Misconceptions About Our Immune System

By: Nick Sienkiewicz, DPT, CSCS

I’ve been sick more than ever these past 2 years

I wanted to discuss a common misconception about our immune systems this week. And to lead into that dialogue, I will tell you that I’ve been sick more than I ever have in these past two years. This is actually a good thing and a sign of my improved health! Now, before I lose you because you think I’ve gone crazy, allow me to explain myself. Prior to these past two years, I never “got sick” based on the conventional meaning and standards. My wife, Alicia, actually would tell me, “it’s really annoying how you never get sick.” It was true. I never presented with sickness as most would think. However, I experienced allergies and a runny nose nearly all 365 days of the year. Once I took allergy medication, my symptoms would clear up and I would function normally. At least to my knowledge at the time, it was normal…

Our immune system is derived of a variety of cells that serve different purposes. The two main divisions of our immune system are referred to as the TH1 and TH2 responses. A TH1 reaction is our initial response to foreign invaders. This includes igniting a fever to kill any pathogen present, whether bacteria, virus or fungus. The TH2 response is the next step in the progression. It creates antibodies that are specific to certain antigens from these microbes, in order to make your immune response more efficient the next time it encounters a particular pathogen. This information is stored, so the TH2 cells can tag these familiar foes in the future, which then allows the TH1 system to come in and clean house. The TH2 branch also stimulates histamine release to deal with allergens and environmental toxins. These two divisions of the immune response should be in harmony at all times, constantly working together. However, problems can arise when we get stuck in a TH1 or TH2 dominant state. This was my case. I was stuck in a TH2 dominant state for years of my life. The reasons for this are abundant, and is to be saved for another newsletter (I smell the topic for next week!!). Nonetheless, my hyper-functioning TH2 response had rendered my TH1 cells inefficient and dormant. As a result, my body had difficulty truly killing off pathogens in the body. My immune cells were tagging things to be exterminated left and right, but my TH1 system was never able to come in and do its job.

Due to this, I was in a state of constant allergies because my TH2 cells were continuously stimulating histamine and antibody release. The allergy medication would take care of this excessive histamine response for me, but my body was not functioning normally, let alone optimally. I was tired all of the time. My GI issues were real. I dealt with random skin rashes intermittently. When I think back to myself at that time, I don’t feel like I’m even close to the same person now. My body was dealing with a variety of hidden infections to which I had been exposed over the previous years, but I had no idea because I never once experienced the typical sickness symptoms, like fever and chills.

Fast forward to today. l’ve gotten sick about 4-5 times in the past two years; each time exhibiting symptoms that most would think of when having a cold or infection. The best part about my recent influx of illness is that each episode lasted on average 24-48 hours. Of those times, I rarely had lingering symptoms, and felt like I was back to my true, normal self within no more than 3 days following the sickness. This is how the immune response is supposed to work! Thus, my increased illness in the past two years prior to the previous couple decades is a sign of an enhanced immune response and overall improved health! Sure, there are infections that can cause symptoms to last longer than 2 days. I was fortunate to avoid contracting any of those in these instances. Ultimately, the main point here is that is NOT normal to NEVER get sick!

Your cold is a good sign of an effective immune response. Furthermore, it’s not normal to get sick all of the time either, or have recurring illness that just continues to linger for extended periods of time. Those are signs that the immune system is imbalanced and malfunctioning. Basically, don’t fear getting sick! It is a natural response of the human body and supposed to occur. Support your body during those times and let it do its thing. And if you’re “never getting sick,” pay close attention because your immune response may be irregular and you might not be quite as healthy as you think!

Let’s thrive together,

Nick