catching a cold

dmcook
dmcook Member Posts: 36 ✭
edited October 2016 in General discussion
Im just asking a questions: If you catch a cold while on Chemo and your immune system is down,how do you get better from that cold?
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  • primek
    primek Member Posts: 5,392 ✭
    It can still fight infections as it improves. It is only low for a few days. I had exposure to 3 serious colds on chemo....all my family were very ill. I started feeling the symptoms and then no more. I wondeted if the chemo actually killed off the cold virus. Who knows. Kath x
  • melclarity
    melclarity Member Posts: 3,528 ✭
    After my first infusion I got a chest infection...antibiotics got rid of it and I didnt get sick again after that in anyway...just was sick from the Chemo and I worked in a School with sick children. They just like you to keep a check on your temperature, when youre in between infusions, so they can get on top of any infection immediately. You should be fine. Eventhough your immune system is low its not completely depleted, it still manages to work with some assistance.
    Hugs
    Melinda
  • dmcook
    dmcook Member Posts: 36 ✭
    Thank you primek and melclarity :)
  • InkPetal
    InkPetal Member Posts: 499 ✭
    I just wanted to add on to melclarity's contribution that if you have a constant temperature of 38 or it hits 38.5 that you should go to the hospital for treatment and supervision.

    From orientation all the way through to three weeks after my last session my team were almost melodramatic on the subject of colds. Yes your immunity is reduced but it isn't gone, you will still fight the cold but not as effectively so it can spiral out of control. 

    That said, I had several "colds" that were simply chemo side-effects - runny nose, aches, lethargy, sore eyes, and headache all balled together. I felt virus style sick, but I wasn't. The only thing I could do about it was drink water, take 2 Panadol, have up-seated naps, and keep a thermometer close at hand just to be my personal reassuring safety monitor.

    If you suspect you're sick it's worth going to your GP. It's not a time you really want to gamble. They'll know what kind of treatments are compatible with your chemo and might save you a trip to the hospital.

    I hope you stay in as much good health as can be expected though. <3
  • dmcook
    dmcook Member Posts: 36 ✭
    Thank you so much Inkpetal, I have my thermometre handy:)

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