While I feverishly knock on wood, thus far we've done OK (kids ages 7, 4.5, almost 2 plus husband and I). A few small viral things that knocked the kids out for a day or two along with a couple colds, but otherwise nothing big. We did avoid some bigger group in December when my husband said there was a surge at the hospital of Covid and other respiratory illnesses, but we certainly haven't been shut-ins either. We had a Super Bowl Party, trip to the Mall of America with the kids, etc. I will say that post-Covid, I've been much more aware of hand sanitizing or hand-washing prior to eating when we are out with the kids, and if it's super crowded, I use a nasal spray that maybe helps with preventing illnesses, though we also did the basics like getting everyone their updated flu and Covid shots this fall. I feel like it's always a crapshoot with kids every winter. And it anyone is interested, CDC does a map every week for influenza-like respiratory illness, if you want to see what data is showing currently: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm.
General Sickness
- Thread starter AgronAlum
- Start date
From my understanding, there are two different kinds of asthma (each with subgroups, so there are actually more than two different types). There's allergic or eosinophilic asthma, which is regular asthma and then there's asthma that's induced by exercise. I was actually diagnosed with both. If I played sports too long, or ran too much or biked too much, especially if it was a little chilly out, I would come down with an asthma attack.
One thing about the prescribed medicine I took that was banned because people were using it to make meth, I remember it making me feel funny. Not all the time, but enough times that I associated that feeling with taking that medicine. The feeling was like looking through binoculars from the wrong end. It seemed like the whole world would zoom out, especially if I was just sitting there zoning out, staring off into space. It also made me feel lighter at the same time, but maybe that's just because I was getting more oxygen as my airways freed up.
This was pretty common pre-COVID as well. Commonly known as "festival flu" to people who frequently go to music festivals or other large scale conventions. Basically the OG "super spreader" events.
I know there are at least two different kinds because my kids have different kinds. My oldest has the exercise induced asthma along side terrible allergies which is awful when he doesn't take his meds. We were told my middle one has some type of viral induced asthma. When he gets colds and can't stop coughing, two puffs on an inhaler relieves those symptoms instantly. That inhaler has been a god send when he's sick and trying to sleep.
Right there w/the OP. Been randomly sick with things I’ve never felt before. This week couldn’t decide if it’s respiratory or abdominal. Felt fine a few days, then back to feeling weird again. Recent physical all good, feel good otherwise, rarely get sick even with young kids in the house. No way real way to describe this other than I have felt “weird”.
Speaking as a professional biomedical researcher here:
The best thing you can do is try to get involved with a patient advocacy/research foundation for your specific disease indication.
Regular clinical physicians are already overwhelmed with treating run-of-the-mill conditions. Plus, if the condition isn’t life threatening and can be avoided by avoiding triggers, it limits the urgency of the situation in the view of clinicians.
Medical researchers (a mix of MDs, MD/PhDs, and PhDs working at academic medical centers) are often open-minded, but are 100% limited in what they can do by research funding. Their job depends on getting research grants (read: getting money to do the research).
Many patients suffering from very rare or poorly understood conditions have at least generated helpful research/understanding/acceptance by banding together and supporting research grants that generate the scientific data that informs the whole medical community.
I cant for the life of me fathom why whether a baby is born through vaginal birth or Caesarian would affect its immune system years later. The baby gets antibodies from its mother while it grows in the womb, not the last few hours when it comes out the birth canal.
Could you explain?
It’s the microbiome.
There are specific types of bacteria living in the vaginal canal and also feces (babies often are exposed to mom’s poop during birth). Studies have already shown that vaginal birth babies end up with a bacterial community in their intestine that more closely resembles mom’s. Breastfeeding also plays a role in this. C section babies have a more variable and maybe environmentally-acquired group of bacteria.
Early life bacterial community in a baby is associated with long term health, development of allergy/asthma, etc. The science is still being worked out on this, but the general consensus is natural birth + breastfeeding is preferable (unless of course there is good reason for c section or formula)
I came down with a head cold about Jan 18. Head cold lasted about 24 hrs and then switched to a horrible cough. No sore throat, just a cough and some labored breathing. After a week, I went to the Doctor and he gave me a steroid shot, antibiotics, and cough medicine. It took a couple weeks to see any improvement. I am better now, but still have a slight cough.
Without going too off track, we have almost no social policy in place to support either of those so it comes down to guilting and shaming women which isn't a great long-term plan.
I try to be careful talking about this because I also don’t want to shame anyone who chooses c section or formula for good reason.
On the positive side, especially as women have filled out the ob/gyn field (and many other changes as well, like a shift to from private practice where your personal OB was expected to be on call 24/7 to a more collective ‘shift work’ model), ‘elective’ c section has become less common
This is all correct and also very well stated. Just would like to add that there are a very wide range of reasons why a c-section is preferable and if you have one for whatever reason you aren’t doing anything wrong or harming the child by having one.
Always like to mention that because there is already enough pregnancy/new mother guilt to spread around without adding to it.
Just to clarify, c-sections are actually on the rise, especially globally and in the US, first time c-sections are also on the rise the last several years.
Don’t know about “elective” as you pointed out off the top of my head but in general they are on the rise.
Ive noticed it. My wife struggled with our first so they did a C last minute. After that, the other 2 came out that way too. We know quite a number of others who have had them as well.
Natural order of things. When something gets as unbalanced as the human population is and how stupidly we're treating the planet we live on expect rot. That and the speed in which people move with modern transportation. The idiot standing in line in front of you at Walmart still in there pj's that doesn't look like they bathed in a week punching keys before you. Modern food without the nutrients it use to have..list goes on.
Interesting, and believable. I wonder if it relates to changing demographics (ie aging mothers) and more high risk pregnancy? I haven’t looked at studies I just know my wife (who is an OB) trained at places where there was a concerted effort to decrease c section rates. And in the ob community there was a bit of a stereotype of older male OBs scheduling Friday c sections so they wouldn’t miss their weekend tee time
(again, not trying to dump on male OBs here, the old school view of private practice OBs being on call for delivery 24/7 was insane and unsustainable)
I have a one year old in daycare. I don't know what it feels like to not have something at all times.
