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Immune System Question - Can the same thing get you sick twice?
Spoom182
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Registered User regular
I'm home sick today, and I was talking to my mom earlier. She told me to get rid of my toothbrush, because it would have germs from whatever cold or flu I have now on it. This sounded like a bunch of crap to me, since the reason you get better is because your immune system learns how to fight off what you've got. The reason people keep getting the flu, I thought, is because it would mutate and come back slightly different, and so your immune system wouldn't recognize it.
So is it true that you can get sick from the exact same thing twice?
So is it true that you can get sick from the exact same thing twice?
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Think of it this way: If you eat raw chicken and get salmonella, and you put the same chicken in the fridge and eat more later, would you expect to not get sick?
Getting rid of things because your body fluids may have come into contact with them is a bit overkill and is likely going to do nothing more than break your finances.
Would it really be feasible to throw out clothes or bedsheets because you were sick? Toothbrushes you can go either way, but, usually a soak in some alcohol, boiling water, or even fill a small cup with mouthwash and soak the bristles in it will generally do it in. That's a bit overkill in my opinion but meh, you won't get sick from it most likely.
BUT by your mom's logic, you should get rid of almost everything you touch. She's over reacting.
Yeah, that's how you know your mom is making shit up.
Neither of you have any basis to know if you actually got the same thing again, as well. Do you know how many illnesses have cold-like symptoms?
You're not likely to become re-infected by the same germ unless you are immuno-compromised. Once your body finds an antibody (molecule that recognizes a germ) that is able to bind to the germ it mounts a response. This not only involves attacking the germ but making subtle changes to the antibody so that it recognizes the germ even better. Some of these cells that recognize really well become memory cells. Next time you "see" that pathogen, you are able to recognize it right away and cause a huge increase in the number and function of immune cells specific for that "germ"
Like you said, the flu keeps mutating so the previous memory cells can't mount the strong response that they want to.
If you wonder why some vaccines require boosters, its not quite the same as being infected with the same germ twice before you are immune. You have to mount a strong enough response to a germ to induce your immune cells to switch and produce memory cells. While a vaccine doesn't always reach this threshold, if you're sick enough to be home from school then you've almost certainly mounted a strong enough response.
Whether you do or not, just go ahead and tell your mom that you swapped out your toothbrush so she'll stop worrying about you.
Exact thing is unlikely; however, the cold & flu mutate fast enough that it's *possible* the version on your toothbrush might be different enough to avoid the antibodies you've made against the strain your body fought off
Which usually isn't that big a deal, but if you're still in the recovery phase from the previous one and your immune system isn't back to full strength yet, it's easier to get sick again
I wouldn't do it every time you get a cold, but if you get a nasty flu it's not a terrible idea to blow $5 on a toothbrush (or just dump it in something like an ethanol solution and then wash it thoroughly)
I'm in med school essentially studying the same thing right now, so I can confirm that Walter is not a lying goose.
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If what you had was a virus you're pretty unlikely to catch it again until next year when the strain has mutated enough to trick your immune system.
You don't need to throw out anything though, just letting it soak in boiling hot water should be enough to kill the germs.
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For example, a tetanus vaccine wears off after 5-10 years. Contrast with chicken pox which is pretty hard if at all possible to get twice in one lifetime.
Your immune system has the capacity to forget.
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Likely your body has gotten rid of the memory cells too, that gave you immunity. I've gotten it twice, it usually happens when your body is weak from something else and either can't activate the memory cells or got rid of them after 20-30 or so years.
Not all host defenses are specific (otherwise we'd get sick ALL THE TIME).
As far as the "cold" and "flu" are concerned, there are tons of different strains. If you got better from one, it's not going to get you again for quite some time. Without knowing your activity I can't be certain, but I'd guess that you either stressed your body before you were "all the way" better. There are tons of different causes of respiratory infections though.
On the other hand, at least when it comes to conjunctivitis (pink eye) which most of us have gotten more than once, the eye doctor has always told me to throw out my contacts or eye droppers that may have touched my eye during the infection. Not sure why it would matter, but hey, doctor's orders
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You can very much think of it in terms of vaccines. Some diseases can be immunized in one shot. Others need boosters. It isn't exactly correlated but many diseases have ways of tricking your immune system or making it difficult for your immune system to remember their features, while others have features that are very distinct to your immune memory.
That said, if your brush is alongside someone else's, that's maybe not a good idea.
Secret Satan
So yeah, you're still gonna get colds.
In addition to those mentioned by others, germs can cause reinfection if they never actually entered the body such as in food poisoning where it is the release of toxins as opposed to bacterial colonisation that cause illness.
Some viruses are able to remain dormant within a few cells in the body following infection. When your immune system is depressed then they can become reactivated - examples being Herpes simplex and Epstein-Barr virus
Even though you have developed immunity to the virus it can survive because neurons have very few MHC class I molecules which are responsible for presenting antigens to cytotoxic T cells (and you don't want to kill your own nerves).
they don't mutate that fast. even if they did, viruses have to be reproducing in a cell (not hanging out on a toothbrush) to mutate. it's caused by the RNA polymerase, which has a higher mismatch rate and no proofreading capability.
colds don't mutate that much anyway; nothing like the flu. there's really only one flu, which you can get over and over (though generally a shot or infection gives you a measure of protection for a few years after). there are 200+ cold viruses, and in general you only get any given one of them once.
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There is a simple answer for the original poster though. From what he described, he had a cold or flu that he mounted a nice immune response to. He won't get it again from using his toothbrush unless he's immunodeficient.