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Continue ShoppingWhy Do I Keep Getting Sick? Causes & What To Do Next
Getting sick repeatedly or frequently can be a frustrating and puzzling experience. If you often feel under the weather, there are a few potential reasons why this may be happening to you.
Believe it or not, there are many different risk factors for catching a cold or other illness, and not all of these risk factors have to do with being exposed to germs. Social, cultural, and psychological factors are also contributing factors to your physical and mental wellbeing, and they may be taking more of a toll on your body than you know. Your mental and physical health are intertwined, and if something is wearing you down mentally, it may be wearing you down physically, too.
This is your ultimate guide to what may be causing your frequent illness, what to do when you start to feel sick, and how to prevent the cycle from continuing.
Factors That Contribute To Frequent Illness
Many social, cultural, and psychological factors may contribute to your likelihood of falling sick frequently, and one key factor within this category is your early childhood life. Your early life experiences can play a major role in your long-term mental and physical health, and studies have shown that experiences such as domestic violence, abuse, deprivation, or parental divorce during the childhood years may contribute to poor health and health problems later on.
Stress
One of the reasons for this link is stress, which is also a major psychological risk factor for illness in its own right. Stress can be caused by many different things and can be experienced in different ways for other people, but there is a general definition of stress which may be helpful to understand. Stress is essentially the result of a lack of “fit” between a person and their world or experience of the world, which then leads to physical or mental illness. Stress can come in many forms and may be caused by work obligations, school obligations, issues with friends, difficulties at home, or something else entirely. Work-related stress often occurs when a person becomes unable to cope with the many demands being made of them or an imbalance in the effort/reward dynamic.
While stress itself can directly increase your risk of illness due to inflammation in the body, it can also indirectly increase this risk by influencing your health behaviors. For example, when under immense stress, people may be more likely to start drinking more alcohol or smoking tobacco to cope, and these behaviors, too, can increase your likelihood of falling ill.
A Weakened Immune System
Aside from social or psychological factors, your likelihood of becoming sick is also higher if you have a weakened immune system. There are certain warning signs that may help you recognize this issue if it is the cause of your frequent illness.
Indications of a weakened immune system can include:
- You are experiencing long-term stress, which can weaken your immune response.
- You seem to always have a cold or other infection or illness, specifically if you are experiencing more than 2 or 3 colds per year.
- You are experiencing gastrointestinal issues like constipation, diarrhea, or gas. Around 70% of your immune system is located in your digestive tract, so this may be another warning sign. If you are struggling in this way, GoBiotix’s Prebiotic Fiber Boost Powder may be able to help support your immune health, increase energy, and relieve or improve digestive issues.
- When you end up with a wound, it takes an unreasonably long time to heal, even if it is minor.
- You feel tired all the time, even when you do get enough sleep.
If you are experiencing a couple of these signs, you may be dealing with a weak immune system. There are a few ways that you can help give your immune system a boost and that you can prevent illness from striking in the first place.
How To Boost Your Immune System and Prevent Illness
Boosting your immune system does not have to be as hard as it sounds, and in fact, you may be able to do so by making a few small changes to your lifestyle.
You can boost your immune system by:
- Making sure to eat a well-balanced diet with regular meals each day
- Taking care to get enough sleep every night
- Getting regular exercise without overdoing it
- Keeping up with your vaccinations
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Avoiding smoking
- Minimizing stress
Paying careful attention to these factors can help your immune system rebuild and strengthen itself.
That said, you can also work to prevent illness by doing the following:
- Washing your hands with warm water and soap, especially after using the bathroom, shaking hands with someone, before eating, before touching your face, and after touching high-contact surfaces like doorknobs
- Keeping your hands away from your mouth, nose, and eyes, as these are entry ports for cold and flu germs
- Keeping hand sanitizer on you and using it when you do not have access to soap and water
- Avoiding people who you know are sick
- Staying well-hydrated by drinking plenty of water
- Opting for vitamins and supplements for an extra boost
When it comes to vitamins and supplements, choosing a product geared explicitly towards immune health, like the GoBiotix Immunity Fizz Wellness Booster, may help boost your immune health, increase your energy, ward off the common cold, and fight inflammation in the body.
Vitamins and supplements may work wonders for you- just make sure to consult your doctor before trying out any new vitamins. Your doctor will be able to advise you about possible drug interactions or any other important information you might need to know, and they can also steer you in the right direction if you have any questions or concerns.
Suppose you have already fallen victim to the common cold and are looking for treatment methods as opposed to prevention. In that case, you can also do some things that may help shorten the duration of your symptoms, and our guide to shortening the common cold may be able to help.
The Bottom Line
Frequent or repeated illness, like the common cold, the flu, or another form of illness or infection, you might want to take a closer look at your lifestyle. Stress, for example, could be wearing you down more than you might realize, and it can take a significant toll on both your mental and physical health, thus making you more prone to illness. Additionally, having a weakened immune system is another major culprit of frequent illness. Certain things such as constant fatigue, frequent colds, and gastrointestinal issues may indicate that your immune system is compromised. You can work to boost your immune system by making sure to eat healthful, well-balanced meals, getting enough sleep, and avoiding detrimental activities like smoking or drinking alcohol.
Vitamins and supplements can also help you boost your immunity and overall health, but you should make sure to consult your doctor before starting a vitamin regimen.
Sources:
The Role of Social, Cultural, Psychological and Family Relationship Factors | Health Knowledge.org