Illness Prone since moving to the UK!!!

I am just curious if anyone else is having this similiar problem!  Ever since I have moved to the UK, I can't go 5 months without coming down with some kind of illness!!  When I was in the US I would become ill every year or year and half or so, to now getting ill every 2-5 months?

Any suggestions or advice??

Thanks!

xox

When I first started coming over, I caught a cold pretty much every time. For *years*. The time period coincided with quitting smoking, which may have played into it (other people I know who quit caught every cold coming down the pike for a while).

I must have built up some kind of immunity, though -- I haven't been sick once since moving here full time ten months ago.

It's been the opposite for me - I've been sick far less than usual since moving here. I think that has to do with moving from the city to the country, though, maybe. Less pollution, fresh sea air, and all of that. Plus, the weather does change frequently, but not from one extreme to the next, as it often does in Texas through the winter.

I did get incredibly sick the first time I came to England, when I stayed in London for a week. And there are others on the forum who have complained of frequent or long lasting colds and illness since moving here.

Since moving to the UK I have developed sinus problems, which I never had in the US. I guess it's just down to the weather, and damp. It means that anytime I get a slight cold, it generally turns into 2-3 weeks of sinus issues. I am becoming a lot better at managing and preventing these, but yeah probably 2-3 times a year at least.

Oh dear!! I have stopped smoking since moving to the UK as well!! lol

OH, weather changes are dangerous in Texas!! It is still pretty bad here though!!

I really hope I become immune at some point!! it really aggravates me! LOL anytime anyone around me feels ill I get it! I lost my voice this week! Unbelievable! I have been popping vit C, echinacea, and drinking lemon and honey like crazy! LOL

Oh dear!! I have stopped smoking since moving to the UK as well!! lol

OH, weather changes are dangerous in Texas!! It is still pretty bad here though!!

I really hope I become immune at some point!! it really aggravates me! LOL anytime anyone around me feels ill I get it! I lost my voice this week! Unbelievable! I have been popping vit C, echinacea, and drinking lemon and honey like crazy! LOL

Drink a little whiskey or brandy when you feel ill. It really does help. The warming effect makes you feel better, plus it numbs sore throat pain and helps you sleep better.

Drink a little whiskey or brandy when you feel ill. It really does help. The warming effect makes you feel better, plus it numbs sore throat pain and helps you sleep better.

Or drink a lot of whiskey and forget you're ill at all.   

I have found I have been less ill since living in Europe.  I attribute that to the fact that I was from the South and always going from extreme heat outside to chilly a/c inside.  I think the constant extreme temperature fluctuations wreaked havoc on me. 

You have to bear in mind that viral and bacterial strains that make us sick will have evolved and mutated differently region to region.  While you have a lifetime of antibodies built up for those infections in your area of the US, the ones in the UK (and indeed everywhere else) have evolved completely differently, as such your antibodies are practically useless.

We just have to wait, be exposed, and build up the immunity over time.

You have to bear in mind that viral and bacterial strains that make us sick will have evolved and mutated differently region to region.  While you have a lifetime of antibodies built up for those infections in your area of the US, the ones in the UK (and indeed everywhere else) have evolved completely differently, as such your antibodies are practically useless.

We just have to wait, be exposed, and build up the immunity over time.

Yes. All of the work you'd done to become immune to the run of the mill cold and influenza now has to re-start a bit.  In addition, if you have any allergies, they may spike while you're adjusting as well.  Plus, the stress and havoc of moving will knock your immune system down for a little while as well.

Do you work in a place where you'd get exposed to sick people a lot? Or even just kids? That would certainly up the number of colds! 

I was sick all the time when I lived in London.  Some of it is being exposed to new strains of the cold virus, some of it was being on public transport all the time.  I was ALWAYS having someone with a wet cough sit next to me on the bus.

For the first few years after I moved here I found myself with a cold all of the time and I too felt like I have built up an immunity and it's not so bad anymore. 

awww well at least I am not the only one experiencing all of this!!!  Thanks for your advice guys!  Yeah I have worked as a chef since I was 16, and now that I have a bit more human contact and working with money, I doubt it helps the situation!!!  Come on immunity!!!

xox

I've only been here for 2 days and I'm sick...but I brought it with me so unfortunately I can't blame it on cold, rainy England...this time!

I was sick all the time when I lived in London.  Some of it is being exposed to new strains of the cold virus, some of it was being on public transport all the time.  I was ALWAYS having someone with a wet cough sit next to me on the bus.

Same here!

We had a thing in the US Navy called The Crud. The majority of recruits got it. They even gave us something for it (no idea what as I was really out of it the first day - read hangover - must have subconscienously used that thar alkeehol for some sort of medicinal purpose). Anyway they attributed this crud to the gathering of unlike people from all over the US. I suppose you could apply this reasoning on a global scale, ie there are a lot of gathering of unlike people in Britain (think how many traverse through Heathrow each day and that is just one port), then top it off with all the emotional stress...

I can't say I experienced the illnesses as such but when I first came back, it took months to get used to the dairy products. My body violently rejected everything if I had a yogurt, glass of milk, etc. I love my milk and anything dairy related so needless to say breakfast was a real b*tch the first couple of weeks. My 'shipmates' took the piss and kept saying I was preggers as it always occured in the mornings.