So I’m about to finish the first year here in Taiwan. Engrish teacher, yes.
It’s been fun but DAMN, I have gotten sick about 5 times in one year! Back home, It was about once a year, only in the winter. This year, 5 times. Twice in winter, twice in spring, and now once in the summer… WTF?! Is this just normal when u adjust to a new foreign environment? Or is it just because I have way too much contact with kids… Not sure but it sucks.
Rant over.
[quote=“danbinggui”]So I’m about to finish the first year here in Taiwan. Engrish teacher, yes.
It’s been fun but DAMN, I have gotten sick about 5 times in one year! Back home, It was about once a year, only in the winter. This year, 5 times. Twice in winter, twice in spring, and now once in the summer… WTF?! Is this just normal when u adjust to a new foreign environment? Or is it just because I have way too much contact with kids… Not sure but it sucks.
Rant over.[/quote]
You body is merely coming into contact with new bacteria and viruses that it has no defense against. It’s pretty normal, especially when you’re in contact with children who aren’t taught a thing about personal hygiene. Don’t worry. It gets better after the first 8 years.
Like Jimi said. I was pretty ill with random lurgy for the first 6-12 months. It settles down after that. Now, every time I go back to England, I get ill.
[quote]
Don’t worry. It gets better after the first 8 years.[/quote]
Good God… hahaha… At least I’m not not alone!
I got sick when I first arrived in 2005 and I think I’m beginning to get over it now.
Every time that I move to a different country, and this has been my… let’s see… fourth move.
You’d think I’d learn and just settle down somewhere.
[quote=“danbinggui”]So I’m about to finish the first year here in Taiwan. Engrish teacher, yes.
It’s been fun but DAMN, I have gotten sick about 5 times in one year! Back home, It was about once a year, only in the winter. This year, 5 times. Twice in winter, twice in spring, and now once in the summer… WTF?! Is this just normal when u adjust to a new foreign environment? Or is it just because I have way too much contact with kids… Not sure but it sucks.
Rant over.[/quote]
A lot of it is to do with being a kids teacher, I often had a cold during my stint as a teacher.
To top it off, I get the pleasure of doing Summer Camp with my school, as well as regular buxiban hours. FML…
Well at least you’ll have a lot of spare cash to get decent medical attention. 
Yes, it’s a common phenomenon. Even if you don’t teach kids.
I remember my first winter, my first cold and not going to see the doctor as I normally wouldn’t for a cold. But it was unusually long and then I read someone’s post on Forumosa (this was in 2005, if that helps the search) about a foreigner who waited too long and then a cold turned into pneumonia and nearly killed them. Whether that was a myth or not, it doesn’t matter because it did the trick for me and I went for my string of Hello Kitty medicine bags (I miss those 
). It turned out to be bronchitis.
That wasn’t the only thing that plagued me that first year, but it did get better after that. There IS hope
[quote=“tash”]I remember my first winter, my first cold and not going to see the doctor as I normally wouldn’t for a cold. But it was unusually long and then I read someone’s post on Forumosa (this was in 2005, if that helps the search) about a foreigner who waited too long and then a cold turned into pneumonia and nearly killed them. Whether that was a myth or not, it doesn’t matter because it did the trick for me and I went for my string of Hello Kitty medicine bags (I miss those ). It turned out to be bronchitis.
[/quote]
You know what’s in those Hello Kitty medicine bags, don’t you? It’s most likely antibiotics. So it’s often a catch-22. You want to recover naturally by relying on your own immune system, but if you let it drag, you might end up with something worse like pneumonia. And if you do decide to go on the medication, you’ll have to finish all of the drugs even after the symptoms are gone for the antibiotics to completely stamp out the bacteria.
[quote=“Incubus”]
You know what’s in those Hello Kitty medicine bags, don’t you? It’s most likely antibiotics. So it’s often a catch-22. You want to recover naturally by relying on your own immune system, but if you let it drag, you might end up with something worse like pneumonia. And if you do decide to go on the medication, you’ll have to finish all of the drugs even after the symptoms are gone for the antibiotics to completely stamp out the bacteria.[/quote]
Yes, those were indeed antibiotics. I make it a point to know exactly what’s in my meds. Every person should, of course.
I’m glad you brought up the antibiotics as I tend to forget not everyone is schooled on the issue. (An ER episode has ‘taught’ me that Americans think antibiotics cure colds and the flu 
)
I agree completely: If you can avoid them to a reasonable degree, great. If you start taking them, be disciplined about it.
a big school i worked out years ago had the same problem; teachers were always sick. clean place, clean a/c, ventilation was okay…students were generally clean but teacher’s couldn’t kick it…finally, the boss splurged on a bottle of antiseptic hand spray/lotion for each teacher…most teacher’s sprayed their hands coming into the office and right after the last class…teacher sickness went down big time…go to a pharmacy and ask for ‘shiao du sui’
If you ask for that, you may get a bottle of liquid disinfectant for household cleaning. What you should ask for is ‘gan xi shou’ (dry wash hand).
The first five months of 2011 were pretty bad by any standard. Lots of different strains of the cold/flu/pneumonia going around. I was sick four times in the first 5 months of this year, and I’ve lived here for many years and don’t get sick very often.
[quote=“Irina”]Hello!
Anybody knows, why I often catch a cold in Taiwan and any remedies for it besides antibiotics which already killed my immune system?
Please help;)[/quote]
My first year in Taiwan I also had the same problem. The reason is because of the hot weather outside and the sudden change in temperature when you go inside buildings with AC. This is not good for your body. Plus if you are working inside the building, then long-term exposure to cold temperatures will make your immune system weaker. That’s why you may or may not have noticed people have jackets at their seats. Many Taiwanese people leave jackets at their work areas.
I found another tip that helps is wearing an undershirt. But since you are a woman, I don’t know if you would be accustomed to wearing an undershirt.
I had four different colds in the first 4 months of this year (this year has been particularly bad). But I haven’t had once since.
I will repeat what has been said before. Apparently its your body getting used to the particular germs found on the island. It takes some time for your body to be able to handle those germs hence you get sick often the first year, less so each passing year.
Wash your hands after every class. Kids here are dirty little buggers. They wash their hands by running them under water for 0.007 seconds and then dry them on their shirt. They also have absolutely no concept of covering their mouths when they sneeze… 