My wife recently told me a stat that young kids get 8-10 viral illnesses per winter... I had to google and find out how many of those parents are expected to get from them... the answer was something like 40%. Pain.
My first year working in a daycare I was sick for so long I forgot what healthy felt like. The first day I felt healthy again I wandered around trying to figure out why I felt so amazing until a kid coughed directly into my face before tucking her little feverish forehead against my cheek and I realized I just wasn’t sick anymore.
It's my absolute least favorite human physical experience I've had thus far. Perhaps I'm fortunate in saying this, but fuck, it's really really bad.
When I worked retail, I lysoled the cash in the till every day because I knew dirty money was the fastest way for me to get norovirus. To some people that's overkill, but I think I hugely limited how many people on my staff got sick in doing so.
I thought disinfectant wasn’t enough for norovirus, that you need soap and water. Thought that applied to objects too. But I got my info from an emetophobe so maybe they were just paranoid?
This is true. It needs to be manually dislodged so you need soap and water to get through the lipid encapsulated membrane. For surfaces, hydrogen peroxide will kill it and so will bleach (not together obviously!)
it is correct some disinfectants arent enough, some are and then they usually say on the bottle that they also work against that virus.
Also, that virus can be aerosolized and get airborne if someone had symptoms, staying in the air for half an hour. So if you go into the same restroom someone used who has it you can catch it by inhaling it as well if you do not wear a mask, no matter how much you wash/disinfect your hands.
Norovirus is rampant in my son's middle school right now. The health aide said it looked like a war zone on Thursday (son was sick Thursday & Friday, I had it by Thursday evening). The nurse's office wasn't big enough for all the sick, puking kids so they used an empty classroom across the hall. She also ran out of the bags to vomit in by lunch, when my son got sick. Luckily he had a plastic bag from home to puke in, but I guess there were 3-4 kids puking in each trash can. They had 6 trash cans in the room and it wasn't enough. Over 50 kids went home Thursday.
Iv had the Australian version once thought I was going to die.couldn’t even drink water and slept next to the toilet for 3 or four days I lost count ..everything was a blur and all I could was sleep in short naps shit and vomit on repeat
That's actually terrifying to have go around, especially when kids have younger siblings at home. Norovirus is the type that forces hospitals to close neo/pediatric floors down.
My baby (and then me, then my husband, then both grandparents) got Norovirus FROM a pediatric unit in March. (We were there because breastfeeding/bottles did not work out and my baby would not gain weight.) They did not shut down, though. My baby was five months old and got pretty lucky: She puked a bit more than usually, had a bit of diarrhea and spiked a fever (102-103/38.5-40). The next day, she was doing well again. Me on the other hand...ugh. Don't remind me of it.
P.S.: Right now I have a stubborn cold she gave to everyone except her Grandma, and we haven't even started daycare/kindergarten yet (didn't get a spot+have the privilege of a flexible schedule and lots of help). Usually we all get sick when my toddler is sick, except for her Grandma/my MIL who weirdly prides herself on her "good immune system". She is a teacher, maybe she already caught all the current bugs in the past years.
Get the shingles vaccine as soon as you are able. I never got the chicken pox vaccine because I had them as a kid, and by the time the vaccine came out, cdc said I was just over the age limit anyway. Shingles are much, much worse. Instead of itching, it's severe pain. The possible complications are horrendous. I just got somewhat lucky they were only in one hip, and I got to the doctor soon enough that the antiviral worked. I am still under the age they will give me the shingles vaccine here in the US, but I still beg every time I go in to the doctor.
I got chicken pox out of nowhere at age 27. Never did figure out who I caught it from, hadn't been near anyone sick or even heard of anyone sick. I am the person that gave it to all three of my kids at the same time. That was fun.
Scariest part was I had been to a baby shower The day before I broke out. I was terrified that I had given it to the others or the pregnant guest of honor. I immediately called the mom-to-be. She thankfully had it already and was fine and no one else got sick either.
My toddler brought hand-foot-mouth home from daycare. I didn't even know that's what he had because it was just a couple red dots by his mouth. Didn't even faze him.
I learned it was actually HFM when MY hands were suddenly covered in tiny red, itchy dots!! I had to take work off for 2 weeks till the disgusting skin peeling phase passed and I fully healed. And I was lucky--not many itchy spots on my feet, and none in my mouth.
Before having a kid I don't think I ever took a day off sick from work and rarely got ill. As soon as she started going to school it totally changed and I'll get several nasty colds every year.
Sometimes I think it's because they forget to cover their mouths. Other times it's because their parent(s) have either not taught them or don't keep on them about it.
I'd pride myself for years on rarely getting sick even after my kid was born, but once he started preschool all bets were off. Kids are disgusting germs factories.
The problem are other parents who don't keep their sick children home and an economic system that doesn't allow them to do so despite it being better for everyone at large.
Even aside from that, though, plenty of illnesses have an incubation period before symptoms show up, so even a bunch of healthy seeming kids can still be a germ factory.
I'm from a nation where people get plenty of sick leave, parents don't want to deal with sick kids so they send them to school unless they're basically on deaths door. Oh and when the kids get the parents sick they don't stay home because it's more peaceful at the office rather than staying home to look after them so one or the other draws the short straw and the other heads to work to share the love with everyone else.
People care deeply about not spreading disease until they have it... then suddenly "but I have things to do/an appointment to go to/don't have time to be sick/this will somehow inconvenience me!!".
It's why COVID didn't surprise me in the slightest. Nobody wanted it, but once they had it damned if they were going to be inconvenienced so you didn't get it.
Sadly this take is spot on. We judge ourselves by our intentions ("I never meant to get anyone sick") but we judge others by their actions. Humans at our core are selfish; we only really care about ourselves.
Hahaha damn this is so true. I never ever get sick and I haven't for a long ass time. That is until my two sister in law's got pregnant and when their kids started going to preschool and day care my god... the black death was casted upon our family.
Or be around them all the time. You’ll have a few miserable months, but then you’ll be immune to everything. (Source: Me, a teacher and parent who rarely gets sick.)
Stay away from kids who hang out with other kids (daycare/school). My kid doesn't do either yet, and the whole house stays healthy. Now when she goes to visit her cousins who do, half the time she comes back sick.
So true, once I stopped treating sleep like an optional thing everything else kinda fell into place lol. Its wild how just being well-rested makes your body and brain work way better without doing anything fancy.
They just don't know it's the greatest stuff on the planet... A nap? Oh my dude. Sneak into bed early?! HITS THE SPOT. get to have a little lie in... THIS is the way.
The key is either no kids or lots of kids. I teach elementary and, after a few years, have a killer immune system built up. But when I was home with my three young kids, we all got sick all the time.
First thing I teach my classes when we get to Oct/Nov is how to cough into their elbow. I heap praise on them whenever I see them doing it on their own.
I wish. I've been out of the ICU from Covid and add-ons for 5 years and i'm still "in recovery". Feels like I fight for my life every day just to keep breathing and stay awake. Getting dressed wipes me out. I've also been told a simple cold could last me bacj in the hospital, let alone flu, covid, rsv, measles etc. 8 months sounds like a dream.
I also never used to get sick, until Covid - now I can't walk a certain distance without running out of breath. A few weeks ago, I had a lung infection and was forced to take prednisone to stop the lungs from overreacting and filling up with fluid. Urg
Same. n95 always, not sick since 2019. It is weird to think how the whole world is now immunocompromised safe those few of us (I barely ever see anyone else in a mask in my country).
Same but early 2020 here. Got what I’m sure was Covid but where I live hadn’t acknowledged it was here.. couldn’t get tested but by all accounts that’s what it was. A cashier turned and coughed directly in my face.
Wore a mask ever since and haven’t been sick once, and I work in retail.
For the first 2 months after I got covid I was sick every other week, with the last time being a throat infection that gave me a fever and made me sleep for 17 hrs, turned into an ear infection that ruptured my eardrum, then moved to my eye and gave me an eye infection so bad I couldn't open my eye over the course of a week.
That’s what RSV did to me. I was one of those lucky people who was rarely sick and whose colds lasted only 4 days. I got RSV last year at this time and it was followed by 3 more colds- two of which ended in bronchitis. I did get a cold last month that was a quick one thankfully but I did catch it early and start on coldeze and zinc & vitamin C and went to bed for 9 hours a few nights in a row. Fingers crossed my immune system is back strong.
Dude same! I used to get over basically every sickness in maybe four days max. But since getting Covid in 2021 it takes me 1-2 weeks to recover from even just a cold now, and I get sick so much more often. It wrecked my immune system
I didn't get COVID once during the pandemic, despite working fast food/ retail. My coworkers got it, but I never did. Got tested a bunch, too.
January and February of 2024, I got mono. Since then, I've had COVID twice. It comes on so fast. Last month it took me 2 hours to go from feeling perfectly fine, to being slightly delirious and unable to breathe.
Wash your hands before you eat. Avoid children. Get your flu shot. Eat well, exercise, get some sleep. Bathe in the blood of your enemies at least twice a year.
I dont think theres much i didnt lick or put in my mouth as a kid. as a result my immune system is a tank. this is why i say parents need to let their kids eat a little dirt or playground sand. its good for you in the long run😼
My kids paediatric oncologist said it’s mostly about handwashing and that’s proved mostly true. We make our oldest throw his clothes in the hamper and have a shower immediately after school. When my son was most immunocompromised, we made guests wash hands immediately when entering. Handwashing is key I think. My kid should be fine also, very good prognosis.
My kids and I hand wash when we come home every single time. And we hand wash a lot in general as my eldest has celiac disease and gluten is everywhere. I really think it helps us stay healthy.
Have a gene called HLA-B27 which gives you crazy good immunity in your youth, but gives you auto-immune issues when you get into middle age. Loved never being sick when I was young, but definitely paying for it now.
I was looking for this comment! Had a really bad illness a few years back which is commonly associated with HLA-B27. I’ve not been tested for it but I was never a sick kid and when I do have something I get over it really quick.
For me, it was severe knee and sacroiliac pain, plus chronic plantar fasciitis (I have Undifferentiated Spondyloarthropathy, but often just say I have ankylosing spondylitis because it's more well-known these days). For others, it can be due to symptom onset of Crohn's or IBD. For other others, it can be prompted by experiencing skin plaques or recurring uveitis.
As you can see, there are a number of chronic conditions that are linked with HLA-B27. None of them are fun to deal with in the slightest.
Hate to break it to you but it’s not unlikely you got it asymptomatically at least once, I guess you really wouldn’t know by now. (Not so fun fact it seems you can still develop long covid later on even if you didn’t have a bad case, that’s still going to bite us)
Whenever people say they’ve never gotten COVID I’m skeptical. Are these people ever testing for COVID? Plenty of cases are asymptomatic, people aren’t masking, and when they do get sick they assume it’s a cold so they don’t test.
When it went through our house I had the shits for a day. My wife was fairly sick. My daughter never showed a symptom. We all tested positive though. The only reason we tested her is my work wouldn't let me return until everyone in the house was clear.
Don't go where there are other people that might be sick. Work from home, do your shopping when few others are around or get it delivered, don't meet friends.
But the most important part: Do not, under any circumstances, ever have children.
N95 mask in indoor spaces or crowded outdoor spaces, run a hepa filter in my office at all times, test my friends for covid and/or flu depending on season before they come over. Washing hands is a good idea, but a lot of diseases including covid and flu are airborne. If you don't address that transmission route you will still get sick.
Heck yeah, welcome to the masking club. I never stopped. I haven't been sick since 2019 and I end up on immunosuppressants a lot so I'm technically more at risk for infections.
I'm covid naive despite existing immune issues and I'm still masking, never really stopped
I had to scroll past so many hand washing and vitamin taking comments I was about to lose faith in humanity, oh wait no that already happened but still
I also regularly wear a mask and I have caught something once in the 5 years since COVID started. I used to catch cold /flu a couple times a year before that! I hate getting sick!
Annoyed but not surprised I had to scroll a while to get to this comment! Because there is literally an obvious correct answer to this- and it’s masks! And zero people can pretend that they don’t know this at this point 🙃.
Yea I always mask in public. I used to get sick multiple times a year and the symptoms would linger for WEEKS. Ever since 2020, I’ve gotten covid twice (once from a roommate and the other is truly a mystery- it was early days) but haven’t been sick AT ALL otherwise in that 5 year period. Insane how well masking works. Idk if I’ll ever give it up in crowded places. Certainly not now with how in shambles the CDC is.
I got sick for the first time in three years and it was after I got lax about masking on the bus. There's just no reason not to wear a mask when in crowds.
Insane I had to scroll sooo far down to see this. Haven’t been sick in over 6 years because of strategic mask wearing in crowded places. I get looked at weirdly but i haven’t been sick so i dgaf 🤷♀️
Haha, yeah, it's funny how people look at you weirdly, because you are wearing a mask, even though you are literally the last one to fear even if you had an infectious disease.
Still masking in moderate and high risk situations over here, too! Planes/airports, large events, and anytime that the wastewater data is really high in our area for disease. I also use data to make decisions about when to vaccinate (this year I got flu vax in late November and I'll get covid vax in late Dec or early January). We've had covid once (a wedding got me in Nov 2023) and we don't really get sick otherwise.
I always thought it was from scuba diving and at so much depth it was like breathing 100% oxygen. Then I thought it was from having immunities from being around sick people all the time.
After reading this thread, I guess its because I dont have kids
I wear a well fitted kn95 mask in stores. They're black so they provide me ninja evasion skills for viruses and other crud that people may have. I've not had a cold, flu or COVID since 2019. Since I have allergies, I do a saline nasal rinse twice a week which also helps me dodge illness.
Using a mask often, frequent hand washing, and staying up to date on vaccines. I have chronic health issues but am able to avoid acute illness pretty well because of this. I even work with kids and in hospitals and I manage to do okay knock on wood
(My immune system is compromised due to long Covid and I’ve also had asthma from the age of 7. Currently cooped up in bed with pneumonia and have been for the last week. Hoping I can go to my college graduation on Wednesday. 😬)
I’ve got EDS, and I swear I get bronchitis every month or so. Doesn’t even need to be an infection, just a cough can lead to irritation and more coughing, next thing I know it’s spiraled into bronchitis again.
I wear an N95 mask whenever I'm in public. I've had one bacterial cold since 2019. No Covid. No one can tell me masks are ineffective. As for the occasional MAGAt that is triggered by me wearing a mask, FOAD.
It's also possible to be sick, but show no symptoms at all. I.e -- you can have a cold, but you don't cough or sneeze, you dont feel unwell, you feel completely normal. But you can still spread the illness to others.
At the first sign of illness, I warn people and reduce contact as much as possible. I do not go in public unless I do not have a choice. That all said, I have only been sick once in the last ten years. That makes no sense, so I'm now wondering if I'm sick often but just show no signs of illness.
They call it “allergies” because they don’t want to be courteous and stay home instead of going to the bar or wherever with their friends instead of staying home sick.
PSA to the “always allergy” people: you can be sick and have worse symptoms in the AM and feel better throughout the day. But you’re still
Contagious and getting others sick.
People with lower immune systems or even who are just run down experience illness differently.. years ago I would have hardly noticed getting a cold and might have said I rarely got sick, the same me today with the same cold would take it really bad and experience it as a horrible illness, and I feel like I constantly get sick. So Ib think you are right, its maybe just how the body is handling the illness.
I really think that's the main reason why I never get sick. Living healthy in general helps of course but even during times where I don't live healthy at all I do sauna regularly. I don't remember the last time I was sick.
Try to start by once per week and then work your way to multiple times per week in weeks you have the time for it.
Wear an n95 indoors when it's not my own home (I live alone). Don't touch doorknobs when I'm out, besides bathroom trips I wash my hands before eating and as soon as I get home. Clean my phone when I get home too. Haven't had so much as the sniffles since early 2019. The n95 does the heavy lifting.
Thank god someone else said it. These people are kidding themselves and probably think “rarely getting sick” means they “only” get sick a couple times a year!
I'm childfree, an introvert and stay home. I also do all my shopping online and have it delivered. I don't socialize and prefer having as little contact as possible with the human race.
Got sick a lot as a kid. Was always told to suck it up cause I'm not sick. So unless I was Very sick I had to soldier on. Now, unless the sickness beats my ass, chances are I probably won't even realise I'm sick.
Tldr: Got sick a lot as a kid. Immune system has been around the block.
I don't know. I take very minimal precautions to avoid getting sick, I don't get flu shots (not because I'm an anti-vaxxer, I just...don't), and I probably get sick once every 18 months or so. I'm sure my strong immune system is mostly genetics.
Wearing a mask in public always. Been doing so since ~2019 when I was put on immunosuppressants and diagnosed with some immune diseases. I haven’t had a cold/flu/etc. since. Haven’t had COVID yet so far either (hopefully it stays that way— I haven’t been medically cleared for the vaccines)
What’s ironic, though, is that I’m severely chronically ill, rely on caregivers full time, have to use a wheelchair in the rare times I’m not bedridden, etc. I’m super sick all the time, just not with anything contagious
Get good sleep, eat well, keep stress low, keep your home clean but not sterile (I dont own clorox wipes or antibacterial soap), wash your fucking hands, temp the foods that need it, don't have kids.
Ask me two years ago and I'd have said hand washing, exercise, good sleep, maybe take some vitamin C.
Since having a toddler I've learned I was just good at not having a kid sneeze in my mouth.
I have a 15 month old. Deepest darkest first winter at nursery.
This is my answer! 😭
My wife recently told me a stat that young kids get 8-10 viral illnesses per winter... I had to google and find out how many of those parents are expected to get from them... the answer was something like 40%. Pain.
Parents don’t get sick less..we just stop labeling it because it never ends...
I've been sick on and off for 5 weeks. Its a constant thing
My first year working in a daycare I was sick for so long I forgot what healthy felt like. The first day I felt healthy again I wandered around trying to figure out why I felt so amazing until a kid coughed directly into my face before tucking her little feverish forehead against my cheek and I realized I just wasn’t sick anymore.
I got sick again like 3 days later.
It's been two years. Two unholy years.
We're sick right now. Yay...
Moderately in pain or uncomfortable with stuffiness or clogged sinuses just becomes the new norm. And you blame it on age lol.
Feel bad for all the parents around me with their kid in daycare getting HF&M on the regular ick.
False. I blame it on allergies, regardless of the season.
That's messed up that you'd name your kid that.
Ugh you are not kidding.
This. Its permaflu
And we have had all of them, its been a very illness roller-coaster start to the new school year for us
Oh just wait until a norovirus is running rampant at a preschool. Kids puking everywhere.
Had to shut the school down for a few days to drop clean. It was horrific. Worst thing I've ever smelled.
I learned not too long ago that I'm immune to the norovirus, however the people I was sharing a hotel room with... Were not.
Horrendous virus, like it must be from one of the layers of hell.
It's my absolute least favorite human physical experience I've had thus far. Perhaps I'm fortunate in saying this, but fuck, it's really really bad.
When I worked retail, I lysoled the cash in the till every day because I knew dirty money was the fastest way for me to get norovirus. To some people that's overkill, but I think I hugely limited how many people on my staff got sick in doing so.
I thought disinfectant wasn’t enough for norovirus, that you need soap and water. Thought that applied to objects too. But I got my info from an emetophobe so maybe they were just paranoid?
This is true. It needs to be manually dislodged so you need soap and water to get through the lipid encapsulated membrane. For surfaces, hydrogen peroxide will kill it and so will bleach (not together obviously!)
it is correct some disinfectants arent enough, some are and then they usually say on the bottle that they also work against that virus.
Also, that virus can be aerosolized and get airborne if someone had symptoms, staying in the air for half an hour. So if you go into the same restroom someone used who has it you can catch it by inhaling it as well if you do not wear a mask, no matter how much you wash/disinfect your hands.
Excellent description! My kid brought that home in 2020! Worst experience of my adult life 🤮
Norovirus is rampant in my son's middle school right now. The health aide said it looked like a war zone on Thursday (son was sick Thursday & Friday, I had it by Thursday evening). The nurse's office wasn't big enough for all the sick, puking kids so they used an empty classroom across the hall. She also ran out of the bags to vomit in by lunch, when my son got sick. Luckily he had a plastic bag from home to puke in, but I guess there were 3-4 kids puking in each trash can. They had 6 trash cans in the room and it wasn't enough. Over 50 kids went home Thursday.
I haven't thrown up since 2006; this is my worst nightmare.
Iv had the Australian version once thought I was going to die.couldn’t even drink water and slept next to the toilet for 3 or four days I lost count ..everything was a blur and all I could was sleep in short naps shit and vomit on repeat
That's actually terrifying to have go around, especially when kids have younger siblings at home. Norovirus is the type that forces hospitals to close neo/pediatric floors down.
My baby (and then me, then my husband, then both grandparents) got Norovirus FROM a pediatric unit in March. (We were there because breastfeeding/bottles did not work out and my baby would not gain weight.) They did not shut down, though. My baby was five months old and got pretty lucky: She puked a bit more than usually, had a bit of diarrhea and spiked a fever (102-103/38.5-40). The next day, she was doing well again. Me on the other hand...ugh. Don't remind me of it.
P.S.: Right now I have a stubborn cold she gave to everyone except her Grandma, and we haven't even started daycare/kindergarten yet (didn't get a spot+have the privilege of a flexible schedule and lots of help). Usually we all get sick when my toddler is sick, except for her Grandma/my MIL who weirdly prides herself on her "good immune system". She is a teacher, maybe she already caught all the current bugs in the past years.
My kids are grown. I haven't been sick since they graduated
As the parent of a 13yo, it gets better.... Around middle school for us.
I got everything my kid brought home.
I get everything worse than my kid. HOW
Chicken pox at age 32, anyone? I still have nightmares.
Age 37! Got it at my grandma funeral nonetheless. Two weeks of itching. It was a massacre.
Get the shingles vaccine as soon as you are able. I never got the chicken pox vaccine because I had them as a kid, and by the time the vaccine came out, cdc said I was just over the age limit anyway. Shingles are much, much worse. Instead of itching, it's severe pain. The possible complications are horrendous. I just got somewhat lucky they were only in one hip, and I got to the doctor soon enough that the antiviral worked. I am still under the age they will give me the shingles vaccine here in the US, but I still beg every time I go in to the doctor.
I got chicken pox out of nowhere at age 27. Never did figure out who I caught it from, hadn't been near anyone sick or even heard of anyone sick. I am the person that gave it to all three of my kids at the same time. That was fun.
Scariest part was I had been to a baby shower The day before I broke out. I was terrified that I had given it to the others or the pregnant guest of honor. I immediately called the mom-to-be. She thankfully had it already and was fine and no one else got sick either.
You're old.
My toddler brought hand-foot-mouth home from daycare. I didn't even know that's what he had because it was just a couple red dots by his mouth. Didn't even faze him.
I learned it was actually HFM when MY hands were suddenly covered in tiny red, itchy dots!! I had to take work off for 2 weeks till the disgusting skin peeling phase passed and I fully healed. And I was lucky--not many itchy spots on my feet, and none in my mouth.
I have 2 kids, hubby is a teacher and I work in a hospital.
We're deeply fucked all the way trough winter
I actually have found the exposure of working in a hospital causes me to get less sick, ironically.
Occasionally I'll catch a small cold or something but its been awhile since I've been sick sick.
You are probably very good with hand washing, too?
Deeply fucked, or are your T cells the brute squad?
You ARE the Brute Squad!
It drives me nuts, the whole "it's building their immune system!" shtick.
I HAVE an immune system! Mine doesn't need building! So why am I getting sick?!
/s
Viruses mutate as they have one goal: to bring down the human race.
You were just good at not having a toddler, before having a toddler. I'm in the same boat and get to do it all over again with my second one lol
relatable, never would I have imagined that my defence skills to combat sneezes & coughes were sure as heck mighty
I wear a face mask at work and they still cough in my eyes
Then goggles
Before having a kid I don't think I ever took a day off sick from work and rarely got ill. As soon as she started going to school it totally changed and I'll get several nasty colds every year.
Stay tf away from kids
Always. Why must they cough like lungs are coming out? 😷
Straight into your face. Every time
And all over everything at the grocery store 🙄
There's another key tip, don't work in retail
I was never so sick as when I worked at a Toy Store. Wrecked me.
Or schools
Sometimes I think it's because they forget to cover their mouths. Other times it's because their parent(s) have either not taught them or don't keep on them about it.
I'd pride myself for years on rarely getting sick even after my kid was born, but once he started preschool all bets were off. Kids are disgusting germs factories.
The problem are other parents who don't keep their sick children home and an economic system that doesn't allow them to do so despite it being better for everyone at large.
Even aside from that, though, plenty of illnesses have an incubation period before symptoms show up, so even a bunch of healthy seeming kids can still be a germ factory.
Makes no difference.
I'm from a nation where people get plenty of sick leave, parents don't want to deal with sick kids so they send them to school unless they're basically on deaths door. Oh and when the kids get the parents sick they don't stay home because it's more peaceful at the office rather than staying home to look after them so one or the other draws the short straw and the other heads to work to share the love with everyone else.
People care deeply about not spreading disease until they have it... then suddenly "but I have things to do/an appointment to go to/don't have time to be sick/this will somehow inconvenience me!!".
It's why COVID didn't surprise me in the slightest. Nobody wanted it, but once they had it damned if they were going to be inconvenienced so you didn't get it.
I think people are somehow more inconsiderate about germs now than they were before the pandemic.
Sadly this take is spot on. We judge ourselves by our intentions ("I never meant to get anyone sick") but we judge others by their actions. Humans at our core are selfish; we only really care about ourselves.
Hahaha damn this is so true. I never ever get sick and I haven't for a long ass time. That is until my two sister in law's got pregnant and when their kids started going to preschool and day care my god... the black death was casted upon our family.
Or be around them all the time. You’ll have a few miserable months, but then you’ll be immune to everything. (Source: Me, a teacher and parent who rarely gets sick.)
Stay away from kids who hang out with other kids (daycare/school). My kid doesn't do either yet, and the whole house stays healthy. Now when she goes to visit her cousins who do, half the time she comes back sick.
Sleep. Seriously. People underestimate how much consistent sleep does for your immune system
Cornerstone of health, both mental and physical
So true, once I stopped treating sleep like an optional thing everything else kinda fell into place lol. Its wild how just being well-rested makes your body and brain work way better without doing anything fancy.
Poor sleep hygiene is the most dangerous thing in modern healthcare prevention. I wish I learned how actually important it was when I was a teenager.
Plus, it's just the fucking greatest. What the fuck are toddlers fighting against?!?
They just don't know it's the greatest stuff on the planet... A nap? Oh my dude. Sneak into bed early?! HITS THE SPOT. get to have a little lie in... THIS is the way.
Sleep is imperative. Without any kids in your bed. My daughter is three and gets in without even waking me up then snots all over my pillow.
Yes! Anytime that I’ve gone a while without a good amount of sleep is the only time I get sick
Sleep is the most underrated ‘supplement’ there is.
I don’t have kids
The key is either no kids or lots of kids. I teach elementary and, after a few years, have a killer immune system built up. But when I was home with my three young kids, we all got sick all the time.
First thing I teach my classes when we get to Oct/Nov is how to cough into their elbow. I heap praise on them whenever I see them doing it on their own.
Most adults should be taught this too, especially the 40+ crowd that do the toddler cough while doomscrolling like a tablet toddler.
Urgent care NP here, so this is my specialty lol
When you’re not sick, act is if you were. Minus the medicine
Stay hydrated with healthy drinks and water, get plenty of rest, maintain a healthy diet, etc, we all know these things
Now, these won’t prevent a cold, obviously. What this does is when you DO catch a cold, I’ve noticed the duration will be shorter.
Covid completely fucked the duration of colds for me. Instead of being over after a few days the last symptoms linger on forever.
That's probably because COVID causes some immune disruptions for about 8 months.
I wish. I've been out of the ICU from Covid and add-ons for 5 years and i'm still "in recovery". Feels like I fight for my life every day just to keep breathing and stay awake. Getting dressed wipes me out. I've also been told a simple cold could last me bacj in the hospital, let alone flu, covid, rsv, measles etc. 8 months sounds like a dream.
This sounds like long covid
Long covid is no fucking joke.
I also never used to get sick, until Covid - now I can't walk a certain distance without running out of breath. A few weeks ago, I had a lung infection and was forced to take prednisone to stop the lungs from overreacting and filling up with fluid. Urg
New study just dropped: COVID actually causes immune disruption for at least 20 months.
https://www.sciencedirect.com:5037/science/article/pii/S1201971225005090
I wear an n95 mask in public to avoid getting sick. Haven’t been sick since 2019.
Same. n95 always, not sick since 2019. It is weird to think how the whole world is now immunocompromised safe those few of us (I barely ever see anyone else in a mask in my country).
Same but early 2020 here. Got what I’m sure was Covid but where I live hadn’t acknowledged it was here.. couldn’t get tested but by all accounts that’s what it was. A cashier turned and coughed directly in my face. Wore a mask ever since and haven’t been sick once, and I work in retail.
It's a lot longer than 8 months. It has been shown to damage your immune responce full stop.
For the first 2 months after I got covid I was sick every other week, with the last time being a throat infection that gave me a fever and made me sleep for 17 hrs, turned into an ear infection that ruptured my eardrum, then moved to my eye and gave me an eye infection so bad I couldn't open my eye over the course of a week.
Yeah I believe it
The latest research shows 20+ months of immune disregulation
I got Shingles a few months after I got COVID back in 2022/2023 and I’m in my mid 30’s, shits wild
That’s what RSV did to me. I was one of those lucky people who was rarely sick and whose colds lasted only 4 days. I got RSV last year at this time and it was followed by 3 more colds- two of which ended in bronchitis. I did get a cold last month that was a quick one thankfully but I did catch it early and start on coldeze and zinc & vitamin C and went to bed for 9 hours a few nights in a row. Fingers crossed my immune system is back strong.
Dude same! I used to get over basically every sickness in maybe four days max. But since getting Covid in 2021 it takes me 1-2 weeks to recover from even just a cold now, and I get sick so much more often. It wrecked my immune system
I didn't get COVID once during the pandemic, despite working fast food/ retail. My coworkers got it, but I never did. Got tested a bunch, too.
January and February of 2024, I got mono. Since then, I've had COVID twice. It comes on so fast. Last month it took me 2 hours to go from feeling perfectly fine, to being slightly delirious and unable to breathe.
COVID didn't fuck me, but mono sure as shit did.
Wash your hands before you eat. Avoid children. Get your flu shot. Eat well, exercise, get some sleep. Bathe in the blood of your enemies at least twice a year.
Had to scroll way too far to see this one!
start licking more public railings and doorhandles and im sure youll eventually build up immunity
Fight fire with fire 🔥
Did you do a lot of public railings to build up your immunity?
I dont think theres much i didnt lick or put in my mouth as a kid. as a result my immune system is a tank. this is why i say parents need to let their kids eat a little dirt or playground sand. its good for you in the long run😼
My kids paediatric oncologist said it’s mostly about handwashing and that’s proved mostly true. We make our oldest throw his clothes in the hamper and have a shower immediately after school. When my son was most immunocompromised, we made guests wash hands immediately when entering. Handwashing is key I think. My kid should be fine also, very good prognosis.
I’m glad your kid is doing okay!
My kids and I hand wash when we come home every single time. And we hand wash a lot in general as my eldest has celiac disease and gluten is everywhere. I really think it helps us stay healthy.
I hope your child is doing well. I'm glad he has a good prognosis. Most infections my family gets are airborne. Covid to be specific 😭
And masks. Wtf.
We should really be seeing way more people say masks lol
Have a gene called HLA-B27 which gives you crazy good immunity in your youth, but gives you auto-immune issues when you get into middle age. Loved never being sick when I was young, but definitely paying for it now.
I was looking for this comment! Had a really bad illness a few years back which is commonly associated with HLA-B27. I’ve not been tested for it but I was never a sick kid and when I do have something I get over it really quick.
How did you find out you had the gene? Testing I assume but what prompted the testing?
For me, it was severe knee and sacroiliac pain, plus chronic plantar fasciitis (I have Undifferentiated Spondyloarthropathy, but often just say I have ankylosing spondylitis because it's more well-known these days). For others, it can be due to symptom onset of Crohn's or IBD. For other others, it can be prompted by experiencing skin plaques or recurring uveitis.
As you can see, there are a number of chronic conditions that are linked with HLA-B27. None of them are fun to deal with in the slightest.
I still haven’t gotten covid, probably because I avoid people like the plague.
Covid-free hermits ftw. 🎉
Hate to break it to you but it’s not unlikely you got it asymptomatically at least once, I guess you really wouldn’t know by now. (Not so fun fact it seems you can still develop long covid later on even if you didn’t have a bad case, that’s still going to bite us)
Whenever people say they’ve never gotten COVID I’m skeptical. Are these people ever testing for COVID? Plenty of cases are asymptomatic, people aren’t masking, and when they do get sick they assume it’s a cold so they don’t test.
Some people have had it and never knew.
When it went through our house I had the shits for a day. My wife was fairly sick. My daughter never showed a symptom. We all tested positive though. The only reason we tested her is my work wouldn't let me return until everyone in the house was clear.
Yup, 40% of cases are asymptomatic.
Reducing stress, eating well, being physically active
Well, two out three has worked out well for me. Not a single sick day this year, knock on wood! At almost 59m, this is a big win for me!
Your grammar is exceptional for being less than 5 years old.
Sleep, hand washing, don’t touch face with hands, vitamin, ideal humidity, warm house in winter. Avoid sick people/ventilation.
"Yeah that makes sense" I mumbled, resting my head on my hand with my pinky pressed between my lips.
Agreed. All this and I mask up and put a humidifier on at night. Haven't had a flu in 7 years.
Not having kids.
Don't go where there are other people that might be sick. Work from home, do your shopping when few others are around or get it delivered, don't meet friends.
But the most important part: Do not, under any circumstances, ever have children.
Might as well stop breathing since thats the way viruses enter youe body
Lol I hope this is satire. Basically "Don't live a life". I laughed out loud at "don't meet friends"
N95 mask in indoor spaces or crowded outdoor spaces, run a hepa filter in my office at all times, test my friends for covid and/or flu depending on season before they come over. Washing hands is a good idea, but a lot of diseases including covid and flu are airborne. If you don't address that transmission route you will still get sick.
Last year i got sick every month from september to march.
This year, nothing.
I started wearing a mask in crowded places again.
Took way too long to scroll down to find the useful advise for avoiding aerosol transmitted illnesses.
Heck yeah, welcome to the masking club. I never stopped. I haven't been sick since 2019 and I end up on immunosuppressants a lot so I'm technically more at risk for infections.
Well fitted masks are powerful..
I'm covid naive despite existing immune issues and I'm still masking, never really stopped
I had to scroll past so many hand washing and vitamin taking comments I was about to lose faith in humanity, oh wait no that already happened but still
Like…handwashing is great we should all do it but you need respiratory PPE for respiratory diseases. It’s not rocket science
Turns out plain science is far beyond many.
Me too! I'm really surprised I've never had it. I've also stayed up to date on my vaccinations though.
I also regularly wear a mask and I have caught something once in the 5 years since COVID started. I used to catch cold /flu a couple times a year before that! I hate getting sick!
Whole family masks. We are never sick. It's actually great.
Annoyed but not surprised I had to scroll a while to get to this comment! Because there is literally an obvious correct answer to this- and it’s masks! And zero people can pretend that they don’t know this at this point 🙃.
Hell yes! Masking is the best decision someone can make for their health these days.
Yea I always mask in public. I used to get sick multiple times a year and the symptoms would linger for WEEKS. Ever since 2020, I’ve gotten covid twice (once from a roommate and the other is truly a mystery- it was early days) but haven’t been sick AT ALL otherwise in that 5 year period. Insane how well masking works. Idk if I’ll ever give it up in crowded places. Certainly not now with how in shambles the CDC is.
Masks are very effective!
I got sick for the first time in three years and it was after I got lax about masking on the bus. There's just no reason not to wear a mask when in crowds.
Insane I had to scroll sooo far down to see this. Haven’t been sick in over 6 years because of strategic mask wearing in crowded places. I get looked at weirdly but i haven’t been sick so i dgaf 🤷♀️
Haha, yeah, it's funny how people look at you weirdly, because you are wearing a mask, even though you are literally the last one to fear even if you had an infectious disease.
Still masking in moderate and high risk situations over here, too! Planes/airports, large events, and anytime that the wastewater data is really high in our area for disease. I also use data to make decisions about when to vaccinate (this year I got flu vax in late November and I'll get covid vax in late Dec or early January). We've had covid once (a wedding got me in Nov 2023) and we don't really get sick otherwise.
Yes, this!
I've never stopped masking in shared indoor air, and I haven't been sick since 2019.
Wash your hands a lot.
Drink a lot of water. the water doesn’t help, but if it sends you to the restroom and you wash your hands more, it’s still a win :)
It boggles my mind how many people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom. I can just feel the grossness on my hands before I wash them
The water itself probably does help - a well hydrated body surely must be better at producing more/more effective white blood cells
Masking. Haven't caught anything in years.
Masks.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SANITIZE YOUR PHONE. It carries so many germs. I sanitize daily and haven’t been sick in 2025 yet.
I always thought it was from scuba diving and at so much depth it was like breathing 100% oxygen. Then I thought it was from having immunities from being around sick people all the time.
After reading this thread, I guess its because I dont have kids
I wear a well fitted kn95 mask in stores. They're black so they provide me ninja evasion skills for viruses and other crud that people may have. I've not had a cold, flu or COVID since 2019. Since I have allergies, I do a saline nasal rinse twice a week which also helps me dodge illness.
Using a mask often, frequent hand washing, and staying up to date on vaccines. I have chronic health issues but am able to avoid acute illness pretty well because of this. I even work with kids and in hospitals and I manage to do okay knock on wood
lol I hate you all.
(My immune system is compromised due to long Covid and I’ve also had asthma from the age of 7. Currently cooped up in bed with pneumonia and have been for the last week. Hoping I can go to my college graduation on Wednesday. 😬)
congrats on finishing school whether or not you make it to grad!
Ah, a fellow Mr. Fucked Lungs.
I’ve got EDS, and I swear I get bronchitis every month or so. Doesn’t even need to be an infection, just a cough can lead to irritation and more coughing, next thing I know it’s spiraled into bronchitis again.
I wish you a swift recovery! Grats on graduating!
I wear an N95 mask whenever I'm in public. I've had one bacterial cold since 2019. No Covid. No one can tell me masks are ineffective. As for the occasional MAGAt that is triggered by me wearing a mask, FOAD.
I've heard from tons of people who "rarely get sick" where it turns out they do get sick as much as the rest of us - they are just not recognizing it.
It's also possible to be sick, but show no symptoms at all. I.e -- you can have a cold, but you don't cough or sneeze, you dont feel unwell, you feel completely normal. But you can still spread the illness to others.
At the first sign of illness, I warn people and reduce contact as much as possible. I do not go in public unless I do not have a choice. That all said, I have only been sick once in the last ten years. That makes no sense, so I'm now wondering if I'm sick often but just show no signs of illness.
They call it “allergies” because they don’t want to be courteous and stay home instead of going to the bar or wherever with their friends instead of staying home sick.
PSA to the “always allergy” people: you can be sick and have worse symptoms in the AM and feel better throughout the day. But you’re still Contagious and getting others sick.
People with lower immune systems or even who are just run down experience illness differently.. years ago I would have hardly noticed getting a cold and might have said I rarely got sick, the same me today with the same cold would take it really bad and experience it as a horrible illness, and I feel like I constantly get sick. So Ib think you are right, its maybe just how the body is handling the illness.
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Good hygiene. Sleep. Nutrition. Exercise. Low stress. In that order.
And wear a mask.
Work out, Eat healthy food and Avoid people. These tips will also make you 75% happier 🤣
SAUNA!
I really think that's the main reason why I never get sick. Living healthy in general helps of course but even during times where I don't live healthy at all I do sauna regularly. I don't remember the last time I was sick.
Try to start by once per week and then work your way to multiple times per week in weeks you have the time for it.
masking!! now the mask filters germs instead of my lungs
Get enough sleep, eat healthy, stay away from kids. It’s not a secret.
Get enough vitamins and protein in your diet, and stay away from sick people.
And fibre!
Drink water and go outside
Wear an n95 indoors when it's not my own home (I live alone). Don't touch doorknobs when I'm out, besides bathroom trips I wash my hands before eating and as soon as I get home. Clean my phone when I get home too. Haven't had so much as the sniffles since early 2019. The n95 does the heavy lifting.
I get vaccinated.
Never had COVID. Haven't had the flu in over a decade.
Garlic
And ginger, and honey.
Raw honey especially
With all the beneficial nutrients and antioxidants.
i wear a mask when i leave the house.
You didn't even spare your Reddit avatar...
Every time I’m in public, yep.
Bunch of science deniers downvoting this. Weird of you.
Thank god someone else said it. These people are kidding themselves and probably think “rarely getting sick” means they “only” get sick a couple times a year!
Alcohol and Nicotine and a wank so now and than
Staying home.
Masking when in crowds, really changed the game for me.
I wear a mask every single time I’m in public. I haven’t been sick in years.
I'm childfree, an introvert and stay home. I also do all my shopping online and have it delivered. I don't socialize and prefer having as little contact as possible with the human race.
Got sick a lot as a kid. Was always told to suck it up cause I'm not sick. So unless I was Very sick I had to soldier on. Now, unless the sickness beats my ass, chances are I probably won't even realise I'm sick.
Tldr: Got sick a lot as a kid. Immune system has been around the block.
I don’t interact with people except for the bare minimum required at work.
Vaccines
I don't know. I take very minimal precautions to avoid getting sick, I don't get flu shots (not because I'm an anti-vaxxer, I just...don't), and I probably get sick once every 18 months or so. I'm sure my strong immune system is mostly genetics.
Hand wash/sanitize after touching high-contact surfaces (+ always before you eat)
Mask in public
100 mg Vitamin C 2x/day (100 mg is the max you can absorb @ one time-- anything over that is overkill & a waste of money)
Drink as much water as possible (until your urine is clear) + eat healthy
Reduce stress / increase resilience whenever possible (even if it's just a little bit)
Wearing a mask in public always. Been doing so since ~2019 when I was put on immunosuppressants and diagnosed with some immune diseases. I haven’t had a cold/flu/etc. since. Haven’t had COVID yet so far either (hopefully it stays that way— I haven’t been medically cleared for the vaccines)
What’s ironic, though, is that I’m severely chronically ill, rely on caregivers full time, have to use a wheelchair in the rare times I’m not bedridden, etc. I’m super sick all the time, just not with anything contagious
Being a hermit and never leaving my house. Thanks Agoraphobia, at least I won't get the flu.
Not having kids. I was never sick before. I have 3 kids now. It's been months since all 5 of us were not sick one way or another.
KN95 or better in public places. Also, no kids.
Get good sleep, eat well, keep stress low, keep your home clean but not sterile (I dont own clorox wipes or antibacterial soap), wash your fucking hands, temp the foods that need it, don't have kids.
Wear a mask when in public. Since the one time I got COVID, I've worn a mask since, and haven't got it or anything else again.
Luck. Also, don't handle paper money. It's gross.
Nettle tea