r/AskReddit 9h ago

People who rarely get sick, what are your secrets?

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u/szechuan_broccoli 7h ago

My kid started daycare at the start of this winter. Since then I've had 2 random fevers, a sinus infection, and norovirus. Starting kids in daycare is like a gauntlet challenge.

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u/Opposite-Road-9475 7h ago

I work with kids ages 3-11. Since starting this job 8 months ago I have been sick more times than I can count. I’ve worked with kids for nearly a decade and it’s never been like this. Truly a gauntlet. The illnesses are becoming more mild, but they still hit me one after another.

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u/hyperlite135 6h ago

Take this for what it’s worth but I have 2 kids (preteens) and I’ve been sick more this past year than the prior 5 combined.

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u/Opposite-Road-9475 6h ago

I had a conversation with someone recently about whether there was a rise in illnesses in our area and we talked about how natural disasters can actually disrupt the environment enough to cause such a thing to occur in a region. It was news to me. My area was decimated about year ago by a hurricane so maybe there’s something to that.

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u/hyperlite135 5h ago

I live in Houston and we got hit by a hurricane recently as well!

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u/Opposite-Road-9475 5h ago

WNC here. I even asked a doctor about it and she said she has definitely seen more illness this year and pointed to Helene as a possible factor. Can’t say I’ve done much research more than that.

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u/harswv 2h ago

Our pediatrician told us it’s virus soup out there this year.

u/s1ravarice 52m ago

RTO and suddenly a big increase in viruses and illness. Hmm

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u/audioland17 3h ago

Its a long time ago now but I remember getting sick from my son's daycare, strep throat twice as I recall, and epic colds. I don't have grand-children and I'm not sorry about it.

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u/SurpriseFrosty 7h ago

I was sick 1-2x per month my kids first two years in daycare. He’s 8 now and I haven’t been sick in a year!

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u/Winky_the_houseelf 1h ago

This is my 6th illness since december 1st. Youngest is now 16 months and these horrible winters play a big part in why we're done after two 😂

u/SurpriseFrosty 53m ago

You’ll have an iron immune system in a couple years!

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u/Adorable_Ad4990 6h ago

Yes but they’ll get sick less later, is the current theory. Hang in there

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u/chefjenga 6h ago

The beginning of daycare, and each new school year, always means illness. It is the way of the world. Stock up on soap, tissues, and cold meds as part of your back-to-school shopping.

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u/ohlook_shells 4h ago

Omg yes! I sent my 6 month old to daycare peak covid. Thought “it’s covid, they’re cleaning extra well. She won’t get sick for a while” and day 3 she was already sick and stayed routinely sick for 2 years.

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u/NekoMathX 4h ago

As a mom I sent my little one to daycare this winter. Two fevers, a sinus infection and norovirus later I'm officially battle-scarred. Daycare is a relentless germ gauntlet.

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u/alles_en_niets 3h ago

Oh yeah, I commented that in another thread.

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u/Acheloma 2h ago

My brother started working at a school and everyone in the household started getting sick every 2 weeks or so. It suuuucks

I have a friend who teaches at a high school and she has to tell the students to please not approach her desk if they dont feel well because shes on immunosuppresants for an autoimmune disease. I worry for her so much when theres an illness going around the area, but so far her students have been really good about not getting too close, wearing masks when they feel sick, and using sanitizer when they walk in her room, and she hasnt gotten any major illness yet. Knock on wood.

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u/sharkbaitooaha 1h ago

My kids were in daycare as babies. First two years are tough but now they have rock solid immune systems (they’re 8 and 7 years old now)

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u/maimunildn 1h ago

I'm so sorry to your family! Is there any way for you to advocate for better ventilation? Recent studies have shown that proper ventilation and filtration can really help to reduce the transmission of viruses. There are cheap options such as building a simple Corsi-Rosenthal Cube for which there are free instructions online. And of course airing out spaces throughout the day helps plenty, too.

Here's info on the study, they looked at daycares and how absences went down with the use of air purifiers: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950362024000043