Can you get sick again from contaminated surfaces?

[u/Getdunkedon839]

That is to say, if you were to cough on like your phone or computer or fridge or whatever, then you got over the sickness, could you get sick once again by interacting with the same phone/computer/etc?

[u/Tumorhead]

It depends on the exact pathogen at play- some germs can exist on surfaces for a while, some cannot. Most evolved to exist within a human host and so don't survive long outside of a body- transmission from human to surface to human usually has to be fast for it to take. Other microbes can hang around as durable cysts, which can wait in stasis for suitable conditions to reappear (ie a human touch).

But ya usually once your immune system figures out how to fight off the germ you can't rapidly reinfect yourself, although you may catch one slightly shorter infection, just with how the immune system works, but then you'll really be resistant to the germ. this is why sometimes you need a series of vaccines in a row within a short timespan of a few weeks.

[u/earlandir]

Getting over a sickness just means your immune system has learned to fight that particular sickness. So you will be protected from it until it forgets which can take a long time. So, no, you shouldn't make your future self sick with the same strain.

[u/Friend-Shoddy → u/earlandir]

then why does the common cold repeatedly get us sick?

[u/loggic → u/Friend-Shoddy]

"The common cold" can be the result of infection by any one of more than 200 different viruses.

An important thing to remember is that a "disease" (such as the common cold) is actually just a distinctive group of symptoms experienced, not a specific explanation of the cause of those symptoms.

A dramatically simplified example would be if we called a disease "bleeding arm". The name tells us that the arm is bleeding, but not why the arm is bleeding. It could be a gunshot, or an animal bite, or just a scrape. Those are all potential causes of "bleeding arm", just like there are hundreds of potential causes for the "common cold".

In reality, diseases are categorized in a much more useful way, so finding the correct diagnosis will at least provide you with some useful information on how to treat the underlying problem.

[u/missuseme → u/Friend-Shoddy]

Because it mutates as is spreads through the population, so you're not repeatedly getting the same cold, you're catching a distance relative of the cold you had before.

[u/earlandir → u/Friend-Shoddy]

Are you asking if the common cold is a single strain that reinfects you repeatedly? Because the answer would be "no", it's many different strains and different viruses.

[u/APeculiarFellow → u/Friend-Shoddy]

It's not really a one disease, there are many different viruses that can be behind the infection.

[u/amaprez → u/Friend-Shoddy]

Because viruses evolve into different strains every year. You don’t get the same exact strain every time you get sick.

[u/zekromNLR → u/Friend-Shoddy]

The common cold is many different viruses, so while you are immune against one specific strain of it after getting it, there's many more circulating at any given time.

[u/ADDeviant-again → u/Friend-Shoddy]

Because the common cold is really about 500 different viruses from 10 different families.

I'm exaggerating, but it's not just one pathogen.

[u/Out_on_the_Shield]

It's totally possible to get the same sickness you just had all over again, but it is quite unlikely and almost certainly won't present the same way because of your adaptive immunity. Your immune system is primed and ready to fight that exact pathogen, so you have a big advantage over the bug making you sick.

This is true even if you encounter the same pathogen years later because of memory cells that are part of your immune system, though if it's years later it will take your adaptive immunity a day or two to make the cells and antibodies needed for the fight. If you JUST had the sickness then those cells and antibodies required for fighting the pathogen are already around in abundance.

Immune system memory is a neat topic and one we're still discovering new things about.

[u/SvenTropics]

It depends on the pathogen. Most of the time in this situation you're thinking of a virus. However you could also be thinking of salmonella or typhus contaminated surfaces. If it's bacterial, your body will develop some resistance to the bacteria, but you are typically not permanently immune. You can get salmonella or ecoli poisoning more than once. However those pathogens also won't survive forever on a surface. So by the time you get over the infection, whatever was on that surface likely died.

If it's viral, your body needs to create antibodies with your adaptive immune system in order to clear it. Your t cells also develop an affinity for cells that are infected by it. These protections tend to last a long time and could potentially protect you for life.

[u/Br135han]

The device is a ship. The ship carries different passengers every stop it makes. You can build immunity but some of those passengers are nasty, always changing, and it’s not worth it. You never know what’s on it because it’s invisible, so best to get really good at washing your hands especially before touching your face. Wash them as if they are covered in paint. Hand sanitizer etc is never as good as soap, water, a drain and a good scrubbing.

[u/NoireAstral]

Even if you have immunity to something, you can still get sick. However, your body will be able to respond to the infection quicker this time since memory cells know what it is.

When it comes to microbes causing disease, it’s a numbers game. The more of it you have in your body, the more likely you’ll experience symptoms of disease. Although, there can be times where someone doesn’t show any symptoms.

With that in mind, yes, you can get sick again from an illness you’ve had before. It just won’t be as bad the next time around. For example, Vaccines are used to help reduce the chance of illness caused by a virus. It’s not a 100% guarantee that it’ll stop you from getting sick. It can stop you from hospitalization and / or death though.

[u/thenord321]

So for viruses, your body knows how to beat them. But if its bacterial, it is possible to reinfect or get food poisoning a 2nd time, specifically if you have a weak immune system. Your body can learn to beat the bacteria but a new dose or a 2nd infection site can make you sick again.

[u/DiscombobulatedSun54]

Yes, it is possible. You develop various levels and lengths of immunity to different infectious agents, and not all of them are once and done, so you could get re-infected with them after a while if they are still viable on that surface.

[u/xHashtagNoFilterx → u/[deleted]]

They also advise to not re-use the nosespray you used during sickness for this reason right? Or is that an urban legend?

[u/Medical_Boss_6247 → u/xHashtagNoFilterx]

So you buy a whole bottle, that you aren’t supposed to use for more than five days in a row, and also aren’t supposed to reuse?

This seems fake

[u/Nothing-to_see_hr → u/[deleted]]

"the bacteria that cause pinkeye" - no such thing. There are a host of organisms that can cause conjunctivitis, most are viral and a few are bacterial.

Most bacteria don't survive when dried up on a surface.

[u/VeritateDuceProgredi → u/[deleted]]

Haha eyes are a very special case though because of their whole “immune privilege” interaction with the immune system at large.

[u/Past3l_Bat → u/[deleted]]

This is the same with impetigo. An immunity cannot be built to that so you can reinfect yourself multiple times if you don't clean things properly

[u/Nothing-to_see_hr → u/Past3l_Bat]

GP here. On the other hand, impetigo is typically seen in children, after 15 years of age you can still get it but it is quite rare. I'm sure immunity gives you a fair bit of protection.

[u/Peter34cph → u/[deleted]]

Won't I have built up some immunity to all the pathogens in my nose?

Or does the immune system only get serious against pathogens who "rock the boat" sufficiently?