Winter Sick Season

Winter is the time of year we associate with colds. And for good reason; these are more likely in the winter season. We can nerd out for a few minutes and learn some reasons why:

And how do we protect ourselves from getting sick? We learned a few things from COVID: 

1. Isolation works, at least for a little while. Almost all the infections we get come from other people. If you’re around less people you will get sick less often. Unfortunately, that’s not reasonable advice for most people. We’re made for relationship and connectivity. My recommendation is more from the other vantage: If you’re sick, stay home when you can

2. Wash your hands. Practice not touching your face. We transfer many pathogens to our mouth or nose, where they can begin to invade. Most viruses and bacteria are not able to cause an infection through our skin. Frequent hand washing will reduce, if not eliminate pathogens we touch with our hands. 

3. Stay active, well-rested and well-nourished. Regular exercise, adequate sleep and good nutrition allow your body to be in tip-top shape to fight off inevitable infectious exposures. They maximize your body’s ability to respond quickly and appropriately to pathogens. This will increase the likelihood of an asymptomatic infection or at least a quick recovery!

The current list of available vaccines that deal with common respiratory problems are: 

• RSV: Can cause a severe and prolonged respiratory infection, mostly affecting infants and people who have other respiratory conditions or are elderly

  • Open to people >75, or >60 at high risk for respiratory infections (COPD, Asthma, Immunocompromised); as well as pregnant women and babies under 8 months old

• Flu: Influenza (and the pneumonia which can follow it) is historically the most deadly infectious disease in the developed world. Although data from 2024 is still in process, Influenza is poised to become a “more deadly” infection than COVID this year

  • The influenza vaccine is open to essentially everyone over the age of 6 months. Children less than 8 years old are recommended to receive two doses

  • The flu vaccine cannot give you influenza, but it can make you feel crummy

  • If you’ve traditionally received the flu vaccine without complications there is no reason to stop now

• COVID Boosters: Unfortunately COVID Boosters have significantly less efficacy than the initial two doses. They continue to be recommended by the CDC and an updated booster is available now

  • If you had a significant COVID infection during the pandemic it may be a good idea to stay up to date with your boosters

  • If you’ve had all your boosters and never had a bad reaction to the vaccine it’s probably a good idea to keep up to date

  • This is still a controversial topic, and now that every person in the world has been exposed to COVID and the virus has significantly attenuated (weakened) there is space to have a discussion with your doctor about the right choice for you

• Pneumonia Vaccine: Unlike the other illness, the Pneumonia vaccine targets a bacteria rather than a virus. Most viruses cause a rather mild infection in themselves, but can lead to an even more serious bacterial infection (ie: Pneumococcal Pneumonia). Largely due to the prevalence of vaccinations, this is much less common in the US than it was even 20 years ago.

  • Recommended for adults 50 years and older.

  • Also part of the vaccine schedule for children

  • There are multiple versions of this vaccine. Some require 1 shot, and others 2.

  • The current recommendation is for the PPV23 - which is a two dose regimen

Masks:

Masks are a controversial topic. I took care of hospitalized patients throughout the COVID pandemic. I have no doubt that our procedures of infection control - including masks kept me from ever contracting the virus those first couple of years. Masks are not perfect. They have plenty of downsides. Primarily, they created a visual barrier between me and my patients that limited my ability to connect. I happily stopped wearing one as soon as regulations and recommendations permitted. At the same time, whenever I believe I may be “infectious,” with COVID or any other transmissible illness I will wear a mask in an attempt to courteously protect those around me.