ok in the states I didn’t have any cold/flu for like 7 years, from high school to college nothing. Now last year when I moved to Taiwan I got 6 colds in 7 months period. And the colds are much more severe then that of states…also lasts much longer like a week to 10 days. In the states it’s like 3,4,5 days and it’s gone also symptom aren’t so severe like here. anyone also have experience like this? maybe the virus here is different/tougher or soemthing. How can I never had cold in 7 years then all of a sudden got 6 colds in half year period? too ridiculous. maybe I was always in a cleaner environment then when I moved to Taiwan body isn’t adjusted to the less clean environment, so body defense system got weaker? god this is ridiculous
One friend of mine(he’s from UK) went to Japan last year.
Staying there for almost 7 days,he had a headache ,running nose the symptom of cold.He didnt have any cold for like 7 years ,too.
He had the same thought of yours:maybe the virus there is different/tougher or soemthing?
But it was not a cold in the end.He was just allergic to pollen.
I have a lot of trouble with allergic reactions here in the winter to the extent that it is difficult to differentiate when I actually have a cold. having said that most people who move continent will suffer more minor ailments in their first year as they build up immunity to local variants of more common illnesses.
There’s virtually no pollen in Taipei because there’s no grass. It’s the only ‘disease’ of mine that disappeared in Taipei. Ear infections, though. Never had one in my life until my first year in Taipei. Not sure why. I lived in Bangkok before, which is much dirtier.
If you’re a teacher, that doesn’t help, because you’re in rooms with a bunch of random people all day. You are exposed to so many different viruses. The good news is that after you have taught for a few years, you’ll have amazing immunity against colds. I pretty much never get them. (This could be copletely unscientific shit but that’s my impression, anyway…)
Like wisher says, your body just has to get used to the different beesties. Make sure you are eating well also because it’s easy to let that go in a new country. Cook your own food, especially vegetables, so that you know they having been sitting around losing vitamins.
Hayfever isn’t only caused by pollen. Also pollen that causes hayfever isn’t just caused by those from grasses. You are right though that there seems to be far less hayfever in Taiwan (at least pollen based anyway). My view is the humidity hinders the travelability.
The other thing about hayfever is that whilst it does disappear when you move to a new country, it can reappear again if you build up an allergic reaction to a new type of agent.
I find that I get far fewer colds now than I did a few years ago, even though I’m now exposed to the germs of hundreds of kids every week. A couple of things have helped: I rarely ride a scooter anymore, so I never get cold or wet, I never take mass transport so I don’t have to touch the handrails and grips on MRTs that have already been touched by thousands of people, and I wash my hands frequently with soap and water.
One of my privates’s mom has been giving me these water soluable (sp?) vitamins that cost 1000 dollars a bottle. I’ve been taking a b complex (all the b’s you need) and a mineral plus 1000 c complex. I’ve been feeling great in spite of people around me getting sick lately.
My first two years here, I caught every darn thing the kids caught, my ears were always full of crap, my nose was stuffed, and I was cranky and irritable. I found many factors helped the situation, including dealing with stress better, sleeping better (maintaining habits), laying off the sugar (I love pop) and moving my body a bit (resident couch potato). I also quit drinking and let me tell you I’ve felt worse before I felt better after that.
Just be patient; do a little bit that you can every day to make yourself feel healthier, and if all else fails, see the doctor. Get an allergy scratch test and some bloodwork done. Take care of the ol’ liver!
Fuck that! Ironfist, I feel your pain. The first year can be pretty awful with local bugs. Some things to watch out for:
(1) Nutrition: Are you getting all the food groups and enough of each every day? Your current intake could be leaving your immune system undernourished. That’s seriously bad news in Taiwan.
(2) Stress: Are you finding some time to chill out and put everything in perspective? The first year can send your stress levels through the roof. You have to find something that periodically forces you to slow down. Good time of year for hotsprings…
(3) Booze and smoking: Cut them both out, at least until you can go a couple of months without getting sick.
(4) Living environment: Clean your house regularly (vacuum every day if you have to) and get one of those HEPA air filters. I just happen to have one for sale at the moment… PM me for details…
(5) Sleep: If you’re getting less than 7-8 hours a night, you’ve got to take a look at your lifestyle and see what needs changing.
(6) Someone to love… Regular sex and someone to care about releases all kinds of cool hormones that make you live longer and more healthily. They also reduce stress - see point 2.
That’ll do. I’ve got to take the trash out. It’s been about 18 months since I’ve been sick. I put it down to all of the above plus meditation. I’m healthier now that at just about any other time in my life.
I haven’t had a cold since the winter of 2004, in the UK. Here in Taiwan, the only sickness I’ve had is funky guts every now and then; mostly traceable to my mother inlaw’s cooking.
Always sick here. At least, that’s how it seems.
I’ve done better in Taiwan with colds and flus than I ever did growing up and living in Canada.
I will get the odd cold here, one or two a year, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a puking flu living in Taiwan for 12 years now.
[quote=“Mer”]I’ve done better in Taiwan with colds and flus than I ever did growing up and living in Canada.
I will get the odd cold here, one or two a year, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a puking flu living in Taiwan for 12 years now.[/quote]
And the reason might just be the humidity (and warmer temperature here):
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/05/america/flu.php
My wife and kids and I have been nailed twice by the cold bug this season. In my baby daughter, who was spared the first time around, it shows up in a constantly runny nose. Older daughter coughs a lot. Wife and son are toughest–they just feel crappy for a few days, then recover. In me, it is phlegm-city all fucking day long for two weeks. I practically need to carry a spittoon around with me, frequently have to stop in mid-presentation and go hack up a bunch of spit.
Yeah, gross. I suppose it doesn’t help that I sleep five hours a night most days, and work about 14 hours a day. It’s been my busy season for the past six months. I wonder when I’m no longer going to enjoy bull-like health and have to actually slow down when I get sick.
Off to hack up another gob of phlegm. Hope nobody was eating dinner while reading this…
There’s something about changing places, new bugs as you said, nothing specific about Taiwan itself. Moving to France from Canada I got sick, coming back also. Got sick when I got here too.
About staying sick for a long time may be more a question of hygene. Buildings with central AC just recycle air and shoots bacteria on you. I work in a school, people complain about geting colds every 3 weeks… I’m so paranoied about it I wash my hands all the time. As someone said earlier, the best way not to be sick is to keep your body strong to fight sickness better, and that means doing all those boring things everybody tells you to do all your life (the cure for everything): exercise, sleep, eat well, don’t smoke + drink, and love and be loved. Am I flaky or what
Cheers,
Penny
I was also sick very often for my first six months here. Got conjunctivitis, colds, ear infections etc…
Then it all seemed to stop.
Unfortunately I’ve been struck down by a weird illness. It started this afternoon and got worse very quickly.
Symptoms:
Sore chest when I cough. Some phlegm comes up but its pretty runny and clear.
Dull headache that’s lingering around.
And the worst part is the weakness and diziness plus fever and shaking.
I’m wrapped up in 4 layers im bed and still feel cold. If I stand up or walk around, I start shivering uncontrollably.
Just before I went to get some hot water and found it hard to walk. When I got back to bed my jaw was chattering like one of those wind up skeletons at the night market.
Should I be worried? It feels very similar to the way I felt in Bangkok when I had bad bronchitis.
Off to the hospital tomorrow morning. A few people died of septicemia here recently and the symptoms are eerily similar…
Get to a doctor ASAP. It doesn’t sound good. Hope it’s not too serious.
Yeah, get to the hospital quickly. Sounds serious.
Went to the hospital the day after that post, they did a chest x ray, blood test and it showed no acute infection…
Then i got the requisite handful of pills to take 4 times a day. They didn’t seem to help at all…
So the next day I went back to the hospital before work, I was even worse by that stage. The doctor then prescribed me some different pills - to no success.
After working 6 hours I was really haggard, so I dragged myself to a private clinic. The doctor there prescribed me a different grab bag of pills and they seem to be working.
The chills have stopped, but still have terrible headache, dizziness and loss of appetite. I had to force myself to eat a small amount of noodles before so I could take the pills afterward.
Im thinking - could it be a bug I picked up in the Philippines? I just got back from a week there…
Pubba,
I recently seemed to contract something with similar symptoms. After checking at the hospital, the doc diagnosed it as the flu. I have spent last 72 hours in weird sleepless coma. This is by far the worst cold/flu I’ve had yet. It knocked me on my arse. I found sleep to be the best relief.
I think my body was telling me to take a rest.