Feeling ill all the time is pretty miserable.
That's been the case for me for a good number of weeks now. Every time I believe I have banished whatever flu-like lurgy has taken hold of me it seems to come back with a vengeance, reeling me back in to a life of coughing, spluttering and feeling generally awful.
It doesn't appear to be covid as I am regularly testing negative, but that isn't making it any less grim.
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To make myself feel a little better I put a question out on Twitter to see if anyone else was feeling my shared pain of continual illness at the moment. It's safe to say I am not alone.
I simply asked, 'does anyone else feel like they are getting ill every other week?' The reaction was an overwhelming yes as dozens of people from across our region came forward to share their tales of lurgy woe.
Danielle Sharp said: "I was so ill for three weeks. Never been so ill in my adult life." John Simmonds said he and his wife feel like they have been ill since Christmas having never really been under the weather in previous years. Liverpool bar owner Dom Hope-Smith said he has had some form of flu for the past three weeks.
My fellow Liverpool Echo reporters have not been spared either. What's On writer Emily Sleight said: "I've had the same cough and cold for about three weeks now and I am tired of it" and court reporter Gemma Bradley told me her bloodstream is about "85% Lemsip" at present.
Clearly there are people in far more serious situations than mine. I'm (relatively) young and should be able to fight off a nasty cough and cold but I've definitely been struggling to do this more in recent months than in previous years (maybe I am getting older after all).
But are we actually getting more ill at present and are we staying ill for longer?
The obvious area to look at is covid and the lockdowns it brought with it. Speaking last year, Liverpool's director of public health Matt Ashton said the natural immunity of the public to illnesses like the flu are lower because of the low levels we experienced during the years of covid lockdowns when we weren't mixing. He added: "This was because people mixed less last winter and so, they were less exposed to flu, and did not build up their own immunity."
It's a view supported by many experts. In a piece published in The New Statesman, GP Phil Whitaker said viruses like flu and RSV are essentially "having a field day" right now. He said the various lockdowns and lack of social mixing of recent years "seriously curtailed" the usual respirator viruses that we get in circulation, meaning they were locked up and are now back with a vengeance.
Then there is the issue of covid itself and whether a bout of the virus can actually make us more susceptible to other illnesses. In an article published in The Conversation last year, Lara Herrero, a research leader in virology and infectious diseases said: "There are many reasons for infectious diseases to emerge in new locations, after many decades, or in new populations. So we cannot jump to the conclusion COVID infections have given rise to these and other viral infections.
"But evidence is building of the negative impact of COVID on a healthy individual’s immune system, several weeks after symptoms have subsided." She then pointed to an Australian study which found SARS-CoV-2 alters the balance of immune cells up to 24 weeks after clearing the infection."
While more evidence is clearly needed in this area, there is a growing idea that suffering with covid could leave you more vulnerable to other viral or respiratory conditions.
In terms of advice, Mr Ashton has continually encouraged people to get their covid and flu vaccinations, but there are other things you can do if you want to avoid being a snotty, coughing mess like yours truly.
He added: ""It is also important to prevent spread of viruses by letting fresh air in if meeting indoors, or meet outside; considering whether to wear a mask in crowded or enclosed public spaces, by covering your nose and mouth when you cough and sneeze, and by washing your hands properly."
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