Working from home affecting immunity?
 

For those of us that work from home and end up spending most of our time in the house. Have you noticed at all that you get colds, etc faster than you did in the past when you go out and 'mix' with the public more than you normally would? When I used to commute into central London everyday and be around all the germs of all the people on the underground, etc I very rarely got sick. However, over the past few years of working from home I have noticed that if I go into an environment where there are lots of different people I will more than likely come out with a cold. My theory is because I am not around those germs all the time and not building up an immunity.

When I first moved to the UK I got really sick after about a month. My doctor essentially told me the germs here were slightly different than the germs back home and so I didn't have a natural immunity to some of the 'normal' germs here. Sort of like a less severe version of when the English went to North America and the Native Americans got sick from their strange germs.

Anyway, has anyone else that has worked from home for a long period noticed this?

actually its the other way around with me.. I haven't been sick once the past 3 years working from home..

Not to shit on your house or anything, but i have a theory that says that people today are too clean; in the past, we weren't that clean, but, we developed more of an immunity to common germs because we were around them more often. However, nowadays, people seem to clean their homes fanatically - and as you say, if you are in a sterile environment (i.e. your home) all the time, then your immune system isn't getting the chance to develop, and hence when you actually do venture into the outside world, your immune system becomes what i'd politely term as "shit out of luck".

Yeah,

I heard parents that keep their kids in 'clinical' like sterility have children that are more prone to eczema and asthma etc!

Let them play in the dirt!! :thumbsup

More healthy here. :thumbsup

I'm in my house most of the time and I barely ever get sick. Most people think that I should be sick all of the time seeing as I'm in the house most of the time, I eat very unhealthy, I'm a very heavy smoker and I drink pepsi or coke 99.9% of the time. I haven't had a cold in over 3 years.

I don't get sick in the house. It is when I actually go out and spend some real time in a public group. For example, I went to a gig the other day and now I have a monster head cold.

Trust me, with two 7 month old puppies this place isn't overly clean..though not overly dirty either.

even then I don't get sick. Seems that I'm immune to whatever they throw at me lol

I don't know... everytime my friends & family get sick I just stay away for a couple days. I have been sick maybe 2-3 times in 5 years.

I'd never accuse the woman i'd love to meet and show some Northern things to (chips and gravy, mushy peas, pork pies, proper beer...) of anything. :winkwink:

Off topic, but slightly related, in an ideal world, would you prefer to work in an office or in your home?

i used to get sick all the time back when i worked with people. now i work at home i get sick a lot less. i do go to places like target and the supermarket, but apparently that's not usually an issue.

Wear a mask and gloves when you leave the house

works for Michael Jackson

naw, I like working from home. I am a workaholic but my brain starts to hurt too much after a long period of commuting..especially in London. So, I like getting up and sitting down and working and then finishing work and going to bed.

I've had mushy peas btw ;) My flatmate is from St. Helen's.

Yeah I do go into the world for shopping and stuff...i'm making myself sound like 'the cat lady' or something. I just don't stand squashed in a subway car everyday breathing in every germ in the world, like I used to do.

I'll take the head cold.

I've worked from home the past 4 years at least, and haven't been sick once in that time

if you're concerned about your body's immune system look towards your diet before anything else :2 cents:

I find I've been more immune to stuff working from home... not the other way around!

So true. SInce working from home I get sick less. However if you put me in a room with kids they will infect me every time.

I read recently that all these anti bacteria soaps and cleaners are actually helping to breed super bacteria that can overcome these agents. What will we do about super bacteria?

The flip side of it is that because you aren't outside all the time getting exposed to every little thing and then pumping yourself full of meds every time you get the sniffles your natural immune system is actually stronger and able to fight things better.

Since I have been working from home 90% of the time I get sick way less, but I have found that when I do get something more than a cold or flu it can be worse. Of course working from home means that I can relax and take it easy while still working rather than having to be miserable and dragging my ass in to an office every day.

I have to disagree. Sarah strikes me as an intelligent and energetic / athletic person (though we've never met), so I would put your colds down to bad luck. I don't want to tempt fate by saying I never get ill, but here's a list of medically proven ways to boost your immune system:

* Eat plenty of the following nutrients : vitamin C (citrus fruit, broccoli), vitamin E (nuts, vegetable oils, and whole grains), garlic (also a natural antibiotic), zinc (beef, turkey, beans, oysters, crab), bioflavenoids (fruits and vegetables), selenium (chicken, whole grains, tuna, red snapper, lobster, shrimp, garlic, egg yolks, sunflower seeds, brown rice), carotenoids (carrots, yams), omega-3 fatty acids (nuts, salmon, tuna, mackerel, flaxseed oil)

* washing your hands thoroughly and often with soap and warm water, particularly before eating and after using the bathroom. This reduces the number of organisms that can enter your body.

* cooking meat thoroughly to kill dangerous bacteria and other microorganisms.

* getting at least eight hours of sleep every day ? deep sleep stimulates and energizes the immune system.

* maintaining a healthy weight ? obesity can lead to a weakened immune system.

* exercising at least 30 minutes most days of the week ? physical activity stimulates the immune system and helps with weight maintenance or reduction.

* consuming alcohol moderately ? while one drink does not appear to affect immune response, having three or more drinks in a short period starts to impair white blood cells' functioning.

* eating less sugar ? 100 grams of sugar, the amount in one 12-ounce can of regular soda, can reduce the ability of white blood cells to kill germs by 40 percent for up to 5 hours!

* not smoking ? smoking leads to lung and other cancers, and also weakens the immune system.

* reducing and managing stress, such as effective time management ? long periods of feeling stressed weakens the immune response.

* getting the vaccines recommended by your health care provider.

I don't smoke, I don't have a bad diet, I am overweight but have been losing for a while now and I take vitamins and get flu shots, etc. The idea of not washing my hands after going to the bathroom makes me want to vomit.
I will however get a chest infection at the drop of the hat and that has been the case since I was a child.

However, I have noticed that since working at home I will 'catch colds' from other people much easier. Kids with a cold are a particular problem for me. I know my mother, who is a teacher, was pretty much immune to coughing, sick kids because she was around them all the time. Every now and then something one of the kids would get her but usually not.

I am not making up getting sick from 'english germs' when I first moved here. It was something I hadn't really thought about but when I started to work in an office environment (after about a month of living here) and being up close with so many people I got really sick. My doctor said that happens alot to people new to the country and that it would calm down once I built an immunity. It took me getting Mono (for my wedding noless) but I did build that immunity.

don't know about that but I moved to a house that's close to a road - not noisy at all but VERY dusty, and now my alergy kicked in big time, I bloody hate it

Try leaving home every once in a while. :)

i never get worse then a cold every couple years. haven't had anything like the flu for at least 5-6 years. but my alergies whoop my ass every year.. although i do go out a lot even though i work from home.

I guess I got the best of both worlds here. I work from home as well as an office but am always out twice a week shooting at clubs so am still mingling with the public. I rarely get sick but when I do I just drink more to ease the pain. hahaha

how do people working in hospitals handle it? their immune systems improve? anyone know?

I don't know but i have always wondered. Surely their immune systems must be better than ours, otherwise they'd soon be patients themselves?

I have always wondered about the recptionists at my doctor's office. They must get every germ coughed over them.

When I do go out and sometimes catch a cold but that only last a day or so

I rarely get sick and when I do, I get over it far quicker than the people around me. I've had my boyfriend get sick, give me a cold, then he'll still be sick after I'm all better. I keep my house fairly clean, but there are some dustbunnies in the corners. I have no children. Sometimes I take vitamins. I rarely take pills for anything unless I'm dying. I'd rather sleep off a headache than take a pill for it.

No, I get colds less because Im washing my hands more and have a Purell on my desk at all times. At work you cant always get away to wash your hands.

and I go out for walks often to take breaks.

I now have the first cold that I have had in 2 years. And I have been working from home a lot longer than that

Have not been sick much since working out of house. The biggest difference I found was moving from South Dakota, I never got sick, now, the last 9 years living in Arizona, I get sick at least once for about a week.

I found the opposite. Working from a home office hardly ever get sick.

Heck yeah. Actually I've been playing with theory myself. When I go shopping for groceries or whatever, there's usually no problems; I don't get sick from that.
But, like, last week I had a meeting and while driving down there in the morning I felt just great. Lovely morning and all, sun was shining, no cars on the road. Great feeling.
Then, as I'm heading home I start feeling a cold coming along. I know everyone say it doesn't happen that fast but I am certain that it does. And I'm certain some of those dimbwits I was meeting had something or other that they passed on to me. And lo and behold if I didn't spend like 4-5 days fighting a terrible cold.
Never again. I need to get one of those Japanese mouth-covers for when I go out.

nope, haven't been sick in a loooong time.

Working at home I rarely get sick.

I have noticed that myself also

say what???

I never get sick... but then again I don't spend alot of time at home working, free time is probably my favorite thing about this job ;)

Same here :thumbsup

I've had the cold once now in 3 years and it only lasted for 3 days before I was fully recovered

I haven't been sick in years.

i have worked at home for many years. i get sick maybe once a year. immune function is still about diet, exercise and overall health. once you let those things go, you get sick more and more often.

Kristian great post man :thumbsup

I'm exactly the same. Ever gone to the toilet in a bar and notice the amount of people who do not wash their hands after using the bathroom ? (Maybe that's just a male thing, not sure) but it disgusts me :disgust

I always wash my hands after handling money as well, god knows where that money has been before I got it :Oh crap

Don't watch this then: :1orglaugh
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pydv5VHQyPI

i have a partner that is very health conscious. he has been had a cold maybe 2-3 times in the last 15 years. really amazing.

Well hello my lost twin brother :1orglaugh

Reading this thread I guess I made it sound to people like I am sick every moment. I get sick maybe three times a year but I have just noticed that I am more likely to catch things in a confined space with strangers - plane, nightclub,etc - ie stale air - than I would have been when I was out of the house all day everyday when I would be exposed to those germs all the time.

Sarah - I think working out of the public is much healthier . . I seldom get colds flues etc . . I won't shoot a model that is ill . . I tell them they won't look good on camera and it's not fair to my clients . . now when I first started 'working' with models I was sick for weeks at a time off and on . . took a bit to get my immunity up and 'working' with some many people from all over the country is a sure way to catch colds and stuff . . I do wash my hands all day long and use purell . . . I will leave a room with sick people in it . . . immediately . . in LA we are now exposed to tuberculosis and all manner of third world diseases that were virtually eradicated in the states 40 years ago . . prolly in England too from the heavy immigration -bmb