People who have not caught a cold for a long time, in addition to poor immunity, are also more prone to cancer? tell you the scientific explanation

The 16-year-old Ah Jun is an athlete in the class. He is 1.7 meters tall, tall and thin, with a sunny appearance and a good kick. But a few months ago, when Ah Jun was playing football, he occasionally felt tightness in his chest and couldn't breathe.

At first I thought it was due to the weather and didn't pay attention to it, but last month Ah Jun suddenly developed fever and cough symptoms. My mother thought it was a cold from playing football, and asked him to drink more water and take cold medicine, but there was no relief.

My mother was worried, so she took Ah Jun to the hospital to register. However, the CT scan showed that there was a 16-centimeter mass in A Jun's left lung, which occupied almost half of the lung . Further examination confirmed that the mass was malignant lymphoma.

The mother cried, "This child rarely catches a cold. Who would have thought that this 'cold' would be so serious... The child is only 16 years old, I don't want him to be tortured..."

There are many sayings about the relationship between cancer and colds, such as:

"People who rarely catch a cold are more likely to get cancer"

"Minor illnesses are constant, but serious illnesses are not. Frequent colds can improve immunity"

“……”

What is the truth?

1. Can I "exercise" immunity if I often catch a cold?

In the "Expert Consensus on Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Colds", the introduction of colds is as follows: a person suffers from an average of 2-6 colds per year. It can be seen that it is very common to have multiple colds a year.

Cold is a relatively common disease. When the temperature drops, the body encounters wind pathogens, or germs invade the human body, it will cause respiratory tract infection, and then a cold will occur.

Generally speaking, a cold is a manifestation of the immune system's resistance to viruses. The virus is discovered by the immune system and triggers an inflammatory response to sterilize it. It can be said that a cold is the embodiment of a self-protection mechanism of the body .

But a cold does not boost immunity. Adults' immune systems have developed to a more mature stage and will only decrease with age .

The so-called "frequent colds can improve immunity" is also nonsense.

This statement is mainly derived from the epidemiologist Dr. Strachan, who said that children's early living environment is too clean, and they are not exposed to microorganisms, which can easily lead to a lack of regulation of the immune system.

The "microorganisms" mentioned here refer to bacteria that live in symbiosis with humans, not viruses that cause colds.

According to observations, it is found that early childhood viral infection does not achieve a protective effect . In other words, frequent colds will not be able to "exercise the immune system".

2. People who rarely catch colds get cancer?

In life, I always hear that this person looks very strong on weekdays and has never had a cold all his life, so why was he suddenly diagnosed with cancer. Is there a direct link between cancer and the common cold? Are people with fewer colds more likely to get cancer?

Why do some people don't catch cold easily? This is related to genetic factors or living habits.

Whether we are susceptible to colds will be affected by genes. Some people's genes are not very sensitive to cold viruses, so they will not catch colds easily. In addition, daily life habits can also affect colds, such as sleep, stress, etc. Generally, people who sleep regularly and have low life stress have a balanced immune system and are not easy to catch colds .

Is there any relationship between cancer and immunity?

Immunity is the ability of the body to resist external invasion and maintain the balance of the internal environment. When the balance of the immune system is disrupted and the protective function is abnormal, it is easy to provoke bacteria, viruses, etc., causing symptoms such as colds, diarrhea, and hepatitis .

If the body is in a state of low immunity for a long time, the body's ability to recognize tumor cells will decrease, and the body will easily become a "cancer physique", increasing the possibility of cancer.

Cancer is related to immunity, but it really has nothing to do with the number of colds.

A German study confirmed that compared with those who had more than three colds per year, those who had not had a cold within 5 years had no significant difference in the risk of cancer .

And many people who have a cold, the reason why a serious illness is found out as soon as they are checked. It can only be said that because minor illnesses rarely occur on weekdays and do not pay attention to mild symptoms, even if there is a cough or fever, I have enough confidence in my body.

However, once the symptoms are ignored, there is a high probability that it is a precursor to a serious disease, which can easily cause a gap for people.

3. If you have a cold, don’t overuse antibiotics

For children in the south, in November and December, the temperature fluctuates from hot to cold, and they are most likely to have a fever and catch a cold. At this time, many people will buy some antibiotics and take them, thinking that the cold is to "reduce inflammation".

This approach is a big mistake! The common cold is a self-limiting disease, and there is no specific antiviral drug yet. Even if the medicine is used, it only relieves symptoms such as runny nose and sore throat, and does not target the cold virus.

The long-term abuse of antibiotics as a medicine for colds can easily cause the body to develop drug resistance. Once antibacterial treatment occurs, it will fall into a situation where no medicine is available .

But don't underestimate the cold. If you get a cold and don't take medicine, you may face certain risks:

First, it may cause myocarditis. It is clinically found that more than 50% of patients with viral myocarditis have a history of colds, and they still have palpitations, chest tightness and other discomfort after a week of catching a cold, so they should go to the hospital to check whether myocarditis is possible;

Second, it may induce pneumonia. After contracting the flu, if you don't take your medicines, your condition may worsen and lead to pneumonia. Oselstat is the most common drug for influenza, and the ideal time of administration is within 48 hours.

In addition, it is also important to improve your own resistance every day. How to improve disease resistance, these details should be remembered:

• Lay the foundation

The operation of the immune system requires sufficient nutrients as support, and a comprehensive and balanced nutritional intake is the basis for ensuring the normal functioning of immunity.

• Reinforcement Guarantee

Sleep is an important guarantee for the body's resistance. A study published in the journal "Sleep" found that after exposure to the virus, people who slept less than 6 hours a week were four times more likely to develop a cold than normal sleepers.

• strengthen resistance

Studies have pointed out that exercising for 30-45 minutes a day, 5 times a week, helps to increase immune cells, thereby strengthening the body's resistance, so that the body has enough "ammunition" to eliminate the virus.

Colds and cancer are two completely different diseases, and the frequency of colds does not directly lead to the occurrence of cancer.

Even so, colds cannot be ignored. If you suffer from chronic diseases, or have low immunity, and have symptoms of discomfort, and do not take effective treatment, it is easy to cause inflammation in the body, repeated for a long time, and the body will fall into a vicious cycle. It will be easy to find the door.

References:

[1] "People who don't catch a cold for a long time are more likely to get cancer? Tell you the truth! ". Family Doctor Online. 2022-01-29

[2] "People who seldom catch a cold, but once they get a serious illness? The truth is surprising." Tencent Medical Code. 2022-08-10

[3] "Do people who don't like colds usually have stronger immunity?" ". Life Times. 2022-08-17

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