How could MY immune system weaken with age?

(No. 144) Facing the reality of aging and immunity

A fanciful illustration of the human immune system. Do not use this info to study for your medical degree.

It’s well established that the immune system becomes less effective as we age. I am just now recovering from a three-week-long illness that started with the flu and extended into something the doctor called “post viral inflammation” in my lungs. I lost several days to a fever-driven retreat from the world, and the subsequent two weeks are pretty much a blur, even though I celebrated Christmas with my kids and took a few short road trips (after my doctor determined I wasn’t contagious).

I’ve bristled when a couple of people have said, “It’s lasting so long because you are older and your immune system isn’t good.” I mean, Me? Yes, I’ll admit I’m a little older (I turn 66 next month). But I’m certainly not weak. Not of body. Not of mind. Not of soul. Not of character. Not of… whatever else there is to be weak of. Or at least that’s the story I’ve always told myself.

But a smidgen of research shows me that, in fact, the immune system does decline as we age. We produce fewer B and T cells in our bone marrow and thymus, and the lymph system declines. When a virus invades, it encounters less resistance. Curiously, vaccines don’t work as well, either. That might be why I got influenza A six weeks after I got my flu shot. Or it could be that my strain of flu was not one the vaccine worked against.

Now comes the part where I tell you how to boost your immune system. And after that comes the part where you say, duh! Here we go. To boost your immune system as you age, eat well, sleep a lot, drink fluids, and make sure your vitamin D levels are optimal. Although, in my case I was monitoring my vitamin D with blood tests and weekly injections to get it from a deficient state to an optimal state, and I still got sick. Also, wear a mask in a crowd. Wash your hands. You know the drill. But you’ve got to do it.

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From the department of laughter

I know jokes are stupid. That’s why I enjoy watching comedians. I like stupid. To that end, this comedian is pretty funny, and her observations ring true.

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This essay about the light we contain is so beautiful.

And excerpt from Finding Light in Winter, by Mary Pipher:

“I am in the last decades of life, and sometimes I feel that my country and our species are also nearing end times. The despair I feel about the world would ruin me if I did not know how to find light. Whatever is happening in the world, whatever is happening in our personal lives, we can find light.”

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Happy New Year to everyone,

Stephen