A cool autumn breeze began to blow as the heat subsided. The number of days when the daily temperature difference between day and night was more than 10 degrees increased considerably. In such a time when the daily temperature difference is large, it is necessary to check the ‘immunity’. A severe daily temperature difference reduces the body’s ability to adapt, which can lead to ‘decreased immunity’. Immunity is the power to fight bacteria and viruses that invade our body from the outside.
Diseases to watch out for these days with weakened immunity
A typical disease that appears when the immune system is weakened is ‘stomatitis’. Stomatitis is an inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth, including the tongue and gums. It mainly occurs when there is a wound in the mouth or when the immune function of our body is low.
According to the cause, stomatitis can be divided into aphthous stomatitis, herpes simplex stomatitis, and candida stomatitis. Aphthous stomatitis is the most common type of stomatitis and is known to occur in 1 in 5 people. A typical symptom is a burning or burning sensation in the mouth. It usually resolves spontaneously within 1 to 2 weeks of onset without special treatment.
You should also be careful regarding ‘shingles’. Herpes zoster is a disease that occurs when the chickenpox virus, which caused chickenpox in childhood, does not disappear, but remains dormant in the ganglion and then reactivates. The cause of the re-activation of the virus is ‘decreased immunity’. For this reason, herpes zoster occurs a lot during the changing seasons when immunity is easy to decrease, and the incidence rate is high in the elderly over the age of 60 or chronic disease patients with weak immunity.
The biggest characteristic of shingles is that blisters form in clusters like bands. Blisters usually appear on the torso or buttocks, but sometimes on the face or limbs. The pain caused by herpes zoster mainly appears only on one side of the body, and the duration of the pain is regarding 1 to 3 days. If treatment is delayed for shingles, it can lead to ‘postherpetic neuralgia’, in which the pain persists even following the lesion disappears, so prompt treatment is required.
Cystitis is often referred to as a ‘bladder cold’ because it often occurs when the immune system is weakened. Cystitis refers to a disease in which the bladder mucosa and submucosa are inflamed by bacteria or viruses. It is known to occur frequently in women, because women are more likely to be exposed to bacteria because the distance between the urethra and anus is shorter than that of men. In fact, if we look at the data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, in 2021, the number of patients who visited the hospital for cystitis is regarding 14.9 times more women than men. Cystitis can be treated by taking appropriate antibiotics, but if immunity is low, cystitis can easily become chronic and recur, so caution is needed.
In addition, if the immune system is weakened, allergic rhinitis, cold, flu, etc. can easily be caught or symptoms may worsen.
In order to keep the ‘immunity’ that stumbles in the big day-to-day temperature
In the midst of a large daily temperature change, you need to focus on managing your diet to keep your ‘immunity’. Vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, etc., which are helpful in maintaining and strengthening the immune system, should be consumed sufficiently, and eating habits that lower immunity such as excessive sugar intake, excessive bad fat intake, and drinking alcohol should be improved. In addition, it is necessary to make efforts in daily life, such as △7-8 hours of sleep, △regular exercise, and △maintaining proper indoor humidity (40-60%).
