Questions tagged [immune-system]
The group of cellular and molecular processes that the body uses to fight bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. Autoimmune and inflammatory disease are caused by malfunctioning of this system and should also be tagged with the disease name.
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Would being infected with every kind of cold virus strain at once be a good immunization or dangerous?
I know colds come from around 200 different kinds of viruses.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold
But would it be worth the risk to be purposefully infected with every type of strain that ...
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What's the primary body entrance + surface of infection for catching the flu?
I realize there are multiple ways, but if you tallied up all the people who caught the flu or a cold last year, what would be the majority...
Entrance for infection:
Mouth
Nose
Eyes
Ears
Skin
Bio ...
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Should everyone take the ebola vaccine to achieve global herd immunity?
Ebola virus disease (EVD), also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) or simply Ebola, is a viral hemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates caused by ebolaviruses. 1
Should everyone in the ...
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Can a runny nose "Shoot Blanks"?
Every time i have a runny nose I'm comforting myself by thinking "It's ok, the body is getting rid of pathogens now"
But is that really the case ? does every 'drop' of nasal mucus contain pathogens ?
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Would strenuous exercise make one more susceptible to ringworm?
A recent study debunks the generally-held belief that strenuous exercise suppresses the immunity system. Instead, immunity cells are said to migrate to internal organs that need them most after ...
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Are there any "markers of low immunity" in people without any genetic immune disease?
Are there any blood or other tests that can reveal the immune status of people who have frequent infections but do not seem to have any genetic immunodeficiency disease?
Merck Manuals mentions many ...
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Are type 2 hypersensitivities autoimmune diseases?
I'm learning about hypersensitivities and it seems to me that all type 2 hypersensitivities are autoimmune diseases; also all examples of type 2 hypersensitivity I've heard so far are also classified ...
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Cancer treatment through regulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells
There are many ongoing clinical trials that leverage the power of the immune system to recognize tumor cells such as CD47 and PDL1/PD1, and even engineered T cells!
I ran across an immune cell type ...
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Does intermittent fasting induce autophagic cell death?
https://www.cancertherapyadvisor.com/home/tools/fact-sheets/intermittent-fasting-and-cancer/
In vitro and in vivo animal studies suggest that PF inactivates
pro-proliferative pathways, while ...
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Is it possible to immunize against bacteria?
In anticipation of going to a region with known prevalence of flesh eating bacteria, can an individual take antibiotics prior to going to prevent it from being contracted?
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/...
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Do NSAIDs hamper herniated disc resorption?
NSAIDs are routinely prescribed to treat symptoms of a herniated disc (Mayfield Clinic):
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (NSAIDs), such as aspirin, naproxen (Alleve, Naprosyn), ...
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Are non-allergic, non-pathogenic rhinitis associated with fever?
Among common causes of rhinitis are
irritants
weather changes
infection (e.g. common cold)
allergy (e.g. hay fever)
One way to disentangle between infection and allergy in presence of rhinitis is by ...
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Is PCV13 effective if the suspension is not shaken prior to administration?
PCV13, like other vaccines which are suspensions, should be shaken vigorously to obtain a homogenous, white suspension in the vaccine container immediately prior to use.
If this is not done and the ...
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Varicella vaccine UK, benefits vs risk
first question on medicine stackexchange so apologies if formatting isn't right.
My specific questions are
If vaccinated <5 years old, is the vaccine still likely to be protective at childbearing ...
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What would happen to the body if the immune system failed to respond to a rhinovirus?
What exactly would happen to the body if the immune system did not detect or respond to a the common cold virus like Rhinovirus?
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Rising allergy and intolerance diagnosis rates
A leading theory behind the rising allergy and intolerance diagnosis rates is the "hygiene hypothesis." This theory suggests that living conditions in much of the world might be too clean and that ...
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How many people are naturally immune to the chicken pox virus?
What percentage of people are naturally immune to the chicken pox virus?
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Will treating minor infections with medication slow down or prevent anti body generation?
My 2 yo son gets sick fairly often, as expected for his age. Since his immune system has yet to build antibodies against all the usual infections. I wonder if medicating minor infections is doing more ...
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Are headphones with EMF measurement of 10,000 milligauss harmful to me?
I used an Electric-Magnetic Field detector app on my phone and measured the EMF output on my wired headphones. It measured around 10,000 milligauss (1mT) on one part of both ear cups. Since wearing ...
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Lymph node swelling
I'm sure that most of us had, at some point in their life, swollen lymph nodes (be it because of a flu or some other kind of not-too-serious illness) and there is generally no reason to panic if one ...
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Can common cold really be lethal?
In the news reports after the murderer of John Allen Chau on the Andaman Islands, I have several times read that common cold could kill this tribe, for example in this AFP-report:
Fears that 21st ...
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Immunity of indigenous tribe
After reading about the American missionary killed on North Sentinel Island, I realized I'm not sure how to answer the following question. One of the reasons anthropologists advise avoiding the remote ...
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What are the limits on the amount of pathogens that a body can be immune to at any given time?
Before the seasonal flu vaccine was recommended for all healthy adults, people in developed countries might get vaccinated against on the order of 10 different pathogens and develop immunity for some ...
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Is it possible to be allergic to corn but not popcorn?
Is it possible for a person to be allergic to one subspecies and not another of the same parent species? For instance, can a person be allergic to sweet corn but not popcorn (both subspecies of Zea ...
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Would it possible for me to get tested for past viral infection after vaccination?
I may or may not have a viral infection in the past and then I took vaccination for it. Would it possible for me to get tested for past viral infection?
For example HPV virus using IGG test.
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If I'm suspecting someone I know has an exceptionally good immune system - can this be tested somehow?
Please note this is NOT a personal medical consultation.
If I have reason to think that someone I know has an immune system that is exceptionally good (they are very rarely sick, almost never get ...
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Does vaccination weaken the immune system ? Studies?
A friend recognizes value in vaccinating in general - against major diseases - but with a caveat that they are opposed to the flu vaccine specifically.
They claim that vaccines weaken the immune ...
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Why should we finish antibiotic treatments in order to prevent antibiotics resistance?
I understand bacteria can mutate and develop resistance against antibiotics, but I do not understand how finishing an antibiotics treatment prevents this.
In my simple thought process, when an ...
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Is it known how often unvaccinated children are contagious with symptom free diseases?
I was looking at the CDC Vaccine Schedule for children, and it says that many of the things kids are vaccinated for may show no symptoms.
Do any of those diseases –– mainly haemophilus influenzae, ...
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Immune system recovery from chemotherapy
I'd like to know if your immune system will recover from chemotherapy, say, after x years, or will your immune system forever be weakened/compromised from chemotherapy?
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Does stopping fever hinder the process of killing bacteria via fever?
Since the body produces fever in order to kill bacteria, wouldn't decreasing the fever by taking anti fever medication decrease the body's ability to fight the bacteria?
Assuming you have non life ...
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How is it possible for someone to suffer repeated bouts of flu?
About a month and a half ago I caught flu... recovered fairly quickly (2 days), and then 1 week later I caught another one, again, recovered even faster (just 1 day, a good night sleep) and a week ago ...
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Are allergies due to memory T cells for benign antigens?
If I understand correctly, the immune system reacts to infections by priming virgin helper T cells for the particular antigens exposed on the surface of the invader, leaving some memory T cells ...
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Can the body delay infections/sickness for important reasons?
Background of the question: I worked on a very important project which was also critical for the firm and would have affected the employment permanently if it failed. During that time several ...
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Does being overly attentive to hygiene impair your immune system?
Like a lot of Japanese girls, I'm a bit obsessed with personal hygiene. Sometimes I get up 2AM to have a shower... after already having one before going to sleep, because something just doesn't feel "...
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How does interferon beta 1-A help patients with multiple sclerosis?
I know that azathioprine weakens the immune system by reducing white blood cell count. I've read that interferons boost the immune system against viruses. They seem to have different functions, but ...
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Ulcerative Colitis Disease Activity
Ulcerative colitis can be endoscopically assessed and characterized as 'active' or 'inactive'. I was wondering how those disease states are related. Do patients with UC regularly alternate between ...
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Why are two influenza vaccinations required for people under a certain age?
According to the CDC, people under 8 who have never had the flu vaccine or flu should get 2 doses at least 28 days apart. The reason given is that "the first dose 'primes' the immune system," but as ...
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In sepsis what therapies are used to reduce the over-reaction of the immune system?
Sepsis is initiated by infection (usually bacteria or fungi) but the main symptoms arise from over-reaction to the infection by our immune system leading to inappropriate levels of inflammation and ...
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What is Immunotherapy for cancers?
I have heard a lot about immunotherapy in the last 2 years. It is not used in many countries and is still under testing.
What is immunotherapy? (I need a simple explanation, I am not a doctor)
How ...
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On the mechanics of chickenpox immunity for newborns and breastmilk antibody transfer
According to my healthcare provider, a newborn should not be affected by chicken pox if it has immunity thanks to his mother having had the infection as a child herself - this immunity is apparently ...
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Is there a direct correlation between high testosterone level and weak immune system?
I tried googling it, the only credible link I found is this:
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2013/12/in-men-high-testosterone-can-mean-weakened-immune-response-study-finds.html
Can someone ...
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How can a person make his/her immune system stronger and prevent flu?
If someone is getting flu frequently, how can he/she make his/her immune system become stronger? And what should he/she eat for daily meals?
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How does donepezil impact the immune system?
Is it immunosuppressive? If so, to what extent? What are the mechanisms for this effect?
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Can amphetamines suppress reactivity to scratch testing (for immunotherapy)?
My understanding's that amphetamines are immunosuppressive... Theoretically, couldn't these drugs result in false negatives?
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Immune system & methylphenidate?
How and to what extent does methylphenidate impact immune system function? How does its impact compare to that of amphetamines?
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APC cells - autoreactivity [closed]
How can APC cells become autoreactiv against own antigens if they only have PRR as recognition complexes - and are not under central/peripheral immune tolerance?
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Does conscious sleep impair immunity?
It's common knowledge that getting insufficient sleep makes people immune-compromised.
However, what about light rest? In particular, if you spend a significant amount of sleeping hours conscious (...
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Do I need to get re-immunized for immunities received prior to contracting measles?
One study has suggested that measles can lead to "immune memory loss", meaning immunities gained prior to measles infection can be lost.
I had measles at age six. According to the (current) CDC ...
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how does the immune system identify allergens? application: varenicline and lobeline
I'm wondering if we know how the immune system identifies allergens. My biochemistry knowledge is basic so I apologize if I use concepts incorrectly! Specifically, I want to know about the likelihood ...
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