be easily defeated by a strong immune system.
 

Waynefire

Member
I have to say this is bunk. I worked in the medical field for a while and the people were always sick with a weak immune sustem. So I know the stronger immune system works really well.
 

Esperahol

Active Member
I have to say this is bunk. I worked in the medical field for a while and the people were always sick with a weak immune sustem. So I know the stronger immune system works really well.
You were a doctor? One who saw every patient? I mean you are saying this like you know everything a person might have as well as the general state of their immune system. How do you know they didn't have a robust system - one so robust it was overreacting to every little virus?
 

Waynefire

Member
I was an Emergency Room Technician for 3 years and a paramedic for 6 years. I was exposed to quite a bit and in my own experience and familiarity with the patients who I took care of on a regular basis it was the state of their immune system.
 

Esperahol

Active Member
I was an Emergency Room Technician for 3 years and a paramedic for 6 years. I was exposed to quite a bit and in my own experience and familiarity with the patients who I took care of on a regular basis it was the state of their immune system.
So you were an ERT and an EMT? So you dealt with cases that were of an acute nature. Again that doesn't make my information bunk (especially since I can pull up scientific data to back it), it just means that you were dealing with a particular subset of patients. It'd be like saying that of course the sun orbits the earth, because when you go out side there the sun is moving through the sky.
 

xenon

Member
A few months back I got a cold when I was doing a market stall. I was tired and felt run down. Someone at the market coughed directly at me and 2 days later I was ill for 12 days. I recovered enough and visited a doctors surgery for an unrelated problem. Someone waiting at the surgery coughed a lot from across the room directly at me. I thought I was immuned as I already had something days before. How wrong I was. Two days later I came down with what felt like another flu for another 12 days.
Both occasions I was run down. I took bulk vitamin C, echinacea and handfuls of other things. From this experience I lost faith in these kind of remedies.
Now if everyone took more care in not spreading their illness :mad: then maybe we would have a healthier population.:)
 

shaunche

Member
A strong and robust immune system will deal with harmful bacteria. A weak immune system will struggle to neutralize the bacteria. The immune system is our bodies self-defense against pathogens etc.

I wouldn't take immune system 'boosters', a healthy lifestyle will promote a robust immune system.
 

Laurasav

Member
I've always had a weak immune system. My husband likes to tease me that it's from probable inbreeding from the English aristocracy genes in my family. :rolleyes:
I'm with xenon, if only the public took more caution and care from spreading their illnesses to the rest of us trying to stay healthy, we'd be better off! I hate when people are out in public and sick, or who don't cover their mouths when coughing or shielding their sneezes! Grrrrr!!!
I think immune systems have a lot to do with who gets sick and who doesn't. When I'm sick, I'm on death's doorstep for a good 3 weeks. Something that anyone else is over quickly with takes me triple the time to get over.
 

mudrock

New Member
I feel like it may be a myth to me. I may get really sick with a high fever probably ever 2 to 3 years. I occasionally will cycle off of vitamin c tablets and other vitamins just to make sure I stay healthy and my immune system stays fine. I don't get too many colds and I never get flu shots.
 
I personally don't think they should. I also feel people shouldn't be getting all these flu and virus shots that are always being offered. Although this might be a bit out of a reach, who's to say the government themselves aren't creating some sort of virus for us to pay back into the system for the shot or cure?
 

lettuce

Member
People who get colds a lot don't necessarily just have poor immune systems; they could have poor hygiene habits. Even with the best hygiene in the world, you will still get sick from time to time, and it has nothing to do with a weak immune system.
 

meowcow

Member
I never thought about it that way, that the population might just be lumping everything together as a cold. I still do believe that a good immune system could fight almost everything though. But I never really believed in the immune boosters because I just believe in natural ways like staying healthy by eating right and exercising. And if we get sick, then we get sick because that's just a part of life. :)
 

shaunche

Member
People who get colds a lot don't necessarily just have poor immune systems; they could have poor hygiene habits. Even with the best hygiene in the world, you will still get sick from time to time, and it has nothing to do with a weak immune system.
Obsession with hygiene is part of the problem. The bacteria strengthen our immune system. Sanitizing everything in sight will prevent our bodies from being exposed to the bacteria we need. It will make your immune system ultra-sensitive.
 

writer811

Member
I agree with Esperahol as I've read the same information. It only applies to the common cold, and it makes sense. Things like the flu, or strep throat or things like that still need a strong immune system.
 
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