More About Your Immune System
May 22nd, 2020 | By Sharon Shaw Elrod MSW EdD | Category: Senior Moments BlogThose Pesky Preexisting Conditions
It’s the middle of May and most states are stopping the ‘stay at home’ orders because of COVID-19. Some believe it is too soon, and we will see another spike in numbers of infections. Others don’t. And frankly, it doesn’t matter what you think or believe, the infection rate will increase if people are infected and they come in contact with others, that is, if they ignore the social distancing advice. Furthermore, people with certain health conditions are at significantly higher risk than the rest of the population.
What are those preexisting conditions? The big ones most experts agree on are diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure/heart disease and lung/respiratory disease. People in these high risk categories already have a major assault on their immune systems, that’s what a ‘preexisting condition’ is. The immune system is necessary to fight off infection, and it is losing the battle for good health even before COVID-19 hits.