Do alopecians get sick more often?

I've had AA since September, and it recently turned to AU. I am now more sick than I have been in about 10 years! I remember the last time I was this sick, and it was 10 years ago.

I have a runny nose, sore throat, muscle aches, and earache. Usually when I start to feel sick I do my home remedies (Vemma juice, healing CD, Airborne, echinacea tea) and I'm as good as new within 12 hours. But this is the first time it hasn't worked!!! Is it because I have a compromised immune system? Is it because I lost the hairs in my nose which filter out allergans?

I'm just wondering if anybody else has gotten super sick since having alopecia. I am so miserable I could just cry. I'm going to the doctor later. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Gale Moorman on March 16, 2010 at 9:13pm
Hi Pam, maybe with AU you feel like you get a bit sicker. I have AT and I'm surprised and glad that I don't get many colds or respiratory conditions at all. I'm an apt. cleaner and every day I'm in a different person's house and sometimes two different houses a day. Some have a pet and some do not. Many of my customers ask me why I don't get colds or sneezes often. I joke them and say maybe it's the cleansers are keeping my system strong, guess it's hard to figure some things out.
Permalink Reply by lynne on August 27, 2009 at 3:51pm
hiya aimee, i to felt unwell for a while before my alopecia and now after, i am still feelin tired all the time even tho my blood tests have all come bak ok, it doesnt make sense, i cant be bothered doin anythin, and work is difficult as im tired all the time, has any1 else felt like this or should i get bak to my doc, thanks
Permalink Reply by kastababy on August 28, 2009 at 11:37am
To tell you the truth Aimee, I'm almost never, EVER sick -- when I finally do get sick, it's enough to lay me out for about a good week to ten days and then I'm good as new. I think the sickest I've ever been is when I lived in Atlanta; I honestly think whatever it is they're cooking up at the CDC gets released into the air every so often. I think the worst I've felt this year was getting an ear infection over Memorial Day weekend that lasted until two weeks ago -- but it was the first ear infection I've ever had in my life too.

Generally the only thing I have to deal with on a regular basis is my migraines, which would fell a weaker person. I was really tired all the time and moody as all get out when I had my thyroid checked 7 years ago; found out I was hypothyroid and since I've been on meds for it am back to my disgustingly healthy self.

Hope that works!
Permalink Reply by Mel on September 3, 2009 at 8:13am
Hey Aimee,
Hope I can help clear this up for you. As a person with Alopecia, you do not have a compromised immune system. Alopecia being an autoimmune diease means that your immune system is acctually working overtime not being compromised.
people with alopecia commonley have ezcmea or asthma or have a family history of these, although doctors are not sure what the connection is between the three.
People with alopecia also have higher rates of depression and chronic fatigue syndrome (as an emotional response).
If you have lost your nose hair these may be symptoms of hay fever which may be caused by the lack of air filters in your nose.
Don't worry, its quite a bit to wrap our heads around all the medical side of things- I never really understood it until I trained as a nurse!
Permalink Reply by Patricia Hutchings on March 3, 2010 at 3:32pm
Thats exactly what my Dr said, our immune system works better then most.
Permalink Reply by Veronicasteele on October 21, 2016 at 2:43pm

I recently got a really bad flu - and it is taking a long time to get better. I am moving slowly, even writing things down! Most auto-immune diseases mean they have compromised immune systems. Does this mean that we do not? Am I just super sick or what? Any advice is welcome. THanks!

Permalink Reply by Chris Jeffer on March 16, 2010 at 1:46pm
Hi Aimee and everyone,

I just want to clear something up about our immune systems. We have an autoimmune condition which means that our antibodies want to attack not only foreign antigens but also self antigens. This is a bizzare phenomenon when you stop and think about it. Why would the body want to attack itself because it certainly wasn't designed to do this. This doesn't mean that we have more immunity than other people because our immune system is 'overactive'. It does mean though, that just as some people have a predisposition to cancer, some to diabetes, others to cardiovascular problems, we have a predisposition to autoimmune problems.

So if you are starting to feel unwell in some area, even if it is just feeling tired all the time - your body is red flagging you to pay attention to something in your life that you are not addressing that is demanding too much of your energy. The alopecia is doing the same, we just haven't learned to 'tune in' and listen to what our bodies are telling us.
Permalink Reply by Christine on March 17, 2010 at 5:11am
Hi Aimee,
I noticed that you said you use Airborne, Echinacea and other home or natural remedies for building you up, and to help fight viruses, I'm no expert on this but I have read some research that highly recommends not using things like echinacea that boost immune response, if you have any form of autoimmune disease. In fact I have read to be extra careful with herbal remedies as many things are not good for those with immune issues, I also read that Melatonin was extremely bad for autoimmune disease, I'm not totally sure as I've come across this more than once, I bought some Melatonin and it said right on the bottle not to use with autoimmune conditions, and when I researched it sure enough I found claims to back this up. I was using Airborne everyday for a while and got a pneumonia that I had for 4 months, it was the sickest I had ever been in my life, I now have Asthma. I'm not saying that this could happen to you at all, I would just check it out. I hope your feeling better, and the Dr you saw help. Best of luck :-)
Permalink Reply by Stacey Owen on March 21, 2010 at 8:05pm
Aimee.. I have not been sick in gosh I can't remember when. :) it's a blessing when my family is sick and I can cre for them and not get sick doing so. :) afterall moms don't have time for sickness. Heehee. So I believe Alopecia keeps us from getting sick. I do however suffer from attic electricty. Lol but that's not paralyzing... Just annoying and occasional pain lol.
Permalink Reply by Joanne on April 8, 2010 at 11:55pm
I think I've been a lot healthier since I got alopecia -- fewer head colds/allergies/sinus problems and I had a lot of sinus issues before the alopecia started. But I also moved to Flagstaff AZ where it is dry which helps. When my hair loss was at it's worst level, I fell and broke my patella. My hair grew back so much that I can hide most of the bald spots a lot and have a lot less thinning. I think that the excessive white blood cells that had been attacking my hair follicles got diverted to the knee fracture. Now that my knee is better I notice my alopecia is coming back again. I would not recommend this method of stopping alopecia but wonder what else that would be less traumatic could divert the white blood cells so they stopped attacking the hair follicles. And perhaps that might bring back the eyelashes that are missing on one of my eyes and the nose hairs back too.
Permalink Reply by Brandy Snap on April 9, 2010 at 2:38pm
It's odd that your hair grew back with your injury. When I fractured my wrist is when mine started.
Permalink Reply by Reto on April 11, 2010 at 2:40am
I know they say it is an auto-immune disease, but I'm wondering if it couldn't be due to bacteria / fungus / virus. That would explain a lot of things. Wonder if eating a diet that encourages candida or other growth (e.g. perhaps one rich in sweets) is damaging. Wonder if perhaps when one has a lot of allergies, the body's immune system is busy dealing with those and can't deal with infectious agents as much. Here is the only post I've found like this so far. Am probably going to try antibiotics myself and see.

http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/alopecia.html :

REMEDIES HELPED, BUT ANTIBIOTICS BEST
1 YEA

[YEA] 10/01/2007: T from Ottawa, Canada writes: "re: Alopecia -- Hello, On and off seemingly during high stress times (exam time when I was in university, during heavy work load times at my job) my scalp becomes irritated, red and inflamed. Bald patches start forming and the scalp is very soft in those areas. I have tried many different types of herbal solutions. I have tried apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil with lavender oil, hydrogen peroxide, taking a spoon of baking soda twice a day etc. All seemed to help slightly. The tea tree oil was probably the most effective. However, because I've suffered from this many times in the past I feel I should let people know that the only thing that really 100% worked for me was not herbal. It required a trip to my doctor and a prescription for minocin (an antibiotic). It's very cheap and worth it. Within a week the irritation, redness, inflammation disappeared. Within a month the bald patches had also filled in. I would recommend anyone with this problem visit their doctor and ask about an antibiotic. It will save you a lot of pain and stress. Good luck."

(note I started a discussion group about antibiotics to see who has investigated them for AA).

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