ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire)– By the end of the year hopefully we can say the Lockdowns are over, masks are no longer mandatory and the covid quarantine is a thing of the past. But will all of the social isolation of the past year impact our health? Will our immune systems be weaker? Could our bodies forget how to fight off disease? Long-term health.
In march 2020 the world changed. For the next year lockdowns, face coverings and social distancing were the norm. Has all the hand sanitizing and hand washing made us more susceptible to colds and flus and other viruses?
According to MIT medical, by the time a person reaches adulthood, their immune system has already had exposure to plenty of bacteria and is able to mount an attack against invaders and will not forget how to, even during long-term lockdowns.
What about all the hand washing and sanitizing? Recent studies say creating a total sterile environment in our homes is impossible. Microbes are being introduced daily from our bodies, interactions with our family, our pets, and even the food we bring into our homes.
And what about babies? Experts say breast milk is key to protecting them from harmful pathogens.
Although adults and children’s immune system will remember to fight off microbes, there is another piece of the puzzle. According to a new Stanford study, stress can also impact our immune system in the long term. For adults, it was the stress of isolation and the pandemic that is a concern for the immune system. Research is being done to see if the isolation may cause the body’s ability to respond to viruses in the future.
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Contributor(s) to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Robert Walko, Videographer and Editor.
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