The weakened immune system It is a condition that afflicts thousands of people for various reasons, however, since the emergence of Covid-19, has drawn attention to the risk involved in contracting it immunocompromised people, since it has been proven that they are one of the population groups with the highest risk of experiencing a serious illness or being hospitalized, regardless of whether the infection is caused by omicron, the variant that -according to preliminary studies- produces mild discomfort, similar to that of a flu, but what are the factors that weaken the immune system?
When a person has a suppressed immune system, they are not only more exposed to experiencing complications from Covid-19, but there is also a greater risk of suffering from serious diseases and infections. Therefore, it is essential that specific protection measures are taken to avoid, as much as possible, contracting the virus.
This condition that weakens the immune system is caused by different types of immune suppression, according to David Porter, director of cell therapy at the University of Pennsylvania. “While we don’t know enough yet, we do know that these patients really need to err on the side of caution because of the risks,” he cautioned.
For the transplantist, the way the immune system works is very similar to what happens with an army whose mission is to protect its territory from the invasion of invading agents, such as viruses and bacteria. In the same way, it is responsible for attacking the harmful effects that the body itself can generate, such as the appearance of cancerous tissue. However, when this army begins to weaken, because its defenses begin to decrease, it is unable to protect the human body from the diseases that afflict it.
According to Porter, there are people who have deficiencies in the immune system that can be temporary or permanent, depending on the factors that have caused this condition to be triggered, which he has classified into five:
Chronic diseases
A chronic disease is characterized by triggering a long-term health problem that progresses slowly and, in most cases, has no cure. These types of conditions destroy immune cells, which makes the human body vulnerable to experiencing more serious effects from other diseases, despite the fact that they are infections or mild problems, with greater discomfort, compared to people who do not suffer from this disease. condition.
Some of the chronic diseases that most afflict the population are HIV-AIDS, Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. According to the expert, even patients with diabetes who have early treatments that control the disease are at risk of passing Covid-19 severely.
“Even well-controlled diabetics are immunocompromised to some degree,” agreed Mark Schutta, endocrinologist and medical director of the Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center, “Just having an infection can also raise blood sugar levels and lead to infections additional. And immunity can be disrupted by high blood sugar levels. It is a circular problem,” he explained.
Another health problem that might put a person with Covid-19 at risk is asthma, since it generates an exaggerated reaction. In turn, leukemia or lymphoma are also diseases of the immune system that specifically affect the white blood cells, essential to fight infections that the human body contract.
Medical treatments
Treatments that combat various cancers weaken the immune system, as they are responsible for destroying cancer cells, which immunosuppresses those who undergo this kind of medical intervention. This process might be, to some degree, counterproductive, as it puts the patient in a position where they are more likely to contract Covid-19 and experience severe symptoms.
The most commonly used drugs are corticosteroids and long-term antirheumatic drugs.
“Because a patient’s own immune system goes into overdrive and attacks various parts of the body, treatments for autoimmune diseases are often drugs designed to weaken the immune system,” Porter said.
Organ or bone marrow transplant
According to experts, people who receive a transplant are more likely to suffer from severe Covid.19, following the first weeks of the intervention. This is because, during the surgical process, they lose considerable levels of white blood cells.
After a transplant, in addition, the patient must be treated with medications, responsible for suppressing the immune system. These types of drugs, also known as anti-rejection drugs and immunosuppressants. These treatments are prescribed in order for the body to accept the new cells and also prevent the tissues from being threatened by not being identified by their system.
Age
According to experts, people develop underlying conditions or medical problems as they age and their immune system stops responding to infections the way it should because it doesn’t work as well as a younger person’s. Therefore, they suffer from the flu or Covid-19 with more complications than other age groups.
Smoke
Covid-19 is an inflammatory disease with respiratory effects, which means that it attacks the nose, throat and lungs, as well as other organs. Smoking damages the lungs, so those who carry out this practice may not have enough healthy lung tissue to withstand the impact of SARS-CoV-2.
“People who smoke tend to get sicker from infections,” Porter said. “It may be that smoking impairs the immune system’s ability to respond appropriately,” he cautioned.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from the United States have verified that the conditions, triggered by weakened immune systems, generated the majority of hospitalizations for Covid-19 since the pandemic began:
Half of Covid-19 patients with diabetes required hospitalization.
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78% of patients in intensive care had at least one underlying health problem.
71% of those who needed hospitalization for Covid-19 (but not intensive care) had at least one underlying health problem.
In the end, specialists continue to affirm that people with weak immune systems are more likely to not have the necessary immune response to combat Covid.19 in its initial stages. For what they considered essential that they be one of the populations that obtain, as soon as possible, the booster dose of the vaccines available, and to avoid places of concurrence, as well as recommending the use of double face masks to avoid contagion.
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