After being sick is your immune system stronger for a while?
August 6th, 2009 Posted by: admin
I had a cold at the start of last week, and I’m just wondering, because you know often after you’re unwell, you don’t get sick again for a while, is that a coincedence, or is your immune system more alert for a while?
If so, how long?
By: miaow.
If so, how long?
By: miaow.
Tags: Coincedence, Immune System
August 8th, 2009 at 21:01
Your immune system isn’t necessarily stronger, but it is more alert for the bacteria or virus that made you sick in the first place. It will be weaker for a short time after the illness while it tries to “recoup and replenish” but then will be flooded with anti bodies to fight. When you first get sick, usually the bacteria or virus is somewhat foreign to your body so it tries to fight the best it can, after it knows what that bacteria or virus is and how to fight it off and you are that much stronger. Pretty cool huh?
August 10th, 2009 at 06:18
You are very observant. And you are asking a surprisingly complex question. After a VIRAL infection (like a cold), your immune system is stronger - both against the specific virus that infected you, and also against many other viruses. When you have a viral infecton, you body produces Interferon. It was given that name because it “interferes” with a viruses ability to enter a cell and replicate. The interferon levels remain elevated and the entire immune system is “more vigilant” for several weeks after the original illness.
A bacterial infection (like pneumonia or sepsis) or a severe viral pneumonia (like the flu) however, can weaken the body as a whole. Your immune system may still be more vigilant, but the body’s reserves of energy may be depleted and so you may become more susceptible to another illness. Also, the very young and the elderly may not have as strong an immune system as a healthy adult, and so they will weaken faster and suffer more complications.
So it all depends on how sick you were. But in your case, where you had a cold, the answer is, Yes. Your immune system is stronger after the cold.
August 12th, 2009 at 20:59
When you are sick your body begins producing more White blood cells. These are trained to attack the same infection. However, because there are also more White blood cells also “patrolling” for this infection, it is likely they will find another infection quicker too. So yes the immune system is more on alert