Avoid children
this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2024
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Basically, if you have kids, you're fucked, immunologically. It's near impossible to get enough sleep and still get everything done, and if they're in day care or school, they're going to bring home every bug known to man (and some that aren't)
Plus, in my case anyway, I find it near impossible to get regular exercise and eat healthy at the same time due to the time and budget constraints, (and I live in a tourist town), so I'm just resigned to being sick about once per month.
Basically, like you said, avoid kids and definitely don't have kids if you want to dodge colds and flu. Or if you do have kids, be independently wealthy so you can afford to take time to sleep, exercise, and eat healthy.
This is one of the biggest ones imo. People I know who have kids seem to be sick all the time while others aren't.
Also I tend not to go out much which helps lol.
Wash hand regularly.
That must be very difficult with just one hand
Other one goes in a rubber glove
I was going to say the exact opposite. I've always suspected that the reason for my superior immune system are my lazy hand washing habits. And biting nails. And picking up every interesting thing I see on the ground.
I gotta be honest. I also do that and i have hyperhydrosis so i had to wash my hand regularly to keep my hand dry.
Being an introvert and maintaining a healthy diet.
I started wearing a mask in crowded public places in about 2020 (for some inexplicable reason). I never stopped. I wear one in the metro. On buses. In crowded shopping malls (or even crowded small shops).
I used to get several colds per years and maybe one thing that caused me a fever each year (usually a flu).
I haven't had a cold or flu or any kind of fever-inducing infection since ... oh ... call it 2020.
I simply adore the downvote over a simple statement of fact! The insecurity of people is amazing to me!
Please, downvote this all to Hell and back! It's a source of endless amusement!
Hand washing, distance from people, and willingness to wear a mask
Until last year i rarely got sick, "rarely" meaning maybe once a year and then only lightly. Since october/november last year i suddenly started getting sick almost once every month without any significant changes to any of the following:
- Social contact
- Diet
- Workout
- Sun/Outside time
- Happiness
Im the wrong person to ask for this obviously, because im still trying to figure out why im getting sick all of a sudden. The things i mentioned are probably still all valid factors tho.
Did you have Covid? Since I had Covid, I get sick way more often and it takes me longer to get better from being sick. Just had a head cold for like 15 days, and it didn’t respond to any meds.
I had covid in early 2022, so it doesnt quite match up with that, but i was wondering the same. This "wave" of sorts did start with a very bad case of a "cold" or whatever it was and since then it has been going on and on.
- Avoid drugs (e.g. marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine)
- Get enough sleep (i.e. wake up naturally; no alarms)
- Regular exercise (primarily playing sports)
- Eat healthily (avoid sugar, avoid starchy food, eat lots of fatty meat and eggs)
These techniques, while perhaps not making you live longer, will at least make it feel much longer.
🤪
I went nearly 20 years without getting sick. Other than regular exercise I've done the exact opposite.
It really comes down to luck IMO
I just keep practicing most of the covid measures. When I am away I avoid touching my face, when I come home I wash my hands immediately, and I am also getting the optional vaccinations against influenza and the current covid strain whenever appropriate.
Doing this I haven't been sick for about 5 years now. Haven't even catched covid during the pandemic.
Going to one up this. When they relaxed the mandates my wife and I realized we had not gotten sick in any way for the period and normally we do once a year so we kept going. We were due about when covid hit and started masking early given the videos out of china. Long and short is we finally got sick with something, but not to bad, after more than 4 years. Anyway we are keeping all the stuff going. Not quite as strictly maybe but if we can be sick 4 times less often then we find it worth it.
-
don't share food
-
wash hands but avoid antibacterial soap
-
get enough sleep
May I ask, why avoid antibacterial soap specifically?
overuse weakens the immune system
Thank about like this. A lot of bacteria is good for you. Some of it might only providing the benefit of taking up spaces so that worse bacteria won't come in and make us sick.
That's why overuse is bad. It kills off usually less weak "good bacteria" and leaves the door open for some of those super bugs you get in the hospitals.
Kills the good bacteria in your hands aswell.
Antibacterial soap only kills SOME germs. The ones it leaves behind are resistant. You're literally building up stronger bacteria when you overuse antibacterials.
Straight-up cleaning is almost as effective without the ~~risk~~certainty of making superbugs.
Growing up with dogs and sucking coins.
Greetings, fellow coin-sucker!
Immunities. I go outside and be exposed to the world, and I wash my hands.
When I do feel a sickness coming on I drop everything, crawl into bed, and give my body anything it needs to fight.. whether that's blankets or hot soup or cold cloths... and I sleep as much as humanly possible so my immunities don't have to worry about my conscious body while they're fighting.
I don't get sick more than once every few years. I do nothing special. I wash my hands, but probably should do it more. I am highly social, go to bars, have friends over, go to shows. I don't mask up anymore.
I'm 47 and I feel pretty much like I did at 20. I weigh the same, have more lines on my forehead and not as full hair, but I'm not bald.
Secrets? Lucky genetics, I'm sure. Of course, by putting this out into the universe, I'll probably get Hyper-mega Cow butt B7RQ Novel Toe Cancer.
Good luck with whatever ails you.
In my case, it's probably like that George Carlin bit about swimming in the Hudson. I am not a neat freak. I eat things I drop on the ground. Etc. It's like constantly vaccinating yourself against everything.
I got an ear infection swimming in lake Ontario growing up, probably why I never get sick. Swam in every stream could.
Wasn't afraid of germs as a kid
Wash hands frequently
Sleep enough
Eat healthy
Avoid antibiotics unless truly necessary
I used to get sick a lot, sore throats and colds at least a few times every winter and occasionally in the warmer months too. Since I started taking a daily multivitamin about 12 months ago I haven't really gotten sick since. I swear even hangovers aren't as bad these days. It's really remarkable, id recommend anyone give it a go.
Sleep enough and not eat shit food for days in a row. If i get sick i have usually disregarded some of this.
I stay away from other people. Especially the sticky little snot goblins.
I used to get sick all the time when I was in school. And then when I moved out on my own and had a full time job (providing over the phone tech support) I was sick quite often. I've also had periods in my life when I would go years without getting sick, but then about a year ago I've started using sick days again.
All of the periods of time when I was getting sick coincide with me not wanting to go to the places I' required to go (school, crappy workplaces, etc), and the periods of time when I wasn't sick I was enjoying my job and the people I worked with.
keep your fingers out of your eyes
I was my hands pretty often. I don't go crazy, just soap up and rinse.
I was a thumb sucker when I was a kid. I like to think that helped. There's no way anybody can get exposed to every germ that causes the common cold - there are just too many out there... but being exposed to as many as possible at a young age must help to some extent.
One year I got like 5 or 6 sinus infections. I went to an ENT doctor and they said "you have allergies". I take over the counter allergy meds every day, year round. No more sinus infections.
5 second rule can be stretched
Eat local honey
Be lucky and have a good immune system
Eat mud pies and stuff off the ground
Exercise, sleep, and eat healthy.
Don't rub your face after being around sick people.
I can't remember when I last was "traditionally" sick (ie flu/cold etc) - however I also have a chronic autoimmune condition so I guess life is just taking a bit of pity on me.
Acquire one of those, and perhaps you too can have pity! I'm willing to trade but I doubt it'd be a fair trade...
drink wata
I rarely get sick, but I'm not going to speculate why, and I wouldn't recommend taking advice from a thread like this. You can't really know all the mechanisms behind why you get sick or not. There are people who smoke two packs a day and are rarely sick, and I'm sure some of them attribute that to smoking.
I don't stress about getting sick.
Occasional plumbing work
Nothing like other people's shite and pish to boost the old immune system
If I'm traveling on trains/planes solo I wear a mask - every time I don't I then get ill 🤧 so it obviously works...
I wear a fitness tracker and keep an eye on my heart rate, you can often tell if you are actually coming down with something VS just being tired by looking at how your HR changes with exertion. If your coming down with something, relax, keep warm and eat well etc.