What you need to know about immunity

What the immune system is made of

Our immune system is a complex puzzle of cells and solutes, central and peripheral organs. It was no coincidence that the word "puzzle" turned out to be here: human immunity is still, despite the discoveries of recent years, a largely mysterious mechanism. But it is no longer in doubt that everything starts with the bone marrow and the thymus gland (located behind the breastbone) - these are the central organs of the immune system. There, cells are produced and trained that protect against harmful viruses and bacteria.

These cells - lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils and others - move with blood and lymph throughout the body, looking for "enemies". Each type of cells performs a specific function: recognizing the enemy, capturing or "killing". There are cells that coordinate "attack" and "retreat". And only together, interacting in a complex way, they carry out immunological supervision.

Other parts of the immunological puzzle - lymph nodes, tonsils, spleen, cell clumps in the intestinal wall, and lymphatic vessels - are peripheral organs. All of them, as well as the result of their interaction, are the immune system.

How it works

To put it quite simply, the work of the immune system is the activity of its cells to maintain the constancy of the internal environment. The immune system must protect the body from external influences (detects and destroys foreign viruses, bacteria and fungi) and its own mutant cells - tumor and autoaggressive cells (that is, cells whose action is directed against their own organs and tissues).

The innate and acquired immunity helps us to cope with disease-causing organisms throughout life.

We are born with the first, and it is less effective, since its action is nonspecific. The second is formed throughout life, when the immune system "remembers" pathogenic microorganisms and, upon a repeated encounter with the same agent, provides a targeted highly effective counteraction.

But one must understand that innate and acquired immunity cannot work without each other, this is also a single system.

Is it possible to increase immunity

For most immunomodulators that are sold without a prescription in Russia, there is no evidence of effectiveness, so you will not find such drugs on the shelves of pharmacies in European countries.

There is no objective evidence that any of the immunomodulators can reduce the duration of ARVI or influenza by at least one day.

Immunomodulators that really modify the disease are used in other cases (for example, with viral hepatitis, severe furunculosis) and other doses and are used strictly according to the doctor's prescription.

Moreover, since immunity is a complex "colossus" that has not been thoroughly studied, uncontrolled intake of immunomodulators for a cold or even flu can do more harm than good in the long term.

Do not believe me - visit an immunologist, and he, most likely, will advise you on the only reliable immunostimulant: hardening, proper nutrition, adequate sleep, as well as other components of a healthy lifestyle.

However, there are times when the body really needs immunity support: with primary (congenital) or secondary immunodeficiency. Secondary occurs in severe concomitant diseases (for example, HIV infection, in which the virus directly affects the cells of the immune system). Or under the influence of aggressive external factors (chemotherapy, radiation therapy).

Primary and secondary immunodeficiency are serious diseases that do not lend themselves to self-medication and immunostimulants from advertising brochures.

Smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity have no direct proven effect on immunity, but lead to the development of concomitant diseases - chronic bronchitis of a smoker, obesity, diabetes mellitus - and disrupt the barrier properties of organisms, which makes it more susceptible to infections. However, the immune system has nothing to do with it.

What Happens When the Immune System Fails

If a person has a real immunodeficiency, then this is the risk of not just frequent, but particularly severe infections. Such infections do not include ARVI, we are talking about repeated episodes of pneumonia, purulent otitis media and sinusitis, meningitis, sepsis and other diseases. And since the immune system protects us not only from external, but also internal enemies, the manifestation of immunodeficiency can be the occurrence of oncological and autoimmune diseases.

How to understand that immunity needs to be checked

For such cases, there are warning signs of primary immunodeficiency, developed by the international community of immunologists and adapted for Russia with the support of the Sunflower Foundation. It must be remembered that although primary immunodeficiency is a congenital disease, it can manifest itself at any age: at 30, at 40, and at 50 years old.

If you find at least two of these symptoms in yourself or your child, it is worth visiting a doctor. Better - a specialist immunologist.

12 signs of primary immunodeficiency (PID)

PID or early family deaths from infections.
Eight or more suppurative otitis media during the year.
Two or more severe sinusitis during the year.
Two or more pneumonia during the year.
Antibiotic therapy for more than two months with no effect.
Complications of vaccination with attenuated live vaccines.
Disorders of food digestion in infancy.
Recurring deep skin and soft tissue abscesses.
Two or more severe systemic infections such as meningitis, sepsis, and others.
Recurrent fungal infections of the mucous membranes in children over a year old.
Chronic graft versus host disease (eg, unclear erythema in infants).
Severe infections caused by atypical microorganisms (pneumocysts, atypical tuberculosis pathogens, molds) that do not lead to disease in healthy people.