©Arlene R. Taylor PhD Realizations Inc
www.arlenetaylor.org
Heads down. Focused. Writing Chapter 12, the last in my new book.
My mobile vibrated, startling me. “Hello.”
“You don’t know me,” the voice said.
“Would you care to introduce yourself?” I asked.
Turns out it was someone who had read my first article on COVID-19 written nearly a year ago. (Hardly seems possible; somehow this sheltering in place has “monkeyed” with a sense of time.)
In the words of the caller, “I thought whoever wrote that article was just plain nuts. This virus is just another flu virus and cannot be worse than the annual flu epidemic. However, after having several friends get sick, three of whom have died, I may have been a bit premature in that assessment. I recall your saying that sleep deprivation, dehydration, high sugar intake, lack of physical exercise, smoking or vaping, and unmanaged negative stressors were all factors that can weaken one’s immune system.”
The long and short of the inquiry was this: “How do you know if your immune system is working at top efficiency or is it 'down,' sort of 'off-line'?”
I interpreted the question to mean, “What are the signs and symptoms of a compromised—weakened—immune system?”
That is not a particularly easy question to answer because the strength of the immune system can be different in each person, and people can have differing symptoms. Nevertheless, I gave it a shot.
The signs of a weakened immune system may include these:
- Frequent colds
- Fatigue
- Swollen lymph glands
- Gastrointestinal disturbances from flatus to diarrhea to constipation
- More than 4 ear infections, 3 episodes of bacterial sinusitis, or 2 bouts of pneumonia in a 12-month period
- Mild or low-grade fever
- Dizziness
- An unexplained sense of weakness
- Headaches
- Repeated infections or slow-healing cuts
- Unexplained weight gain, especially obesity
- Some types of allergies
The caller said, “I have only 5 of those signs but I do have an autoimmune disease. How does that factor in?”
In general, all autoimmune diseases tend to be linked with a compromised immune system: in other words, one not functioning exactly as intended.
The last two questions related to the types of things that suppress immune system function and factors that potentially boost it.
Rather than reiterate information already available, I referenced 8 articles in The Doctor Within series on my website under Articles and 6 short videos of The Doctor Within on my YouTube channel, Taylor Brain Talk. “Your Doctor Within” is a nickname for your Immune System.
Reminding the caller that the brain only knows what it knows, I suggested that this is a good time to help the brain learn more.
Once you know better, you can choose to do better. Never let ignorance “monkey” with Your Doctor Within—your immune system and your level of good health.