Woman’s Passions

If we are more or less aware of allergy, beriberi and other spring-summer diseases, then there are many controversial points in notorious immunity weakening.
People without medical education have rather vague understanding of immunity and its weakening. In general it is formed due to advertising campaigns of preparations, directed on “increase” and “strengthening” of weakened immunity.

However, the devil is not as terrible as he is painted. Well, what is immunity and how does it work?
Let’s start with this.

Human needs immune system to struggle with pathogenic invasions – both from the outside (bacteria, viruses, fungi) and from within (malignant change of cells).

Transplant organ represents same invasion for it, so after transplantation, one has to take preparations, suppressing immune protection constantly.
To understand immunity’s work, let’s draw a parallel with law machinery.

When an alien agent appears in organism, “patrol force”, represented by scavenger cells, arrests (absorbs) it. They also identify detentioner, determining its antigens – molecules, specific for a certain kind of “enemy”.

Received information is directed to a “database”, kept by a certain sort of lymphocytes – T-helpers. They send this information to other sorts of lymphocytes – T-killers that find and kill a “criminal” and B- lymphocytes that produce antibodies – protein molecules connecting “enemy” antigens.

Information about some antigens was gained and fixed in the process of evolution and is peculiar to all people since birth – such immunity is called innate immunity. induced immunity is formed while contact with antigens during life.

Immunity fails are possible. Sometimes “guards” make a mistake and attack “peaceful citizens” – their own cells. This leads to development of autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or diabetes. It also happens, that one of “divisions” is not active enough – as a result, certain sort of immunity is broken. For example, immunological surveillance disorder leads to development of malignancies. “Internal troops” excessive zeal leads to allergic diseases.

As a rule, when the say about immunity lowering, they mean weakening of general immune answer (production of “informative” substances, cell reactions, antibodies) to invasion of pathogenic microorganisms (most of all - catarrhal diseases etiological agents, not breakage of some certain immune link.

With all that going on, criteria of such deterioration are more than vague, of course, if we ignore serious immunodeficiency disorders, like, for example, AIDS. Pustular skin diseases - streptococcal impetigo, furunculosis etc inform about immunity worsening very well. You also can suspect of it while frequent (5-6 and more times per year) colds. However, this does not mean you should sound the alarm and swallow up adjuvants while prolonged catarrh.

Besides, immunity stimulation is rather an object for serious discussion nowadays. Medicinal influence should be directed on some concrete immunity functions, not whole immune system in general. Most often this term is used to describe immunity support in “increased readiness state” to microbes’ invasion, what should be rather called immunomodulation. By the way, some hormones - female breeding, somatotropin, prolactin and others have such effect, however, one cannot use them for immunstimulation.

Unfortunately, now there are almost no preparations, able to “strengthen immunity in general”. You can inoculate or increase immunity against concrete diseases – there are vaccinations for this purpose. You can also struggle with concrete infection, inoculating appropriate ready antibodies in organism. But offers to “increase immunity” through medication in most cases are just an advertising gimmick.

Well, it turns out there is nothing to do? Take it easy. There are several recommendations that will help you to keep your immunity on normal level.

- Do not ignore immunizations schedule. This recommendation concerns, first of all, those who travel to exotic countries and parents, who wish to protect their kids from many dangerous infections.

- Take care your food is full-value in quantity and nutrient composition, full of vitamins and microelements – immune system is very sensitive to their lack or misbalance. During spring asthenia, when organism is weakened after colds, short daylight hours and lack of vitamins in food, include polyvitaminic preparations with microelements in your diet.

- Provide yourself with normal night’s rest – even single not getting enough sleep weakens immune reaction temporarily.

- Learn struggling with psychological loads and stresses, as they also lead to lowering of immunity. When it is necessary, you can master some method of relaxation (yoga, breathing gymnastics etc.).

- Keep fit, try to stay on fresh air more often.

- Receive timely and complete treatment from any infections.

- From time to time support your organism with toning vegetable preparations – ginseng, magnolia-vine, Eleuterococus. They are probably the only ones, able to stimulate non-specific immunity without unpredictable effects.

Surely, above-mentioned recommendations look too general, however, they come to the fore concerning immunity lowering, as immune system is very sensitive to things, connected with way of life.

Well, if you have suspects a serious immunity disorder, do not postpone a visit to a doctor – probably, there was some breakage of concrete immune link and you will have to receive specific treatment.