Signs that you have immune problems

Immunity is the most important barrier to pathogens that would otherwise easily kill people in a matter of hours. When the immune system works as it should, you are not afraid of many diseases because the body destroys them even before they have time to develop. But if it is undermined, various health problems begin. The body is not only at greater risk due to the penetration of microorganisms, but it can also attack itself. Here are some signs that you have immune problems.

Persistent colds

This is perhaps the most telling sign that something is wrong with the immune system. It is quite normal to get sick with ARVI a couple of times a year, but if you go on sick leave almost every month and are constantly bothered by infections of the ears and sinuses, then it is worth checking the work of the immune system.

Dry eyes and feeling of sand

Of course, you feel dry eyes or something that looks like sand does not mean immune problems. This may be due to too dry indoor air, allergic reactions, SARS, and other problems.

But a long-lasting dryness of the eyes, coupled with redness and a feeling of sand in them, may indicate a violation of the immune system. This is because a malfunctioning immune system interferes with tear production.

Depression

It’s all about the imbalance of stress and joy hormones in many diseases. When the immune system is dysfunctional, more inflammation occurs, and the malfunctioning immune system can send inflammatory cells called cytokines to the brain.

They reduce the level of serotonin and other hormones of joy, which worsens your psycho-emotional state. The increased production of stress hormones aggravates the situation.

Skin rash

A skin rash is one of the signs of an allergic reaction. Allergy, in turn, is an excessive activity of the immune system to harmless substances. If you didn’t know, then too active immunity is no better than a reduced one, because in this case, the body attacks itself.

Due to impaired immunity, a rash can occur and psoriasis, and even psoriatic arthritis.

Stomach or bowel problems

A large part of the immune system is made up of bacteria that live in the intestines. They are symbionts, and in exchange for food and favorable habitat, they synthesize useful substances. Persistent diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, and weight loss may indicate a compromised immune system. Like other disorders in the gastrointestinal tract, such sensations can indicate both fairly mild diseases and serious ones, such as Crohn’s disease or celiac disease.

Constant fatigue

The work of the immune system requires a fairly large amount of energy. Therefore, we feel such weakness during colds because the body throws all its strength to fight the threat. When a person recovers, he realizes that he is on the mend already because he feels a surge of vigor.

But when the immune system is compromised, a person can be accompanied by constant fatigue and apathy. I don’t want to do anything except sleep.

Constantly cold hands and feet

Cold hands and feet can indicate a malfunctioning thyroid gland, which immune problems can cause. This condition is called Raynaud’s disease, when blood flow to the extremities is disturbed, especially at low temperatures, making the skin white or bluish and cold to the touch.

Regular stress aggravates the picture; therefore, doctors recommend monitoring its level when treating this autoimmune disease.

Joint pain

Rheumatoid arthritis is mistakenly considered a purely senile disease due to age-related changes. But in fact, doctors do not yet fully understand the causes of this disease. There is an assumption that rheumatoid arthritis causes disturbances in the functioning of the immune system, or rather an increase in the number of leukocytes in the blood and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system causes inflammation of the tissues around the joints, which leads to joint pain, swelling, and other problems.

Slow wound healing

Slow wound healing does not necessarily indicate a dysfunction of the immune system, and the rate of tissue regeneration depends on many factors. But if wound healing becomes longer and longer, even small scratches regenerate for a long time and become inflamed; this is one of the signs of malfunctioning immunity. The thing is that the body reacts slowly to the wound and does not send nutrients that promote healing.

Hair loss

A person loses up to 150 hairs a day, which is normal. It’s another matter when this small stream turns into a river. If the immune system is impaired, it can mistakenly attack the hair at the roots, causing them to die off and leading to alopecia areata. Hair can fall out in small areas on the head and any other body part. Hair loss is accelerated if psoriasis is associated with alopecia areata.