Viruses

[LindyRich]

I seem to catch more cold and flu viruses than anyone I know. Is low resistance to germs part of PBC?

[Brummi]

Hi, Before my transplant I started to catch colds easily , as PBC is an autoimmune illness it could be a reason you get viruses easy. I now have no immune system at all but don't seem to catch colds easy, but please remember this illness affects people differently..

[butterflyEi]

I was diagnosed with PBC about 10 years ago, I rarely had a cold or flu and I have not really changed.  My diet is rich in vegetables, protein and then cereals however following blood tests recently I have been found to be low in vitamin B12 and vitamin D I now supplement these vitamins. 

hope this is of some help

best wishes

[LindyRich in reply to butterflyEi]

I'm  seeing my GPS today. I will ask for this.

Thanks for the tip

[LindyRich in reply to LindyRich]

GP.  Darn auto correct

[butterflyEi in reply to LindyRich]

know what you mean

[spoul]

I too rarely catch any viruses after all pbc is related to your auto immune system and not your immune system 😊

[LindyRich in reply to spoul]

I must have misunderstood somewhere. I thought autoimmune was your immune gone astray and attacking you instead of viruses etc.??

[spoul in reply to LindyRich]

Hi yes your correct but I'm not aware that suffering from autoimmune disease makes you more susceptible to coughs and colds 😊

[LindyRich in reply to spoul]

Thanks. A lot to take in. So many questions.

You all know far more than my GP,!!!!

[spoul in reply to LindyRich]

I have a medical background which helps me a bit tho sometimes it's a hindrance ha

Just to gauge it most GP s will never have come across our condition and medical students only spend half day studying rare diseases of the liver!

So we're probably educating them when we visit them....I'm treated like a bit of a novelty at my surgery 😂

[LindyRich in reply to spoul]

About the same amount of time they spend on Thyroid disease. I found that out when I was diagnosed with that years ago!

Hey ho. No one can know every thing 😊

[liver-bird]

Two years ago they found my PBC whilst looking for a reason for the number of colds and chest infections I was having - many of which turned to bronchitis and I coughed for months.

Now I am on Urso, I seem to get the same coughs and colds as everyone else and they clear up in weeks not months without antibiotics.

Could be a coincidence, but I don`t think so.  

Clearly from the other replies it doesn`t affect everyone in that way but it did me.   Hope this helps.  Diane

[LindyRich in reply to liver-bird]

Thank you Diana.  It does help ☺

[LindyRich in reply to LindyRich]

Sorry. Diane.  

[Hidden]

Hello LindyRich.

I never really had colds or flu prior to starting to itch early 2010 (diagnosed with PBC Dec 2010).

I have never had any problem since being diagnosed with colds, viruses, etc.

The immune system is supposed to be a bit wayward when we have PBC but at the same time I think age starts to play a part (I am 52 next month and have started to feel the creaks of getting older in the last year or so) that is natural for everyone but with having PBC it is something else to contend with.

I know I am offered the flu jab annually but I have yet to take up the offer as in my way of thinking I've never really had colds and flu and I think that maybe if I did have flu jab it might be opening 'a can of worms' and I might start succumbing to these things.

My brother and son forever have colds and they are perfectly healthy.  They are always around me but it doesn't seem to bother me.   I think some people are more prone than others there.

[Tigger858]

Hi Lindyrich, like you I seem to be more prone to viruses. It's mainly chest infections with me, albeit I never suffered from them before I had PBC. It doesn't affect everyone and I think it's important to remember that your PBC isn't the same as my PBC. It seems to me that although we all have PBC our symptoms can differ, sometimes dramatically, for example I don't suffer from the itch that bothers most people. I always ensure I have my flu jab as I had flu shortly after being diagnosed and will never go through that again. I now know the difference between flu and a bad cold 😂

I find that virtually every time we have a holiday, within 24 hours of coming off the flight home, I develop a chest infection which usually needs antibiotics to clear. My GP says it's seems to be because my immune system isn't what it should be that I am now more prone to these things. I've started taking vitamin B12 and having read the previous replies will now start to take vitamin D too. It can't hurt. All the best x

[LindyRich in reply to Tigger858]

That happens to my mother. Air conditioning with dirty filters on plane.

I wonder how often they are cleaned/changed???

I haven't thought about vitamins yet. Perhaps that would help me.

[Nolagh]

My immune system is horrible but I also have Autoimmune Hep which I've had to take steroids and IV Imuran which totally wiped out my immune system and I work in a Pediatric office. Needless to say I've had strep 4x and flu 3x this winter. So if you're on any kind of steroids that may make you Immunocompromised.

[LindyRich in reply to Nolagh]

On least I can get away with. Hate pills. Just urso for now

[Twinkle26]

all I know is that when I get a cough or cold it hangs on for around 3 weeks. Where as I don't remember ever having a cold or cough for longer than a week before now.

[Angelsww]

I might be wrong here but One of the components of the immune system is the regulatory T cells. These help regulate the immune system.

When autoimmune disorders occur, these regulatory T cells fail in their function. This results in damage to various organs and tissues that are termed autoimmune disease.

The type of autoimmune disorder depends on the type of body tissue that is affected.

Therefore, Autoimmunity is where the immune system is faulty, but it doesn't mean overall, it is organ specific.

I know a lot of people with PBC, who never get colds and coughs etc But also some who get sick all the time.  As said above it could be due to immunosuppression therapy, or if liver disease is advanced it could be caused by low white cells etc. Thing is the liver has over 500 functions so anything that makes the liver sick can have a knock on affect to other issues in the body, Also having one auto immune disorder makes it more likely to have another, which could affect yet further organs such as the lungs. If anyone is prone to chest infections etc, they really should have the flu jab. you can not catch flu from it, as there is no live virus in the vaccine.  But if you were to catch flu and haven't had the jab, it could be very severe.