Your immune system includes organs, lymph nodes, bone marrow, white blood cells, proteins, and other hormones. Its job is to ward off bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses that could make you sick.
But sometimes your immune system can't do its job well enough to stop or prevent illness or infection. If you're always getting sick or notice that you simply're getting infection after infection, here's what you must know.
Sometimes repeated infections are obvious. For example, should you always suffer from urinary tract infections, you realize that your body is having difficulty fighting the infection. But sometimes repeated infections should not so clear-cut.
You is likely to be coping with them if you've gotten had:
- A chilly or flu that seems to go away, only to reappear per week to a number of weeks later.
- More than one bout of shingles, a painful rash attributable to the varicella-zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox. If you've gotten chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. Shingles could cause rashes in areas of the body where the virus flares up because your immune system will not be as strong.
- Recurrent pneumonia. That's if you've had pneumonia – a serious lower respiratory infection – and recovered from it, and you then get it again a month or more after it clears up.
- Regular fungal or yeast infections. If medication helped you do away with vaginal yeast infections or fungal infections in your nails or feet, but they got here back a number of weeks or months later, your immune system might be unable to clear the infection out of your system.
Several circumstances or conditions can result in repeated infections, including:
lack of sleep. While you sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines that help fight infection and inflammation. If you don't get enough sleep or the sleep isn't of top quality, your body produces fewer infection-fighting cells and antibodies. This increases the likelihood that you're going to contract a virus. Additionally, once you're sick, it is going to be tougher so that you can get better again.
Smoke. Lighting up suppresses your immune system. It also causes changes to your lungs and respiratory system that make you more more likely to get sick and for this illness to turn into more serious.
alcohol Misus. Drinking an excessive amount of can weaken your immune system. Your immune cells then not work as well and there could also be fewer of them. Even a single attack can temporarily weaken your immune system.
Don't wash your hands. Failure to clean after using the bathroom or before touching your nose and mouth can result in repeat infections. This is very true should you suffer from frequent colds or flu. It may appear to be you've gotten the identical infection, but you might be infected with different viruses. That's why it's vital to clean your hands with soap and water for not less than 20 seconds several times a day, especially before eating or touching your face.
Hereditary aspects. Some repeated infections, comparable to pneumonia and bladder infections, may occur because of a genetic predisposition. This is an innate tendency to get more infections than most individuals.
Structural problems. Due to the composition of your body, it's possible you'll also experience repeated infections. For example, an abnormally shaped urinary tract can increase susceptibility to infections.
Antibiotics. The use of antibiotics could make bacteria more proof against them, especially if antibiotics are used excessively or improperly.
diabetes. This could make things like vaginal yeast infections more likely. That's because high blood sugar makes it easier for yeast to connect to your vaginal cells. High blood sugar also causes other changes in your body. For example, it slows your blood flow and prevents your nerves from functioning optimally. This can increase the susceptibility to repeated infections, especially on the feet and other areas.
Immune disorders (Doctors may call them immunodeficiency diseases) and autoimmune diseases. There are greater than 300 immune diseases. The most typical include B cell and T cell deficiencies. With autoimmune diseases, your body mistakenly attacks its own tissues. This makes it harder to your body to fight infections. The most typical autoimmune diseases include type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Multiple myeloma. This is a form of cancer that affects the plasma cells in your bone marrow. Plasma cells produce antibodies that help your body fight infections. When you've gotten multiple myeloma, your body produces abnormal plasma cells that make it harder to your body to fight infections.
Multiple myeloma is rare and will not be normally the reason for repeated infections.
If you've had multiple infection prior to now few months, consult with your doctor to seek out out what may help clear up.