ChatterBank0 min ago
The common cold!
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.It may be to do with your blood. I've never had a cold once either. A few years ago when I was giving blood I noticed a new bit of info on my form. It said I was CMV Negative. I asked what it meant & they said it stood for something like Cyto Megalow Virus (or something like that!) & if it's negatiive you are not as susceptible to colds and I think cold sores.
It was a few years ago & I can't remember the exact term but if you search google you might find a bit more info.
I didn't mean to get heavy there, what I wanted to say that it is probably down to general constitution and gene pool stuff with a fair contribution from healthy living. Just because you don't get colds does not mean that you are not exposed to the virus. The immune system probably spots them and learns quickly before they multiply in large enough numbers to have an effect.
Cytomegalovirus is similar to the cold virus and is common in cats. It can be passed to humans and appears just like a normal bout of the sniffles. However your body then has an immunity to this virus and this property is not desirable in blood given to already immune suppressed individuals and small children whose immunity is still being formed.
It is important that individuals form their own natural immunity rather that obtain antibodies second-hand for certain conditions. Children are in especial danger from cytomegalovirus as it can cause severe hearing loss. Most children form natural immunity without problems, but it is thought that if second-hand antibodies are present the immune system will not respond effectively if under a real attack and the disease may prove more serious than otherwise.
In some instances the effects of cytomegalovirus can be life threatening either in itself or because of the stress it can cause to the immune system than might allow other opportunistic infections to become established in an already weakened system. For this reason, donated blood is routinely tested for CMV and other immunities so that only blood with negative scores (i.e. the person giving has had no contact with the disease and therefor no immunity) is used for immune compromised patients in hospital.
tomd - I haven't seen "Unbreakable" and have no idea what it is? More info please!
For those of you who have mentioned the genetic element; it may interest you to know that my parents both have bad colds fairly regularly, as does my sister and youngest son. However, my 8yr old son hasn't had a cold since he was about 2yrs old - so maybe there's something in that!