You keep getting sick despite feeling healthy due to factors like chronic stress, poor sleep, nutritional gaps, and frequent germ exposure (public transport, kids) that weaken your immune system, even if your daily routine seems fine. Underlying issues like allergies, dehydration, lack of exercise, environmental toxins, or even certain genetic predispositions can also play a role, making you more vulnerable to viruses and infections. Addressing these lifestyle factors and potentially consulting a doctor for underlying conditions are key to improving your resilience.
A healthy immune system can still become weakened due to infections (HIV, for example), certain medications (including corticosteroids), surgery or other traumas. The most common cause of immunodeficiency worldwide is malnutrition, affecting many communities around the world where access to food is restricted.
But, for some, getting sick frequently is the norm. For most adults, it's normal to get somewhere between one and three colds per year, Dr. Otto Yang tells TODAY.com.
Why You Might Be Getting Sick More Often. Feeling like you're always one sneeze away from your next cold? It might not just be bad luck. Some of the most common reasons your immunity may be low are poor sleep, vitamin D deficiency, and chronic inflammation.
Over 65s, pregnant people, babies, very young children, and people with certain long-term health conditions are most vulnerable to catching sickness bugs because of weakened immune systems. Being overweight can also lead to a weaker immune system and make the symptoms of some illnesses feel much more severe.
See six tips below.
Here are a few essential habits for cold and flu prevention.
Five signs of a weak immune system include frequent infections, slow-healing wounds, persistent fatigue, ongoing digestive issues, and getting sick with things that last a long time, like a cold that lingers or severe infections requiring strong treatment. These indicate your body struggles to fight off pathogens or repair itself effectively.
Causes of cyclical vomiting syndrome
stress, anxiety or excitement. not getting enough sleep or doing too much exercise: colds, allergies and infections. certain foods and drinks, such as alcohol, caffeine, cheese or chocolate.
The first step in an autoimmune reset is eliminating foods that commonly trigger inflammation or immune responses, including:
Consuming adequate amounts of several vitamins and minerals—including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, selenium, and zinc—is important for proper immune function, and clinical deficiencies of these nutrients weaken immunity and can increase susceptibility to infections [2,4,5,8-10].
Symptoms of primary immunodeficiency can include: Getting infections often, including pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections, meningitis or skin infections. Inflammation and infection of internal organs.
An immunoglobulins blood test can help your health care provider diagnose different types of health conditions that may affect your immune system. A variety of conditions can cause abnormal levels of IgM, IgG, and/or IgA, such as: Autoimmune disorders.
Common symptoms of autoimmune disease include:
5 things that can weaken your immune system
Vitamin B12
Without enough B12, your body struggles to create new immune cells. That means viruses can get the upper hand. Your body shows the following signs: Constant fatigue, weak immunity and frequent colds, tingling in hands and feet, brain fog or forgetfulness, and mood swings.
Bad diet rich in saturated fats, sugar, and salt, smoking and drinking alcohol, too much or not enough physical exercise, bad hygiene (especially not washing your hands well), stress and lack of having fun and relaxation have a negative impact on our immune system.
CVS is more common in children than adults. Approximately 3 of every 100,000 children have CVS. In most cases in children, episodes start between the ages of 3 and 7. However, the disorder can begin at any age.
You can strengthen your immune system by eating nutritious foods, exercising and getting enough sleep.
Immune Defense Test. This at-home test kit measures four key blood markers, providing powerful insights into your immune system health and areas for improvement. This at-home test kit measures four key blood markers, providing powerful insights into your immune system health and areas for improvement.
The immune system plays a crucial role in the susceptibility, persistence, and clearance of these infections. With 70–80% of immune cells being present in the gut, there is an intricate interplay between the intestinal microbiota, the intestinal epithelial layer, and the local mucosal immune system.
In addition to choosing healthy options for your diet, your immune system will also benefit from healthy lifestyle choices:
Sleeping More When You're Sick Is *Totally* Normal—And Evidence of Your Immune System in Action. The reason why being sick makes you tired (and why you sleep so much when you're sick) is because your immune system needs sleep to recover.
Exercise causes changes in antibodies and white blood cells (WBCs). WBCs are the body's immune system cells that fight disease. These antibodies or WBCs circulate more rapidly, so they could detect illnesses earlier than they might have before. However, no one knows whether these changes help prevent infections.