I was on betaseron & my understanding is it is an immune system MODULATOR not an immune suppressant.

I think you have been on some suppresants for crohns? but beta isn't a suppressant.

A modulator WEAKENS the inmmune system. So your using an injectible med that messes with the immunre system---so yes you should start.....
>>>if I should start being extra cautious and start carrying hand sanitizer everywhere with me, washing my hands more frequently, or avoiding sick people.

Betaseron works by injecting extra cytokine cells into the body. Cytokine cells are the cells the immune system uses to identify virus and invaders. These "fake alarm" cytokine cells keep the immune system too busy attacking these fake alarms that the immune system is too busy to attack the myelin that it is attacking incorrectly....its too busy by 30%.

Your immune system isn't suppressed but it sure as H is weakened by MS and the meds.

You immune system attacks that cold virus in between attacking myelin and these false alarm cytokine cells.
You had better give your immune system all the assist you can provide it by....start carrying hand sanitizer everywhere with me, washing my hands more frequently, or avoiding sick people when you can.

If your going to school that is a virus cess pool, Wash your hands a lot. and use that hand santizer before and after using school equipment like computers. Not such a bad thing to carry a can of lysol either.

Thanks so much for the information. I am no longer on any drugs for crohn's disease (I started chewing my food really well and the pain stopped AND I lost at least 20 lbs... awesome diet) and thankfully I haven't been sick yet.

My mom has been badgering me for months to use hand sanitizer since I work at a gym and going to school. It sucks that she was right lol

I'm on LDN since 4/17/2003, my last "cold" was in March 2003

Larry-do you go to school & work at the gymn?

Everytime I start using hand sanitizer I get a cold. Its been 2 1/2 years since Ive used it and that was the last time I had a cold. You need your body to have some germs so it knows how to fight them, if your constantly fighting the germs then when they do invade your body they tend to take over... I wash my hands alot and I avoid sick people when I can and Ive been pretty good...

school? gym? what are they? lol

I use hand sanitizers when something is going around and for sure when I was going to school & I veven sprayed my computer key board at work before MS when cold and flu season was going around..mostly becaus most of my co workers had kids and their kids brought all the cold and flus they picked up in school to work & as a single person without kids-I would not have been exposed to those germs and I had ne desire to. So I avoided them with hand sanitizers and even lysol spray & washing my hands alot...not something I do normally, just when conditions are ripe for getting sick. working in a gymn and going to school during cold and flu season is about a ripe as it gets for picking up something you don't need. i read something about gymns being more contagious because of people sweating. And I know how fast those colds spread in lecture halls. Its close to alphabetical :(

I'm taking betaserone as well and have not had a cold in a few years...just lucky I guess

Darling, I was on Betaseron over 8 years, and was rarely if ever sick... At the time, I was working with the public on a daily basis. Only went off beta because it starting eating the tissue under my skin putting me in the hp for 6 days and leaving me with a pretty 4 inch scar on my right thigh... Best thing about beta??? I hardly ever got bug bites!!!

Been on Copaxone now for over a year, and again, no serious illnesses... Sometimes, I think because I have a BIG INCURABLE ILLNESS, the little ones are scared away!!! LOL

Good luck, and FAITH NOT FEAR always seems to help me!!! xoxoxo Cj (Cindyjo)

I've been on Betaseron since 2003.....It has totally reduced my exacerbations to almost zero and I have not had more colds, or flu or viruses...

As I was told, the Immune system being affected is not the same as other types of drugs.

Anyway, I am doing fine. I haven't been getting flu shots because I tend to get serum sickness. but that may change soon.


And i do not work outside of my home so my stress levels have been greatly reduced.


Best of luck with the Betaseron...
MARY

I've been on Betaseron for years, not long after it came out. I've worked in heath care, and been coughed on, sneezed on, and have had only 1 really mild cold in over 10 years. I wouldn't worry about that at all. No relapses either.