Hi Drs,
On Saturday morning, I tested positive for influenza A. My symptoms are mild—more like a common cold—but I’m still annoyed because I had already tested positive for COVID at the beginning of December, which also had a very mild course. Before that, I had two common colds in November, one of which caused me to miss some training days. This makes me wonder whether it is normal to get sick so often within such a short period of time.
I am 42 years old and do strength training 3–4 times per week. I average more than 10k steps/day, although I am probably a bit short on structured cardio in terms of fully meeting the guidelines (despite doing brisk morning walks of about 45 minutes on roughly five days per week). I eat a protein-rich diet (1.8–2 g/kg body weight) that is generally healthy, with vegetables and fruit every day, and I maintain caloric balance (no weight loss or gain). I have never smoked and do not drink any alcohol.
The biggest risk factors I see are my two young children—one in kindergarten and one in school—who frequently bring infections home, as well as a mentally stressful day job, even though my working hours are modest at around 40 per week. I sleep about 7.5 hours per night on average, without major outliers. I’ve also had previous phases where I experienced relatively frequent viral infections over a few months.
Is there anything I can do to better support or “boost” my immune system, or would it make sense to have certain blood markers checked?
Thank you!