Never sick a day in your life?
February 15, 2009 8:11 AM Subscribe
"I was never sick a day in my life". Literally true, or just an empty phrase?
I've often heard 2nd or 3rd hand about so-and-so "never being sick a day in his/her life". Is this ever literally true? I mean, not even a cold? Not even as an infant?
I'm less interested if your Aunt Tilly was never sick a day in her life. I'm more interested if YOU were never sick a day in your life.
And if these people exist, are they being studied under a microscope?
I've often heard 2nd or 3rd hand about so-and-so "never being sick a day in his/her life". Is this ever literally true? I mean, not even a cold? Not even as an infant?
I'm less interested if your Aunt Tilly was never sick a day in her life. I'm more interested if YOU were never sick a day in your life.
And if these people exist, are they being studied under a microscope?
Not me, but yeah. It seems like every obit elderly males, especially of middle-income environs, mentions the fact that he never, ever missed a day of work.
Frankly, I don't believe them. Rarely missed, sure. But not a single day of work?
posted by trotter at 8:50 AM on February 15, 2009
Frankly, I don't believe them. Rarely missed, sure. But not a single day of work?
posted by trotter at 8:50 AM on February 15, 2009
Well, "sick" is not a binary thing--nobody feels 100% every day.
posted by mpls2 at 8:54 AM on February 15, 2009
posted by mpls2 at 8:54 AM on February 15, 2009
Until recently, I had never taken a day off work due to sickness in my life.
This was less due to some superhuman power on my part, and more due to common sense measures like keeping warm in cold weather, trying to eat healthily, and getting a decent amount of exercise and sleep.
Then I broke my arm and ended up spending a bunch of time off sick anyway. C'est la vie.
posted by Mike1024 at 8:55 AM on February 15, 2009
This was less due to some superhuman power on my part, and more due to common sense measures like keeping warm in cold weather, trying to eat healthily, and getting a decent amount of exercise and sleep.
Then I broke my arm and ended up spending a bunch of time off sick anyway. C'est la vie.
posted by Mike1024 at 8:55 AM on February 15, 2009
Never a sick day at work....does not equal not being sick. It often means too damn desperate (or dumb) to not miss a day. Add in a wistful kind memory and "Never a sick day in his (work) life" is what we're talking about.
The average person gets sick 2x a year.
posted by filmgeek at 9:14 AM on February 15, 2009
The average person gets sick 2x a year.
posted by filmgeek at 9:14 AM on February 15, 2009
I'm pretty sure if I always had 8 hours of sleep and hadn't ignored the onset of bronchitis symptoms four years ago, I'd have at least a decade of never being sick beyond an annoying cold, and by the presenteeism-obsessed standards of the American workplace, I could have gone all this time without taking a sick day.
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:16 AM on February 15, 2009
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:16 AM on February 15, 2009
I used to work with a guy who claimed he'd never been sick. He'd routinely spend all day in his cube shivering from fever and hacking up phlegm, all the while insisting it was just bad air, or pollen, or the air conditioner acting up, or because he'd walked near somebody who was smoking a cigarette. But no way was he sick. He never gets sick.
Ego does strange things to people.
posted by ook at 9:48 AM on February 15, 2009 [5 favorites]
Ego does strange things to people.
posted by ook at 9:48 AM on February 15, 2009 [5 favorites]
Notice how all of the people who say this are not doctors or even remotely related to the medical profession.
Oh, I'd say the opposite. My dad, as a pediatrician, seems to have antibodies to everything and never ever gets sick. About ten years ago he had a tick bite that developed into Lyme Disease and was quite surprised to find himself really sick for the first time in his life. Until that point (and since, as far as I know), he'd never even sniffled, let alone taken time off work.
posted by judith at 10:01 AM on February 15, 2009
Oh, I'd say the opposite. My dad, as a pediatrician, seems to have antibodies to everything and never ever gets sick. About ten years ago he had a tick bite that developed into Lyme Disease and was quite surprised to find himself really sick for the first time in his life. Until that point (and since, as far as I know), he'd never even sniffled, let alone taken time off work.
posted by judith at 10:01 AM on February 15, 2009
Do seasonal allergies count as sick? How about poison oak, kidney stones or broken bones? If the answer is 'no' I can honestly say I have spent less than 10 days in bed due to illness over the last 30 years. And no, its not because of ego or some misplaced sense of duty. I don't catch my students' colds; I haven't had the flu or flu-like symptoms in years. (I don't get flu shots- that's how you get the flu.)
I help make health care more affordable for the rest of the population.
posted by TDIpod at 10:01 AM on February 15, 2009
I help make health care more affordable for the rest of the population.
posted by TDIpod at 10:01 AM on February 15, 2009
I took a sick day recently and it was my first sick day in about 8 or 9 years. I've had allergies and the occasional cold, but nothing the left me unable to work. (If I'm feeling a bit off, I do work from home. No need to spread the germs since I have a work from home option.) Also, I got food poisoning once over Christmas - felt awful, but it didn't result in a sick day since it was a holiday anyway.
As someone who lucky enough to not suffer every cold, I'd say there's nothing to study here. I'd attribute it to generally healthy habits (sleep, nutrition, exercise), early exposure to lots of children/germ factories, a family history of healthy people, getting the flu shot and excellent hand washing.
Including my school years, I might average 1 sick day every 5 - 7 years which is about as good as it gets.
posted by 26.2 at 11:58 AM on February 15, 2009
As someone who lucky enough to not suffer every cold, I'd say there's nothing to study here. I'd attribute it to generally healthy habits (sleep, nutrition, exercise), early exposure to lots of children/germ factories, a family history of healthy people, getting the flu shot and excellent hand washing.
Including my school years, I might average 1 sick day every 5 - 7 years which is about as good as it gets.
posted by 26.2 at 11:58 AM on February 15, 2009
-Notice how most of the people who say this have little to no knowledge of how the human body works. Notice how all of the people who say this are not doctors or even remotely related to the medical profession.
So it takes a doctor's knowledge to not be sick? However did our ancestors survive??!
I'm really confused as to why people are being defensive about this? What do you care if someone never gets sick?
Of course there are people out there who never get sick, or who choose not to show it if they are. Just like there are plants and dogs and tigers who never get sick. It happens, it's rare, who cares?
posted by gjc at 12:13 PM on February 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
So it takes a doctor's knowledge to not be sick? However did our ancestors survive??!
I'm really confused as to why people are being defensive about this? What do you care if someone never gets sick?
Of course there are people out there who never get sick, or who choose not to show it if they are. Just like there are plants and dogs and tigers who never get sick. It happens, it's rare, who cares?
posted by gjc at 12:13 PM on February 15, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'd say you need to differentiate between 'was sick' and 'took a sick day'. I always imagined this to mean 'I have never been so sick I could not work'.
Jim Stynes is famous in Australia for having played every football match his club was in for about 8 years (244 games in a row). I'm sure he was a little off occasionally, but you can't really be 'sick' and play a pro game of football.
posted by jacalata at 12:16 PM on February 15, 2009
Jim Stynes is famous in Australia for having played every football match his club was in for about 8 years (244 games in a row). I'm sure he was a little off occasionally, but you can't really be 'sick' and play a pro game of football.
posted by jacalata at 12:16 PM on February 15, 2009
So it takes a doctor's knowledge to not be sick? However did our ancestors survive??!
In general, they didn't. Not much beyond age 35 anyway.
posted by peacheater at 12:42 PM on February 15, 2009 [2 favorites]
In general, they didn't. Not much beyond age 35 anyway.
posted by peacheater at 12:42 PM on February 15, 2009 [2 favorites]
Facts:
-Notice how most of the people who say this have little to no knowledge of how the human body works. Notice how all of the people who say this are not doctors or even remotely related to the medical profession.
How is this a fact? You don't know these people.
These people are not being studied under a microscope because they don't exist.
... and you know this how? Your answer is entirely speculative, and yet you seem to think it's somehow definitive.
"sick" is not a medical term. It also means a lot of different things to different people. In reality, you have to come in to contact with and be infected with some things in order to develop antibodies. So everyone who is healthy has been infected with some degree of an illness at some point, or they wouldn't be here now. Whether or not they have actually felt bad enough to take time off or away is different, and I think there are people who really don't ever do that.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:43 PM on February 15, 2009
-Notice how most of the people who say this have little to no knowledge of how the human body works. Notice how all of the people who say this are not doctors or even remotely related to the medical profession.
How is this a fact? You don't know these people.
These people are not being studied under a microscope because they don't exist.
... and you know this how? Your answer is entirely speculative, and yet you seem to think it's somehow definitive.
"sick" is not a medical term. It also means a lot of different things to different people. In reality, you have to come in to contact with and be infected with some things in order to develop antibodies. So everyone who is healthy has been infected with some degree of an illness at some point, or they wouldn't be here now. Whether or not they have actually felt bad enough to take time off or away is different, and I think there are people who really don't ever do that.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:43 PM on February 15, 2009
To the ne're-been-ill:
When replying to OP, plz give a general estimate of your age. A 72-year-old who has "never been ill" will have a bit more ohwow value than a 19-year-old who is preternaturally healthy.
Thanks,
Decrepit, Over 40.
posted by terranova at 5:10 PM on February 15, 2009
When replying to OP, plz give a general estimate of your age. A 72-year-old who has "never been ill" will have a bit more ohwow value than a 19-year-old who is preternaturally healthy.
Thanks,
Decrepit, Over 40.
posted by terranova at 5:10 PM on February 15, 2009
I was just recently thinking about this.
I rarely ever get sick enough that it impacts my daily activities. Counting even childhood illness like chicken pox I've been "sick" less than a dozen times in my entire life that was in any way rehabilitating enough to make me stop doing my daily routines--as a data point I'm approaching 30.
Besides being lucky enough to have good health, I've also got an attitude of "I don't get sick" and when I -do- seem to be sick... a sore throat, a stuffy nose, whatever... I simply treat the symptoms and get on with life. Seems like most people turn a mild case of the whatevers into a full blown reason to act all melodramatic and call off their lives for a few days.
As a random aside... I have a friend who is sick so damn much you'd think that she spent all her free time licking hospital door knobs and shopping cart handles. There's one you'd never catch uttering the words "I never get sick!"
posted by JFitzpatrick at 11:19 PM on February 15, 2009
I rarely ever get sick enough that it impacts my daily activities. Counting even childhood illness like chicken pox I've been "sick" less than a dozen times in my entire life that was in any way rehabilitating enough to make me stop doing my daily routines--as a data point I'm approaching 30.
Besides being lucky enough to have good health, I've also got an attitude of "I don't get sick" and when I -do- seem to be sick... a sore throat, a stuffy nose, whatever... I simply treat the symptoms and get on with life. Seems like most people turn a mild case of the whatevers into a full blown reason to act all melodramatic and call off their lives for a few days.
As a random aside... I have a friend who is sick so damn much you'd think that she spent all her free time licking hospital door knobs and shopping cart handles. There's one you'd never catch uttering the words "I never get sick!"
posted by JFitzpatrick at 11:19 PM on February 15, 2009
This was less due to some superhuman power on my part, and more due to common sense measures like keeping warm in cold weather, trying to eat healthily, and getting a decent amount of exercise and sleep.
This is why people are being defensive. The implication here is that the rest of us, whether we just get a cold every now and then or have a chronic condition, either lack common sense or just refuse to take care of ourselves.
Whether you get sick or not is more a matter of luck of the genes and luck of the germs than self-righteousness. Sometimes it's our bad luck to be sitting next to somebody who refuses to "act all melodramatic and call off their lives for a few days" in order to not infect the rest of us.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:18 PM on February 16, 2009
This is why people are being defensive. The implication here is that the rest of us, whether we just get a cold every now and then or have a chronic condition, either lack common sense or just refuse to take care of ourselves.
Whether you get sick or not is more a matter of luck of the genes and luck of the germs than self-righteousness. Sometimes it's our bad luck to be sitting next to somebody who refuses to "act all melodramatic and call off their lives for a few days" in order to not infect the rest of us.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:18 PM on February 16, 2009
Response by poster: OP here. Interesting. So far no first-person accounts of literally not being sick a day in one's life.
From some of the answers though, it sounds like "sick" can be defined to be whatever you want it to be. I'm beginning to believe the literal interpretation is nearly nonexistent.
posted by schrodycat at 3:24 PM on February 16, 2009
From some of the answers though, it sounds like "sick" can be defined to be whatever you want it to be. I'm beginning to believe the literal interpretation is nearly nonexistent.
posted by schrodycat at 3:24 PM on February 16, 2009
when I -do- seem to be sick... a sore throat, a stuffy nose, whatever... I simply treat the symptoms and get on with life
...and act as a plague vector. Nice job.
That said, I can personally vouch for the some-people-get-sick-more-than-others thing. When I bring home a cold my wife always catches it, and gets much more sick than I do (and it's not just melodrama. She genuinely does have much more pronounced symptoms, and she's not the sort who would tend to milk it for sympathy.) When she brings home a cold, I only catch it about half the time, and when I do it tends to last half as long and not be nearly as strong (and I am the type who would milk it for sympathy.)
So, JFitzpatrick, instead of feeling like everyone around you is just being melodramatic, know that you're just one of the lucky ones. It has nothing to do with your "common sense measures": my wife and I eat the same food, have the same exposure to germs, she gets much more exercise and more sleep than I do and takes better care of her body in general -- I'm the one who'll go out in the cold with wet hair or forget to bring my coat -- yet she's the one who gets more sick, more often. Consistently.
You just lucked out. So did I, but I don't use it as an excuse to get all snooty on those who are suffering more than I am. I'm also smart enough to stay home when I'm not feeling well, even if I feel so-so, because spreading diseases around to my friends makes me feel like a jerk. Maybe you should consider that too. I'm sure your friend would appreciate it.
posted by ook at 8:22 AM on February 17, 2009
...and act as a plague vector. Nice job.
That said, I can personally vouch for the some-people-get-sick-more-than-others thing. When I bring home a cold my wife always catches it, and gets much more sick than I do (and it's not just melodrama. She genuinely does have much more pronounced symptoms, and she's not the sort who would tend to milk it for sympathy.) When she brings home a cold, I only catch it about half the time, and when I do it tends to last half as long and not be nearly as strong (and I am the type who would milk it for sympathy.)
So, JFitzpatrick, instead of feeling like everyone around you is just being melodramatic, know that you're just one of the lucky ones. It has nothing to do with your "common sense measures": my wife and I eat the same food, have the same exposure to germs, she gets much more exercise and more sleep than I do and takes better care of her body in general -- I'm the one who'll go out in the cold with wet hair or forget to bring my coat -- yet she's the one who gets more sick, more often. Consistently.
You just lucked out. So did I, but I don't use it as an excuse to get all snooty on those who are suffering more than I am. I'm also smart enough to stay home when I'm not feeling well, even if I feel so-so, because spreading diseases around to my friends makes me feel like a jerk. Maybe you should consider that too. I'm sure your friend would appreciate it.
posted by ook at 8:22 AM on February 17, 2009
Oops, not your common sense measures. Mike's common sense measures. Sorry about that.
posted by ook at 8:25 AM on February 17, 2009
posted by ook at 8:25 AM on February 17, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also -- as a kid I faked sick to stay home from school 2-3 times a year. I don't remember ever being really sick.
posted by creasy boy at 8:21 AM on February 15, 2009 [1 favorite]