I am once again well. I think I get a rather sick joy out of being sick. I hate being sick, don't get my wrong. But with such a strong background in immunology, I can appreciate being sick on so many more levels. So here is a crash course in to what goes on for you regular plebs:
On day 0 I wasn't aware I was sick, but my rhinovirus was having quite the party, procreating wildly and unchecked. But then on Day 1 my immune system cottoned on and switched on my generic defenses - fever and anti-viral interferons. Later that day, my neutrophils were flooding in as my vessels in my sinuses became more permeable and my nose consequently ran like a tap. The classic inflammatory response was evident in my sinuses and throat, though the Virus was still firmly in control.
By day 2 my lymph nodes were up as my adaptive immune response tried to get itself organised. Having not seen this foe before, it began the process of pulling apart some captives and finding their weaknesses. Meanwhile my macrophages had made the move, helping my neutrophils but awaiting further orders. The cough began, to complement my enhanced mucus secretion in order to get the gunk from my throat.
By day 3, the battle was well underway, and I still felt gross. Only now coughing up excitingly colored stuff - my immune cells and epithelial cells that hadn't survived the fight mostly. Though I was feeling worse, ground against the virus was being regained.
By about day 4 though, things were starting to change. The battle was lost for the virus, as the T helper cells started to coax my immune system to fight tactically. My Killer T cells were becoming more abundant, punching holes in my virally infected cells, causing them to die and depriving the virus of a place to live and multiply.
Meanwhile my B cells were ambushing my rhinovirus as it tried to move to a different position away from the firefight. The B cells, were throwing out sticky antibodies, pinning the virus down so that the macrophages could pull a Mike Tyson v Evander Holyfield, and gobble them up. Now any movement by the virus was met with continual harassment.
Having stomped all over the virus, my immune system continued to dominate and showboat, just to be sure. My Antibody kept being churned out, and by tomorrow, the new and improved version will start making an appearance so that I'll be forever immune to this pest. However, I'm feeling much better now. In fact, I'm back to normal apart from a bit of a lingering dry cough. The virus has gone, though my immune system waits like soldiers on leave, just cruising for a fight.
And that's it really. Picking a fight with one enemy, and beating him soundly. Fortunately, this time at least. Mr. Bacteria didn't try have a go while my troops were busy with virus. Always pleasing not to have a chest infection!
If you enjoyed me pretending my immune system was a battleground, feel free to donate to any charity of your own choosing. I hope you accidentally learned something too! I'll never do it again.
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