Why Am I Still Getting Sick in Lockdown?

Some of us who've had the option to stay home during the pandemic have managed to avoid more than just Covid-19. We’ve also avoided other cold and flu bugs that come with having school-age kids or working in a crowded office or just generally being human. I, for one, am dreading the onslaught of germs that will most likely find a safe haven in our out-of-practice immune systems when we return to more in-person operations.

Not everyone stuck at home has managed to escape completely illness-free.

But not everyone stuck at home has managed to escape completely illness-free. I’ve heard the same question from many friends: How am I still getting sick? I don’t do anything anymore! Where are these germs coming from?

We're (mostly) not staying home as much as we think we are

We may feel like our efforts to stay at home are complete because they represent such a drastic reduction in the activities we're used to. But the truth is that we're not really completely isolated. We likely all have that friend who says he's not venturing out when, in fact, he went for that one quick meal on a restaurant patio or ran to the mall to get some new sneakers or just met up with that one other person.

Psychologists have also documented what’s known as a “risk perception gap,” which suggests that we as a species don’t always worry about the most pressing threats. In other words, we are terrible at risk assessment, especially in the short term. So, it is likely that in most cases, the germs get in from the outside because we give them the opportunity. 

Can you get sick without outside contact?

But it is also possible to make ourselves sick without an outside impetus.

Sometimes bacteria living in our body get into the wrong place and make us sick. For example, bugs like staphylococcal or streptococcal bacteria live in our nose, but if they infect our skin through an opening like a cut or a scrape? Boom! You’ve got impetigo.

RELATED: What's the Difference Between Germs, Bacteria, and Viruses?

And it’s not just skin infections. Ear infections, pneumonia, urinary tract infections—these are all cases of bacteria finding themselves in the wrong place.

There are some viruses that live inside us rent-free for years.

There are also some viruses that live inside us—rent-free!—for years...

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