So, when you are already weak and your immune system is over activated, it can literally kill you.
It appears that sometimes, what doesn’t kill you can make you weaker. When you are under attack, your body mobilizes its resources to fight off the infection. This requires a lot of energy, amino acids, and micro elements, which are usually acquired through eating. However, when you are sick, your body slows down digestion and starts breaking down your muscles to compensate for the lack of energy. If you are already weak or suffer from chronic illness, this can be too draining and overwhelming for your body. In addition, the microorganisms that invade you often release toxins that can cause significant damage and cell death. So, if your immune system is over activated, it can literally kill you. A serious infection often causes many tiny wounds, literally holes in your organs. Your body rushes to close them with the help of neutrophils and macrophages, which release chemicals that signal the body to start repairs. Most of the damage is quickly filled up with regrowing cells, while others are filled with collagen, a sort of fix-all organic cement that gives your gooey tissue structural integrity. This results in scars, which are different from the original tissue, as they have no functioning cells in them. Scars on your organs can make them beat weaker, capture less oxygen, or make them worse filters. As you go through life and survive serious diseases, the functionality of your organs may decrease, though this damage is usually small enough not to affect your quality of life.
There is something you can do to avoid a lot of this damage and train your immune system: vaccines. Vaccines pretend to be a disease and train your defenses to be ready if it ever shows up for real, creating the same memory cells that you would get after surviving an infection. Vaccine Dojo is safer than Nature Dojo, as you can get a black eye or bruise, but you won’t get scars or permanent damage. On the other hand, Nature Dojo is way more risky, as someone may die from measles or influenza. Vaccines are often more effective than natural resistance in engaging the immune system. However, they are not infallible and sometimes do not protect us as well as expected. Vaccination is still one of the best ways to train your natural defences. We can continue to take care of ourselves and each other to reduce the prevalence of disease.
Climate change is another major challenge of our generation, and we can take action by working with our friends from Wren to offset our carbon emissions. By visiting wren.co and answering a few questions, you can find out your personal carbon footprint and offset the rest with a monthly subscription. Wren supports projects that plant trees, protect rainforests, and remove carbon dioxide from the sky. For the first 200 people who sign up, we will personally pay for their first month of subscription.
Learn more about the immune system and check out the products on our shop. All of our products are designed with love and produced with care by us here at kurzgesagt.