If you ask most people how they get sick the words “caught” or “give” will usually be in the sentence in some form. “I caught it from the kids.” “My wife was nice enough to give it to me.” Communicable diseases like the flu are generally thought to be passed from one person to another by coughing or touching, and especially during the colder times of the year. It seems like random chance. Don’t get near me. I hope I don’t catch that. Did you wash your hands? Cover your mouth when you cough. The truth is that we all carry the germs in our bodies all the time, year in, year out, in some quantity. They lie in wait for the perfect internal conditions to occur, when they can take advantage of the host to grow and party. In some ways germs are like rats. While rats don’t make the public dumping grounds, you are sure to find them living and thriving there. This explanation helps us to understand why only certain people get sick and others don’t. And it certainly lets me understand why I got sick this past week.
The last time I had a fever of any significance was before I opened this office in 1991, so over 20 years ago. As many of you know since 2000 I have dedicated myself to those things that I preach: weekly chiropractic adjustments, weight management, regular exercise, water consumption, diet, supplements, and what I call “Just one more thing.” These lifestyle decisions have done nothing but benefit my health and, hopefully, prolong my life. Most recently an addition to my lifestyle has been an attempt to lower my fat consumption. This has come directly out of my wife’s membership in Weight Watchers such that her diet has resulting in me losing nearly 20 pounds. No complaints!
Well, this illness began on a Saturday night while visiting my son in Arizona and the fever hit its full pace by Sunday afternoon. That night we went to a restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill. It sounded like a fun place to go to just once. I had a ½ pound fat-laden hamburger with two slices of fat-laden cheese with French fries that were deep fried in animal lard. I topped all this off with a 16 oz. glass bottle of Coke (sugar is another product I don’t consume much of). After this stress to my body we went back to the hotel where we went in the Jacuzzi which was very nice. While in the Jacuzzi I took a dip in the pool to cool off before returning to the hot water. Any one of the above would not be a significant stress to my body, but the sum total of the high fat, high sugar meal, and abrupt and extreme temperature changes was just enough to weaken my immune system and allow the germs that were already present in my body to have a foothold and begin to multiply. I felt odd within an hour of the Jacuzzi, fatigue for the drive home on Sunday, and 102 degree fever for Easter dinner.
I contend that I did not catch the flu, but I created the environment for the flu virus that was already there to get a foothold. I created the dump and the rats moved in.
The last time I had a fever of any significance was before I opened this office in 1991, so over 20 years ago. As many of you know since 2000 I have dedicated myself to those things that I preach: weekly chiropractic adjustments, weight management, regular exercise, water consumption, diet, supplements, and what I call “Just one more thing.” These lifestyle decisions have done nothing but benefit my health and, hopefully, prolong my life. Most recently an addition to my lifestyle has been an attempt to lower my fat consumption. This has come directly out of my wife’s membership in Weight Watchers such that her diet has resulting in me losing nearly 20 pounds. No complaints!
Well, this illness began on a Saturday night while visiting my son in Arizona and the fever hit its full pace by Sunday afternoon. That night we went to a restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill. It sounded like a fun place to go to just once. I had a ½ pound fat-laden hamburger with two slices of fat-laden cheese with French fries that were deep fried in animal lard. I topped all this off with a 16 oz. glass bottle of Coke (sugar is another product I don’t consume much of). After this stress to my body we went back to the hotel where we went in the Jacuzzi which was very nice. While in the Jacuzzi I took a dip in the pool to cool off before returning to the hot water. Any one of the above would not be a significant stress to my body, but the sum total of the high fat, high sugar meal, and abrupt and extreme temperature changes was just enough to weaken my immune system and allow the germs that were already present in my body to have a foothold and begin to multiply. I felt odd within an hour of the Jacuzzi, fatigue for the drive home on Sunday, and 102 degree fever for Easter dinner.
I contend that I did not catch the flu, but I created the environment for the flu virus that was already there to get a foothold. I created the dump and the rats moved in.