Winter is coming...

 

 

Let’s start with one that, initially, seems rather contentious: 

 

Having the occasional Cold, Cough, Flu or other acute illness is not automatically a “bad” thing. While we know that no one likes to be ill – us included (!) – any acute illness gives our Immune System a good workout, as well as helping update it to the latest bugs doing the rounds. It’s rather like updating the anti virus software on your computer, necessary, although not a huge amount of fun… And that’s without all the “detoxing” any acute illness involves, more about this in a minute. 

 

To be cautious with quick / easy fixes, regardless of who’s offering them. As so often is the case, it’s about the process and what our body – and we (!) – learn in the process. 

 

Sadly, instant fixes provided by someone else – whether they’re wearing a white coat or not – rarely have the desired effect, particularly if “sold” to us as meaning we don’t need to do anything for ourselves. There are always longer term ramifications and rarely end well… 

 

We’ve said it many times before, but it’s something we often forget – or take for granted. Our bodies are incredibly intelligent and resilient, easily coping with most things that happen in our lives. We just have to remember to give them the resources and attention they need. In other words, make the right lifestyle choices on an ongoing basis and, just as important, when we’re unwell. 

 

It takes a lot of energy to be ill. You’ve probably never stopped to think about it, but running a full immune response requires a lot of energy. And we’re not just talking about producing and deploying all the necessary antibodies and white blood cells to handle the infection. 

 

In most acute illnesses there’s also an increase in body temperature. This is designed to make the body less hospitable to the infection, as well as helping stimulate the Immune System response. Then there’s any mucus, catarrh and snot – as well as sickness or diarrhoea (!) – which all help clear the body and so play a vital part in the healing process as well. Oh, and don’t forget the rashes in those lovely spotty childhood diseases, like Measles or Chicken Pox. 

 

From the body’s point of view ANY infection is a serious potential threat for the simple reason that it’s breached its outer defences. So, it makes sense to divert energy to where it’s needed most. The Immune System response. This means that any energy not needed to maintain basic life supporting functions – breathing, keep the heart beating, etc – will be immediately redeployed. For example, a temporary shutting / slowing down of the Digestive System as well as the ability to think clearly. 

 

It’s rather like the body calling out all its front line troops plus their support staff and equipment. To do this, much of the non essential and routine work has to be postponed and left for another day. While it’s much easier to see this happening in an acute infection like Flu, the same process takes place whatever the illness. It’s just the intensity – and length – of the Immune System response which varies. 

 

So, for a Cold, less energy would need to be diverted away from normal body functions to the Immune System. And for a relatively short time too, a few days or a week at most. However, this would be enough to make you feel more tired or irritable than usual. Perhaps not so quick on the uptake mentally. 

 

This is the reason why the common sense approach to any acute illness is to take it easy. If you try to struggle on, all you’re doing is preventing your Immune System from getting the resources it needs to deal with the infection as quickly and efficiently as possible. It then takes longer to clear and, often, you’re left feeling “under the weather” needing more recuperation time afterwards. It’s no coincidence that many cases of Chronic Fatigue or ME can be traced back an earlier dose of Flu or Glandular Fever, which the body was never given the necessary time – or resources – to completely resolve. 

 

But what about chronic ongoing health issues? 

 

Well, it’s exactly the same process, albeit at a much lower level. This can make it much less obvious as it’s often masked by symptoms of the chronic illness itself. Perhaps the person finds logical thinking more difficult, is more forgetful or gets tired more quickly. Is generally “out of sorts.” 

 

However, by a strange twist of fate, this often seems to make the person less prone to acute illnesses like Colds or Flu. It’s as though there simply isn’t sufficient “spare” energy to do a full blown acute Immune System response. Instead, what seems to happen is the person becomes more generally unwell on an ongoing basis, as the body attempts to deal with both the ongoing problem and a lower grade form of the acute illness. This may be in the form of catarrh or a cough that just doesn’t seem to clear. 

 

And, finally, let’s finish with what seems like a trick question. 

 

 

If you answered that it’s obviously a good thing, you’d be right. And also wrong (!). Why is that? 

 

Well, on the plus side, it could mean you’re healthy with good energy levels and a strong Immune System. Not susceptible to most bugs you come into contact with. Hurrah! 

 

However – and here’s the rub – as suggested above, it could also indicate a chronic ongoing health issue and so lower energy levels. Your body simply doesn’t have the necessary resources to be able to run a full Immune System response. 

 

And, we should quickly add, it’s not just ongoing chronic illnesses which can have this effect. Stress or exhaustion in all its guises, as well as an unresolved grief or trauma, can also drain our energy reserves, leaving insufficient resources to produce a full Immune System response. 

 

So, having given you plenty to think about (!), we’re going to leave it there for today. And, yes, we promise that our traditional Winter advice will appear next week. 

 

As always, the choice is yours.