A healthy immune system can defeat the virus that causes the common cold in one week. My tired immune system is still trying to win the battle after two plus weeks. I would whine and complain but when I was younger my immune system could gear up to engage a cold virus and then go on to attack my own tissues. All kinds of inflammatory responses could go haywire after a cold. That I do not need.
I have places to go people to see and things to do. How long do your colds last? Do they ever trigger flares (a dramatic increase in the frequency and severity in lupus symptoms?
Ann any illness triggers flare for me, including colds that usually become bronchitis. I avoid crowds, wash hands before leaving home with surgical scrub to help minimize chances of picking up germs. wash again once home. The scrub I use lasts 6 hours.can buy OTC like at big stores.name is, crud, can't remember. HIBICLENS. BETTER CAREFUL THAN SICK. feel better soon.
Colds generally lead to bronchitis and/or sinus infections for me, so it is hard to say how long the actual cold itself lasts -- I am usually sick for a few weeks including secondary infections. My lupus symptoms do increase, then taper after the infection heals.
Hey ! if you are able , get yourself some ice cream, Alka Seltzer plus cold,orange and apple juice. Day 1-Take the Alka Seltzer plus cold drop both in a cup of warm to hot water ( as hot as you can drink and drink while it is fizzing) , get in the bed completely under cover .Day 2- The next day eat vallina ice cream, and drink oj and apple juice , eat a very lite meal or soup, and Day 3- spary Lysol all over the house to kill the grems and try to adviod letting people visit with you that are sick ( ask them before they come in the house"Are you sick?" - yes ! that does sound rude But it's your Health that we are talking about here ). and the 4th day everything should be back to feeling like yourself, this works for me all the time every since i have had Lupus, now for 3 years come Feb.7 , and i have passed this to many people with good response , so hope that you feel better soon....Beverly L.
I generally will get one cold a year, and at a weird time - when no one else seems to have one.... It will last forever and my fatigue increases as well as joint aches and pain.
I haven't had many full blown colds in the past few years, which is strange because my immune system is severely compromised. I have a low IgG subclass 1 which means I can catch the same virus more than once. Last common cold that I had lasted for about two months, waxing and waning. I thought it would never go away, kept coming back. Finally went. I just kept resting and drinking fluids and chicken soup. During that time, I had increased pain and fatigue, definitely.
So sorry you have to suffer with it. It just takes a whole lot longer for the immune system to fight it. You have to help in any way that you can. But rest/sleep is most important. And hydration.
I hope it starts going in a better direction soon for you.
Months literally....most often if i got a cold it went into bronchitis and then pneumonia. I did get the pneumonia shot and since it, colds are even not as bad...but i also stopped working. I noticed that not being in a office or out in stores a lot has reduced how often i got little bug sicks....which often were mistaken as small flares...i now realize.
So as louise says...wash your hands constantly, i keep those wipes handy as well if i shake hands. I also use lysol on my desk and phone at work when i was working since despite even bosses telling people not to use my phone...there is always one jerk with a cold, who is too lazy to go to their desk. Mine was nearest to exit door.
Also use a paper towel when leaving bathrooms as all germs on are the door handle. Did any of you see the mythbusters show about how far stuff is flung from a flushing toilet..even if seat is down? was excellent but scary.
Taking Vit C at first sign has helped me reduce how long it lasts by a bit, instead like 5 weeks be 4...better than nothing. If you have small kids or are around them, you are doomed!! lol!! constantly was sick
Oh the person talking about ice cream...reminded me of Thai food. There was Thai food hole in the wall...had great hot spicy Thai food as well as like hamburgers. If either my friend or i felt a cold coming on, we go there and get this one very hot and spicy dish...it always helped to curb it if i did eat this dish very early on!! You just had tons of mucus come out of your body....cleaned out the cold?? just did help or our belief in that it helped did the trick.
i miss excellent Thai food, lemongrass in Sac was good but this tiny place real rat hole was excellent. Had a spice, we tried figuring it out to copy the dish...was like spicy basil..but very spicy.
I’m sorry you’re sick and I know how frustrating it can be. We’re all different, but my colds usually last about three weeks. I know that may not be very encouraging. My mistake has been to push myself before I was better and then I’d be in a full blown flare. Be good to yourself and try not to put too much pressure on yourself. All the Best, Kim
I was thinking about that. I have very little contact, if none, with children. I go to store for food and whatnot, rare library visit, church service is scary for germs, not kids there usually. But again, when I did get an cold, it lasted very long time. We all seem to have broken down immune function.
I use my celerciser for muscle strengthening. Just a few minutes. It helps me in a lot of ways and doesn't drain me like some other aerobic exercises, even when I'm sick. Seems to help with sinus drainage and it does help lymph system work better, and my bowels, too.
Ally Ann A. said:
Thanks guys.
@Ally, you probably do not have pre K and K grand kids, Now that I have two of them in that age bracket again my germsphere has changed dramatically.
I have rested and used every approach to symptom reduction that I know. Tomorrow I must go to class at the U. It will be more difficult because all of this resting leaves muscles weak.