Discussion
This year I have seemed to picked up every single virus/illness/infection going. 2 x chest infection, ear infection, corneal infection multiple colds.
I started to wonder if there was something I was (or wasn't) doing to make me more susceptible and to make some changes. Read about proper handwashing, now scrub up like a surgeon. Taking anti-bacterial wipes to the gym with me. Using ear plugs and nose clip when swimming.
Hopefully all these things will make a difference. However, something I have noticed since looking closely at these things is quite how filthy the majority of the population is. A few examples:
1) Last Monday on my way out of the office I went to the toilet, I used the last of the soap. I was then off for a few days and when I came back no one had bothered to get a new bottle of soap. So for three days no one using the men's toilet had washed their hands after!
2) I swim a lot and I think the pool is where I have picked up a lot of infections. I always have a proper shower before getting in. I watched the other day for a bit and 90% of people didn't go anywhere near the shower and jumped straight in. God knows what else they actually do when they are in the pool. Dirty b
ds.
3) I went to the gym. Went over the squat rack and wiped just the bar down with an antibacterial wipe. It was black afterwards. Doesn't look like it has been cleaned in months. First thing I did when I got back to the changing rooms was wash my hands.
Anyway, no real point to this post over than to complain.
I started to wonder if there was something I was (or wasn't) doing to make me more susceptible and to make some changes. Read about proper handwashing, now scrub up like a surgeon. Taking anti-bacterial wipes to the gym with me. Using ear plugs and nose clip when swimming.
Hopefully all these things will make a difference. However, something I have noticed since looking closely at these things is quite how filthy the majority of the population is. A few examples:
1) Last Monday on my way out of the office I went to the toilet, I used the last of the soap. I was then off for a few days and when I came back no one had bothered to get a new bottle of soap. So for three days no one using the men's toilet had washed their hands after!
2) I swim a lot and I think the pool is where I have picked up a lot of infections. I always have a proper shower before getting in. I watched the other day for a bit and 90% of people didn't go anywhere near the shower and jumped straight in. God knows what else they actually do when they are in the pool. Dirty b
ds.3) I went to the gym. Went over the squat rack and wiped just the bar down with an antibacterial wipe. It was black afterwards. Doesn't look like it has been cleaned in months. First thing I did when I got back to the changing rooms was wash my hands.
Anyway, no real point to this post over than to complain.
Mr GrimNasty said:
Cumulative overexercise can seriously weaken your immune system.
I had heard of that and did wonder. I use a Heart Rate Variability monitor and app to make sure I am resting when I should to ovoid overtraining bit is a concern.I seem to recall Vladimir on here had something similar?
Still doesn't change the fact I am surrounded by filthy muther-f
kers.If you go all antibacterial, you will likely make yourself more susceptible. Go dirty and train your immune system. Don't clean your kitchen surfaces with anything other than water and basic non-antibacterial cleaning fluids.
Also, overtraining is nothing to do with heart rate etc. If you're overtraining, you get ill more easily.
When I go indoor climbing, I put my hands where others have put their shoes. Not everyone uses climbing shoes so the holds won't be germ-free. Also, people walk around the floors in outdoor shoes. Everyone walks over the same floors with their climbing shoes. The germs transfer from the floor to the walls. My hands, arms and even face touch the walls. I then normally have crisps or cakes during a break, not bothering to wash my hands. I've not experienced any problems from doing this although everything does taste slightly chalky.
Also, overtraining is nothing to do with heart rate etc. If you're overtraining, you get ill more easily.
When I go indoor climbing, I put my hands where others have put their shoes. Not everyone uses climbing shoes so the holds won't be germ-free. Also, people walk around the floors in outdoor shoes. Everyone walks over the same floors with their climbing shoes. The germs transfer from the floor to the walls. My hands, arms and even face touch the walls. I then normally have crisps or cakes during a break, not bothering to wash my hands. I've not experienced any problems from doing this although everything does taste slightly chalky.
Edited by Hoofy on Monday 10th August 10:48
Hoofy said:
Also, overtraining is nothing to do with heart rate etc. If you're overtraining, you get ill more easily.
Heart Rate Variability not just resting HR. Proven indicator of overtraining http://hrvtraining.com/2012/01/16/heart-rate-varia...Although doesn't related to immunity directly.
944fan said:
Hoofy said:
Also, overtraining is nothing to do with heart rate etc. If you're overtraining, you get ill more easily.
Heart Rate Variability not just resting HR. Proven indicator of overtraining http://hrvtraining.com/2012/01/16/heart-rate-varia...Although doesn't related to immunity directly.
944fan said:
2) I swim a lot and I think the pool is where I have picked up a lot of infections. I always have a proper shower before getting in. I watched the other day for a bit and 90% of people didn't go anywhere near the shower and jumped straight in. God knows what else they actually do when they are in the pool. Dirty bds.
You'd love professional swimmers then! ds.
I read an interview with someone famous (Thorpe, Phelps, someone like that) saying that they all piss in the pool because they're in there for a couple of hours at a time, don't want to disturb their routine to jump out and go for a leak, and know that the tiny volume of pee that they're adding to the huge volume of water will be instantly overpowered by the chlorine.Out of interest, were you raised from a young age to be so paranoid about germs?
I look round at our kids' friends now (they're 12, 9 & 7) and the ones who take time off school with coughs and colds are invariably those whose parents were watching them like a hawk to ensure they didn't pick up food off the floor and were all over them with those ludicrous antibac wipes from babyhood onwards. The kids who were allowed to just crack on with being kids are invariably now the ones who are never ill.
What I'm not sure on is whether this is cause or effect? Is there a genetic link of sickly parents running around with all the antibac products but still producing sickly kids because of genetics, or are they creating sickly kids by wiping out bacteria everywhere and robbing their immune systems of the regular small challenges they need to build up defences? If it's the latter, I wonder if you could, as an adult, stop trying to clean everything, go through a period of even more frequent illness, but train up your immune system so that in the mid to long term, you're better for it?
Kermit power said:
I look round at our kids' friends now (they're 12, 9 & 7) and the ones who take time off school with coughs and colds are invariably those whose parents were watching them like a hawk to ensure they didn't pick up food off the floor and were all over them with those ludicrous antibac wipes from babyhood onwards. The kids who were allowed to just crack on with being kids are invariably now the ones who are never ill.
This was me, albeit in the 70's and early 80's, when anti-bacterial wipes didn't exist. However, I was wrapped in cotton wool as a kid, and subsequently picked up every bug going, whereas the kids from the 'rough estate' (we were a bit out of our depth there) who ran around in t-shirts and shorts throughout the winter were tough as old boots.Actually, the susceptibility to picking up infections continued with me until around my mid-20's, when I took a job that involved lots of working outside, and silly hours doing so. Also in that environment was the complete lack of hand-washing facilities, so consequently my hands would always be grubby, as I'd be rigging and de-rigging cables and other pieces of kit that were sat on the floor, in culverts, mud, dirt and pretty much anything else you can think of.
For the first year of that job I, obviously, got fairly ill, then I've barely had a sniffle ever since. Alright, that's a slight exaggeration, but I'm not accustomed to getting ill these days, and it's been 17 years to date since I started that career.
So as a result of 41 years experience, I'm one of those that leans strongly in favour of not too much 'clean', and tend to support the view that repeated exposure to bugs and the like strengthens your immune system.
Of course, I could be wrong and it could simply be coincidence, but I'd like to think not.
TwistingMyMelon said:
Intense daily cardio exercise seems to help my immune system
Also got dogs and cats, since getting them have hardly been ill in years, looks like all the picking up st has paid off!
Also lay off booze
I used to get ill and run down all the time, hardly ever now
Got a dogAlso got dogs and cats, since getting them have hardly been ill in years, looks like all the picking up s
t has paid off!Also lay off booze
I used to get ill and run down all the time, hardly ever now
Exercise daily
Haven't had a drink since Dec 14.
Got two kids as well, constantly cleaning their s
t (literally) up.Hoofy said:
Do you get enough sleep? Do you eat healthy food or is it all dirty takeaways?
Been really trying to maximise my sleep. I average about 7-7.5 hours a day. Maybe up to 8 at the weekend.Diet wise I am good 80% of the time but do like the odd Dominos and cake. Even if I have a dirty takeaway day I still try and make sure I get plenty of fruit and veg on that day.
944fan said:
Hoofy said:
Do you get enough sleep? Do you eat healthy food or is it all dirty takeaways?
Been really trying to maximise my sleep. I average about 7-7.5 hours a day. Maybe up to 8 at the weekend.Diet wise I am good 80% of the time but do like the odd Dominos and cake. Even if I have a dirty takeaway day I still try and make sure I get plenty of fruit and veg on that day.
I guess the issues for sleep might be (1) quality (ie do you feel knackered when you get up) and (2) do you go to bed before you feel ready to fall asleep (which sounds odd but for me at least it feels better when I can shut my eyes when I'm tired rather than 15 minutes later after switching everything off, getting tomorrow's clothes ready and brushing teeth).
Hoofy said:
When I go indoor climbing, I put my hands where others have put their shoes. Not everyone uses climbing shoes so the holds won't be germ-free. Also, people walk around the floors in outdoor shoes. Everyone walks over the same floors with their climbing shoes. The germs transfer from the floor to the walls. My hands, arms and even face touch the walls. I then normally have crisps or cakes during a break, not bothering to wash my hands. I've not experienced any problems from doing this although everything does taste slightly chalky.
Me too, washing your hands would get them all damp and mess up the nice chalky dryness. 
Besides, chalk is non-toxic so I doubt it does me much harm.
didelydoo said:
Stop cleaning things and relax- wiping the bars before use sounds a bit odd.
The other day in the gym a man put his hands down his pants, had a proper full on scratch of his arse crack and then used the bar on the squat rack. I don't think I am odd in giving said bar a quick wipe down before using it. :-)Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff