My weak American body

I've been here for 6 weeks and have been sick 3 times. I think it's my lack of exposure to European strains of these diseases and infections. Did anyone else have problems with illness when they first arrive. At home, I never get sick. Haven't had so much as a stuffy nose in 2 years, now every thing that comes around I catch. Why?

Exposed to more people more often? Did you ride much public transportation back at home? The weather (other than this past glorious 4 days) has been pretty lousy too, so that probably didn't help.

That, or we've developed some new strains of the common cold that kill newly arrived Americans. It's a slow kill though, don't worry, you might make it until Christmas.

Mold, black mold that you only see in the states in a nasty always wet shower.
The stuff grows everywhere here and even makes the locals sick, not really sick, but more like sinus infections, general blah, watery eyes, almost like having allergies and that never seems to go away.
The mold is called SchimmelPilz.

But a perfect excuse to run off to Baden-Baden for a little R&R.

Yep absolutley. Sauna every fortnight and a bottle of vitamin juice every day during the winter months seems to have prevented me from getting sick since I have been here. No need to go to Baden-Baden though, theres a lot of good saunas around Munich. Cant find the list on TT right now though.

3 illnesses in 6 weeks? Sounds like you are settling into the German way of life nicely. Give it time and you will develop your first ever "Kreislaufströrung". Nice

This is exactly what happened to me when I first arrived - and you are exactly right about being exposed to viruses that are not found where you come from. I asked my mother(a doctor) about this - she said that's what it is. So, hang in there, you'll get over it. And just be conscious of what you are touching before you touch your eyes, nose, mouth etc.

yeah I keep getting sick to! Need to lay off the booze and I'll be a-ight.

my migraines have gotten a hell of a lot worse and more frequent since I've been here. Plus I've been feeling really run down for a long time...but I think that the latter is just cos I'm having so much fun here and am j burning the candle at both ends as they say...

or maybe i'm just getting old...

I completely understand how you feel! I have NEVER been as sick in my whole life as I have been in the last year I have been here. I seem to be picking up everything. I cant wait to get back to the UK so that I can get my health back. I'm not sure why I am so ill over here - at first I knew it was because of the different strains of viruses I wasnt used to, but a year and a bit later I am still picking them all up. I eat lots of fruit and veg and drink litres of water each day, so am reasonably healthy in my diet.

My throat is the worst though, I have never been bothered by it before then I come here and I get one sore throat (tonsillitis) after another, it feels like I am swallowing razor blades half the time! I have it right now in fact

try this: it works for me before and in the (off) chance i get sick.

eat a lot of oranges. though since moving here from spain, i have found the oranges here sickly, overripe and jes plain roTTen!!!

eat a lot of soups!! nothing makes you better and feel better while youre sick than a good warm food!!!

get some fiber in your diet while you're eating all dat soup!!!

NO fried foods, nor foods with oil (olive or veggie), though it can be used in soups...

and if you reaLLy get sick, then sux some limones (lemons) and that will shock yer system into MAKING you well.

i usually get a cold once a year but since using this system, i dont anymore and when/if i do, it lasts for a few days instead of weeks!!!

preventive is just as important as during, and eat those oranges/soups at leat a few times during a week to keep your system healthly!!!

i know in spain a LOT of americans had allergies (achhooooOoooo!) because of the olive trees.

good luck and take care!!! and dont talk too much on the streets when it's cold!!!

Before I moved here, I could probably count all the headaches I've had in my life on one hand (not counting alcohol-induced). Within the first year of being here, I started having full-blown migraines with dizziness, numbness, vision problems and all.

@fototaker -- thanks for sharing suggestions. I have felt crappy for two days now so will give the oranges and soup a go and save a trip to the doctor.

I am a massive fan of homemade soup. I was off work towards the end of last week with my throat and couldnt eat any solids so made a huge pot of veggie soup with lots of ginger (ginger works wonders for colds) - I ate it all over the course of the next few days and whilst I am definitely not as weak as I was it unfortunately didnt get rid of the sore throat...booo.

The other thing you need is vitamins - a good multi-vitamin to give you the things that you are probably missing out on daily. And if you're female, Calcium supplements are very important. You start losing bone mass when you are 30! And, if you are doing weight-bearing exercis 3 times a week(lifting weights, for example) - it's good but taking vitamins is even better - later in life you will break fewer bones.

So, multi - vitamins - good for everyone - not just kids and the elderly.

I used to suffer from Extreme dizzines, headaches and memory loss...
It dont happen too much these days as I dont go in to town on the lash half as much..

Or a half decent diet that ensures your not missing out on the daily requirements so you can avoid popping pills like a gumball machine!

Wb6: i know it sounds like an old wives' remedy, but after liVing in Spain for 10+ years, when i started liVing alone 4 years ago, i tried it, including once when my throat closed up during one winter in Barcelona and i couldnt speak at ALL, and it worked!!! i now do it all the time, and during the winter, i devour a TON of oranges a day, though i confess i am having lots of problems in finding GooD oranges here.

tis a pity, but if in need of good oranges and tis cant b found, i buy the best orange juice then... the little tangerines have been good though...

i paid in Spain not even HALF for one kilo of oranges here!!!

also, i am a coffee drinker (spanish coffee, not expresso but more a latte: more milk, LOTs more milk than coffee) and instead of suGar, i use hoNey... though i quit buYing honey here as its taste is WEIRD,... yeck!!!

good luck and y'all keep me informed!!

PS: for those interested: i make a mean (but tasty) lentejas con chorizo (spanish lentils soup with cured spanish sausage). i just made a LOT and passed it out to neighbors and friends... the only thing i seek in exchange is a model for fotos...

;D

Mmmmm, that sounds good.

Does anybody know where it's possible to find echinacea tea (besides a tea shop)? I haven't seen any anywhere.

I can thoroughly recommend rolling about in mud in the pissing rain and freezing cold a few times a week - does wonders for your immune system. Haven't played contact rugby for a while now and I've noticed I'm more succeptible to any bugs going around since then. Or perhaps I've just been in germany too long.

It does sound good, possibly Fototaker will post the recipe here on the board without us having to get down to our birthday suits.

Be very careful here. Recent programme for "Horizon" on BBC TV. Vitamins A supplements they think can cause osteoporisis. Vitamin E in high doses can also be harmful. Sweden has the highest cases of osteoporosis in the world and they think it is due to excess vitamins. They featured two pill-popping ladies on the programme - both of whom stopped supplements when they saw the evidence.

John Emsley's current bestseller "Vanity, Vitality and Virility" (he was a London University Chemistry researcher and lecturer for 20 years), points to 2001 studies (page 67 of the book) that indicates that excess Vitamin C seems to be CARCIOGENIC.

http://eslkid.com/msgboard.mv?parm_func=sh..._msgnum=1001334

Just eat healthy food I think folks! If taking Vitamins only occasionally perhaps?

I must be one of the few lucky ones. Been here nearly 2 years now and only had 2 days off sick and both of those were self inflicted(Not booze related btw).

I'm just getting over being sick too... nasty sore throat and runny nose. It's a 48 hour thing though, I woke up this morning feeling a lot better, so if it's a cold I've never recovered from one THAT fast before. I know what you mean about getting sick a lot... I think it is all the different germs.

weird, same situation for me over the weekend, felt great Friday, woke up feeling like crap Saturday and it was that way for right on 48 hours...

It's because the weather's nice.

@IPJ - HA!
Your funny, that's a good one I had not thought of, it did look really warm and sunny through the window Sunday. But I'm ready to go now!

wow, its amazing how quickly TTers get to posting. First time I've read this since I've posted. With the black mold thing, I don't think thats a problem for me anymore. My college had a really bad problem with it, the first day of Uni I got my first case of hives, ever. But then I adjusted, and am now pretty resistant to it after living in those dorms for 2 years.

Been thinking, it probably doesn't help that I have the 2 children bringing every disease known to man home from kindergarten and school.

Piblic transport, maybe. First time I was sick in Croatia 4 days after arriving, spending the night in the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof and taking a train to Italy. Second time during Oktoberfest. The third however I got from the children.
This is a really good thread to have for the next time I get sick. Oh and would also love to try this spanish dish.

Since I've been in Munich I've been VERY lucky that I haven't got sick much. Probably just a handful of times in 3 years. This is being tested at the moment as my office colleague (facing me 1m away) is coughing now aboot every 20 seconds. Shite...Now at least there's a reason for taking a coffee break every 20mins of so.



I just ate 3 Vitamin C tablets...without water...MMmmmmm Yummy!!

Since suffering this never ending string of illness, I've become a bit of a nut for anti-bacterial lotions and gels. Coughing people have always made me paranoid, but now with reason.

The black mold in the states has nothing on the mess here. This stuff is really bad. It is also the stuff that rsponds to the weather and kicks off some nice spores into the air.
Apart from that, the normal flora of bacteria here is not the same as in the states. This you will recognize from having the shits.
As for he vitmin pill poppers, you would be suprised how much of that comes out the other end undigested.

Lemon sucking-YEAH baby! First you lick the salt, then you swig the tequila and suck that lemon. Clears a throat right up. 10-12 times should do it. Then the next day all you can eat is soup. Now that is the way to do it.

Every year at this time of year a lot of people always get sick. The main reasons for this are:
- The sudden change in weather.
- Hundreds of thousands of Oktoberfest visiters bring diseases from all over the world.
- Increased alcohol consumption lowers your resistence

I don't know much about such factors as mold, mildew or there being different viruses here, but perhaps other factors could also play a role.
- If you come from a place without much PT, then you might not be used to the human contact.
- Different places use heating/air-conditioning differently. When I was in Southern Florida, I was constantly getting sick because there was no escaping the all pervasive air conditioned environment. If you come from a place where the environment is more controlled, your system might take a while to get used to the sudden temperature changes here.
- Because you don't need to drive a car in Munich, many people's alcohol consumption goes way up here, which can weaken the immune system. Sometimes it is the price you have to pay

Tip: Wash your hands often. This is what doctors recommend, and they should know

Weird. I find my health improves when I am in Munich and tends to be bad when I am at home in Ireland.

To those with headaches...dosn't the fohn make headacehs worse ???

It's blamed for lots of stuff but certainly the pressure changes when it's about do make increase the likelyhood of headaches.

just stay off the piss, get some decent food, plenty of sleep.working in a office is the worst place to be.my workmates with kids are always the first to catch the bugs and bring to work. treat yourself to a good sweat once a week ,go for a run or a real brisk walk . main thing stay off the piss

almost been here for a year, got sick god knows how many times, guess it's cause I had no past experience of living by myself as such, maan that sucked, college - modern apprenticeship then over here, what the hell am I doing, ah well, heck of a good opportunity. Although the sickness thing is getting a bit serious, oh man..last day of Okie fest that was the worst, lovely weather then all of a sudden starts to chuck it down n a was wearing a t-shirt as were ma other mates..next day felt like absolute crap & it's lasted till now although it's minimized to a lil cough & sore throat.

I think a lot of the problem with getting sick at Oktoberfest is under-drinking. Sure, getting mildly drunk day after day will weaken the immune system. But by getting seriously drunk however, and staying seriously drunk for 3-4 day stretches at a time, you should be able to poison the bugs and germs too, thus preventing illness.

An Arthur Mee book once taught me "if you are to do something, do it boldly" and used the example of fetching a ball from a patch of stinging nettles. If you gingerly brush your hand past the nettles to get the ball, you get stung. If you boldy grasp the nettles with the intention of doing more damage to them than what you expect them to do to you, you dont actually get stung.

I think this applies to most things in life, drinking included. Anyone else read Arthur Mee as a child?

when ya want to try that spanish dish, let me know. i'd be most happy to either cook it FeR ya or give you the reciPe. no problem for me... but it does require olive oil, which is VerY exPenSiVe here!!