Still lots of Covid about?

[Van-Wild]

A lot, I would say. Physical exercise, diet and good overall health is directly linked to your immune system and fending off such viruses.

That's what I've always thought about it as well. My wife and I have always been physically active, and our diet (and consequently our childrens) is about 80% wholefood. None of us have had covid (that we know of, of course. We have randomly tested just for interest sake, or going on/returning from holiday abroad).

I'm of the opinion* that the effect of covid on a person is directly affected by their existing physical condition. Ergo, the heathier you are the better your immune system is at fighting infection of any kind.

*my opinion is based on nothing more than my own thoughts and experiences. I am not a medical or scientific professional

 

[TLM]

Just in case somebody wants to read interesting but slightly morbid medical text look: "cytokine storm covid". One gets a lot of explanations on immune systems workings in covid.

 

[Chris]

That's what I've always thought about it as well. My wife and I have always been physically active, and our diet (and consequently our childrens) is about 80% wholefood. None of us have had covid (that we know of, of course. We have randomly tested just for interest sake, or going on/returning from holiday abroad).

I'm of the opinion* that the effect of covid on a person is directly affected by their existing physical condition. Ergo, the heathier you are the better your immune system is at fighting infection of any kind.

*my opinion is based on nothing more than my own thoughts and experiences. I am not a medical or scientific professional

This is often the case, but Covid did start to break this pattern. Plenty of incredibly healthy people (marathon runners, soldiers and the like) getting truly hammered by Covid. I personally know an ultramarathon runner who got long term pulmonary damage from it 3 years ago and can no longer run at all. It’s not quite as binary as we’d like it to be.

 

[Van-Wild]

This is often the case, but Covid did start to break this pattern. Plenty of incredibly healthy people (marathon runners, soldiers and the like) getting truly hammered by Covid. I personally know an ultramarathon runner who got long term pulmonary damage from it 3 years ago and can no longer run at all. It’s not quite as binary as we’d like it to be.

Indeed, not quite as binary. I know people who partake in endurance events such as ultramarathons, road cycling, rugby players, who also neck 10 pints or more a week and soldiers who smoke or vape like chimneys..... underlying health issues can be unknown or historical I'm sure.

 

[Toddy]

It was the most notable feature of the flu that killed millions during the early 20th century; that it took out the fittest.

My son who had covid is a cancer survivor. His immune system is riddled with scars from the dozens of tumours that the oncologists managed to kill. His immunity is seriously compromised, yet he sailed through a bout of covid-19.

A neighbour whose son in law lived a healthy active life with no bad habits re drink or smoking, etc., died in hospital at the same time.

My other son and his girlfriend both had covid-19, and they both took a lot longer than Son2 to get over it, and both are still a bit under the weather. Again, fit healthy, clean living people.

Everybody's immune system is different.

 

[William_Montgomery]

I expect genetics has a role to play too. Though ultimately there is no guaranteed way to completely avoid picking up these viruses, maintaining a healthy immune system through health/exercise/diet etc seems to be the one of the best ways to defend against a severe case.

 

[William_Montgomery]

At the moment my vision is changing in and out with my heart beat, it's a weird experience!

That does sound weird. Hope you start to recover soon.

 

[Paul_B]

Of course the ultra fit like pro athletes in track events I heard were more prone to infections due to the higher physical stress they put their bodies in during training. Now recovery is considered more important than the days of train hard to play easy days in the past. Possibly affects this infection rate among the fittest now vs in the past.

I know a woman who's very fit until she got something very nasty about September/October time before covid i think. It took her really bad including a long spell in hospital hooked up and in an oxygen mask. Then in the years since she had a lot of symptoms on and off that would take her off work for 4 plus weeks. Completely immobilised, even hospitalised with the aftereffects. Basically long covid but she got it before covid was even discovered in China. She's convinced it was covid and she's being treated like having long covid by doctors and on her hospital spells.

She was always out walking and running with her dog, very fit and healthy before she got ill with the mystery bug. So I think you can try and take precautions to such things but still be unlucky.

 

[Broch]

Welcome to the world of ME/CFS. Let's hope that all the work that is going into investigating Long-COVID finds some relief for people that have been suffering from ME for most of their life. A friend of mine from Uni days had a viral infection in the eighties that left him with ME and he hasn't been able to work since I know of a number of other people that have periodic extreme fatigue lasting days, weeks, or even months.

When I was 18 I came down with glandular fever; it took me months to get back to any kind of normality and a couple of years to fully recover. I was lucky though. However, it left me in a state where I would catch bad throat infections and swollen glands on a regular basis for years. I haven't had a cold or any kind of flue now for at least 15 years - that snake oil really works!

 

[TLM]

It was the most notable feature of the flu that killed millions during the early 20th century; that it took out the fittest.

The stronger your immune system the worse your cytokine storm.

 

[TLM]

I expect genetics has a role to play too.

Apparently bood type O- resists generally infections a bit, also covid.

 

[Pattree]

Just a thought......

I do wander how much of an effect a person's existing physical condition has on their immune systems ability to ward off covid?

Not a lot in my very limited experience.

(Sorry to contradict)

My son in law is by far the fittest member of our family. Probably also the most psychologically centred. He got Covid before there were any vaccines and didn’t think he would survive. When he did, he volunteered to have his antibodies harvested. This was one of the directions research took when it was still thought that it would take two years to make an effective vaccine. As we now know it was done in months and no one followed up my son in law’s donation.
He still suffers long Covid but is slowly recovering. He returned to work within a couple of months driven y determination and guts. Very proud of him.

 

[William_Montgomery]

Apparently bood type O- resists generally infections a bit, also covid.

That's interesting. Hadn't specifically heard that.

The stronger your immune system the worse your cytokine storm.

Came across cytokine storm as both a reaction to covid and as a reaction to the vaccine, but it's been a little while since looking into this stuff.

 

[CLEM]

Latest thing I saw in the media was that Long Covid doesn’t exist, it’s not a thing, not real, it is just post viral syndrome as with the flu or a/any virus.
I’am not saying it does or it don’t but that is the latest research blah blah blah.
I find that interesting

'Long Covid' doesn't EXIST, doctors say in stunning pushback against term that's creating 'unnecessary fear'

Long Covid is not a thing and the medical profession must scrap this term immediately, doctors say in a scathing assessment of a phenomenon that's believed to affect around 1.9 million Britons.According to the chief health officer of Queensland, Australia, the designation implies that there's...

www.gbnews.com

There is no such thing as long Covid, say health officials

Doctors in Queensland say the condition is no different to any post-viral syndrome

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Pattree]

My weekly Beano, New Scientist, would disagree.
Long Covid is not well understood and it is ill defined to date.
Post viral effects in general are insufficiently understood or researched.
Long Covid is probably one of many post viral syndromes that require much more research.

 

[CLEM]

My weekly Beano, New Scientist, would disagree.
Long Covid is not well understood and it is ill defined to date.
Post viral effects in general are insufficiently understood or researched.
Long Covid is probably one of many post viral syndromes that require much more research.

All very interesting isn’t it don’t you think? We should all just follow “ THE Science “ I guess.

 

[Pattree]

?

 

[Broch]

My weekly Beano, New Scientist, would disagree.
Long Covid is not well understood and it is ill defined to date.
Post viral effects in general are insufficiently understood or researched.
Long Covid is probably one of many post viral syndromes that require much more research.

Post viral syndromes have not had much attention at all even if they cause some people lifelong debilitating conditions. Now that it's going to cost the economy a large part of the workforce, we'll have to put some effort into it

 

[CLEM]

?

?

As I hit post on my last contribution to this thread I thought “ CLEM that could seem like I your being sarcastic and so forth to Pattree” but I can assure you I was not and neither was it my intention either.

It’s like this, I remember when there was Science, now we have THE Science, I also remember when we had truth and now we have MY truth.

 

[Toddy]

I have endured rheumatoid arthritis, dermatographic urticaria, and ibs for over thirty years....they only came on after I caught chickenpox as an adult.

Now there's talk that some virus' seem to be the 'cause' of such auto immune system issues.

The coxsackie B virus/& Epstein barr has been investigated as the start of the Hodgekin's lymphoma cancers that are prevalent in young adults.

Virus's are not benign, and the damned things linger hidden in our tissues.