When a Cold Is Not Just a Cold

Tis the season for flu, colds, and other nasty critters shared via coughs, handshakes, and sneezes. I start getting twitchy on public transit when I see uncovered coughs and hear loud sneezes. When will the bugs strike?

If you’re anything like me, just thinking about a microbe can make me catch it. I seem to collect all the stomach bugs, viruses, and sniffles that are passed around throughout the year. It’s likely due to the autoimmune suppressant medications I take because before I was on them I was not so susceptible. In recent years I feel even more exposed.

Keeping a healthy immune system with RA

I take sensible precautions such as trying to keep my immune system as healthy as possible with a daily multivitamin and probiotic capsule. I also take a vitamin C supplement for another boost. All of these supplements have been approved by my doctor because it is a tricky balance—I don’t want to take anything that would aggravate my rheumatoid arthritis or conflict with my medications.

Special considerations for zinc

For example, I can’t take anything with zinc or those immune boosters that people take at the first sign of a cold. (In fact, he doesn’t even want me to take allergy shots out of concern that they would increase my immune response and heighten my RA symptoms.)

Battling infections with rheumatoid arthritis

It’s not just how easy it is for me to catch bugs and infections that makes me jumpy—it’s the complications that can come with these illnesses. For me, a cold is not just a cold. It could become bronchitis or pneumonia.

When my husband catches a cold, he feels crummy for a few days. In my case, I am a bed-ridden mess that cannot function. And it goes on and on. Usually I feel better after a week, but colds can linger longer and then turn into walking pneumonia or other hard-to-defeat problems.

RA makes recovery challenging

I’ve been on antibiotics, inhalers, nebulizers and other treatments to keep my lungs open. I’ve fought bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, and other nasty things. Not only is it exhausting and no fun to be sick like that, it takes forever to make a full recovery.

I’m lucky that every time I have bounced back. But it has not been easy. During the last big battle I had to rest and found that I got tired of resting. I wanted to do things, but every time I tried a little bit of activity I had a setback. I just had to rest and take leave from work, let all the responsibilities sit on the sidelines for my return. I’m not good at this.

It's more than just a cold

If you don’t have a compromised immune system or live with someone who does, I think it can be hard to understand the seriousness of this problem. A cold is not just an inconvenience, it can become life-threatening. I absolutely hate it when a coworker comes to work sick or even the people on public transit who may need to get where they are going, but yet are sharing all their germs with their fellow commuters. It feels like a personal assault, but I know that people make these choices without thinking about the potential consequences for those like me.

What I try to do, little by little, is explain my immune issues to others and practice what I preach. I do what I can to prevent catching bugs. When I am sick and contagious, I stay home. When others are sick around me, I try to keep a safe distance and explain why.

For me, a cold is not just a cold. And I just can’t take any chances.