You've survived everyone you've caught so far, haven't you? That's a testament to it's awesomeness.
this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2025
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No Stupid Questions
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I think that the real wonderment is that, even though we know the way virusses are distributed. And that social distancing is adamant in preventing that distribution, we simple tend to ignore this and spreading that shit like crazy.
That weird behaviour costs our economy millions.
All that IS the response, and without it, a virus would kill you.
You are better off toughing it out than taking drugs that block the responses.
The immune system is fucking incredible, you should read up on it and then you'll never make a post like this again!
I was about to say this too. It does a pretty fucking incredible job at fighting colds.
Wait. Was this a troll post, and I just ate it up?
A lot of people in this thread saying that viruses are losing when we live through a cold. That's just not true. Their goal is to live/reproduce, not to kill. They're winning at a different game, it just hurts us as a byproduct.
bad at it? you literally rest for a week then recover, as opposed to dying. your pretty fucking good at it. you just don't know how bad it could be
Yeah I think the real thing is just not understanding how bad a cold without an immune system would be. IE only real way to put it in context is, read up on what an immune-comprimised individual goes through when they get a cold.
It's a bit like saying
"why is my countries missile defense so crappy, whenever we're attacked there's chunks of metal all over the ground, so much smoke and noise it makes it hard to sleep, why are we so bad at defending from missiles".
The real question should be:
Why is our society built around disposable labor and assuming we will be at 100% functionality all the time?
Capitalism
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Look at this guy with his sick leave and ability to stay home and rest when he's sick!
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/facts-about-the-common-cold explains why we don't have a vaccine but honestly you symptoms sound like you got the flu of some kind.
The common cold is a family of coronaviruses, our bodies have been fighting off their mutations for millennia. An mRNA vaccines for colds, if I remember correctly, was in the works, but, well, we've all seen what's happening there
Its more often rhinoviruses rather than coronaviruses or other families
I disagree, there's no way a rhino could fit in there
Everything's a dildo if you're brave enough!
So does that mean a long time ago people were dying of the cold in droves?
Certainly possible, if not likely, that when these viruses first evolved to infect humans or human ancestors they caused increased mortality. Common coronaviruses and rhinoviruses still kill a lot of people, they're often associated with pneumonia
No. But covid-19 belongs to the same group of viruses that also includes the common cold.
If it makes you feel any better, your microscopic attacker is not having a very good time with your body's response either. You're the undefeated champion in this arena so far, keep up the winning streak.
I don't know about who is the champion. The virus eventually fails to multiply in the host, but it meanwhile spreads to others.
How about we consider everyone a champion?
Trophies all around!
Dude, you are in a million years battle with other organisms trying to exploit and kill you, and you're fucking winning. I would call that a blazing success. The other organisms are trying their literal best, their survival depends on it, and you just KEEP. ON. WINNING.
Some might even call this million years battle a cold war
deep sigh
Okay, here's your upvote. Now leave.
Actually, please don't. It's Lemmy and we need all the users we can get
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These organisms are doing their best, okay? They’re just too smol.
It's more like colds are incredibly good at responding to the human body. Following the evolution of corona was quite amazing, no?
You know symptoms is the tangible evidence of your body fighting the fucker? I'm no scientist but I remember hearing that apparently a raised body temp is one method of killing the cunt that's trying to attack you.
With these symptoms you can’t run, you can’t hunt, you can’t burn too many calories. Your body does everything in its power to prevent you from using resources your body needs to defeat the sickness.
That’s the reason why placebo meds work: the fact that the doctor gave you medicine means that you are really sick, and therefore you have to rest. In reality you’re behaving differently and therefore you’ll get healthy faster.
Oh: and you’re slightly dehydrated so you don’t have that much risk of infecting others.
We are tribal animals. Apes together strong. We care for the sick ones because that means they can focus on recovery.
Is that why placebos work? I could swear they had done studies that show that placebos can be as effective as medication under certain conditions, all other things being equal. Maybe not as effective as medication, but more effective than non-treatment.
Only if the medication doesn't work. The evidence is that placebos don't work. Mostly, the placebo effect is a statistical illusion.
It is plausible that the body will expend more energy to combat a disease if you are (sub-)consciously convinced that you are cared for and don't need to stress. Stress hormones down-regulate the immune response. Cortisol, used for treatment of autoimmune disorders like asthma and allergies, is a stress hormone.
But a sham treatment could also have the opposite effect. If your subconscious understands that as a signal that you must get back into action, you may end up releasing stress hormones. These psychological effects are just too idiosyncratic and fickle to be used reliably.
Stuff like broken bones or cancer doesn't respond to psychology at all. The body is already doing all it can.
I found a study some time ago about pets and placebos, where the subscription of meds for the pet resulted in different behavior by the pet owner, I couldn’t find it but here’s an article about it: https://www.veterinaryprescriber.org/free-articles/the-caregiver-placebo-effect-in-osteoarthritis-treatments
Good find. Key paragraph:
When measured objectively over the 42-day evaluation period, limb function improved in 12.1% and worsened in 8.6%, but did not change in most dogs. By contrast, caregivers (both owners and vets) reported improvements in lameness from the start, with the reported improvements increasing with time. The caregiver placebo effect appeared to be around 57% for owners and 40–45% for vets and was statistically significant at all assessment time points.
Objective measurements are one way to detect this effect. Another would be a true double-blind trial where neither owner nor vet knows which medicine was given.
It's incredibly good at responding to infections. That's why you're alive.
Taking medicine to reduce symptoms when you're sick, actually increases the amount of time that you're sick. You reducing the effectiveness of your body's fight.
If you find yourself often getting sick, take a look at your overall health, especially your metabolic health. Make sure you're getting enough sleep, zinc, sunlight, and avoiding sugar as much as you can.
Taking medicine to reduce symptoms when you're sick, actually increases the amount of time that you're sick. You reducing the effectiveness of your body's fight.
Sorry I think this is unfounded quackery, and by making this assertion you risk increasing the suffering of others.
It makes sense in a logical kind of way... like if a fever helps fight an infection then taking paracetamol to avoid the fever must prevent you fighting the infection.
The thing is, there's no evidence that infections work that way in practice. If taking paracetamol helps you get a good night sleep, maybe that is more effective than a fever.
A lot of your body's natural defenses just aren't really very effective at all. Like goose bumps, or shivering... obviously putting a jacket on is far more effective.
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