Immune support and recurrent infections

Some people go through a winter untouched and some catch everything in the building. The difference is rarely one thing, and it’s usually more about recovery capacity than about the number of germs encountered.

Naturopathic immune support is ongoing work between infections, not a remedy taken during one.

What your naturopath assesses

Sleep, which is where a great deal of immune regulation happens and the input most often quietly missing.

Nutritional status. Iron, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin A and protein intake are all directly involved, and several are commonly short. Where the history suggests it, your naturopath can arrange pathology so what’s prescribed responds to a measurement.

Chronic stress, which changes immune signalling in ways that are well described and not imaginary.

The gut, where a large share of immune tissue sits, and what a recent course of antibiotics may have changed.

Blood sugar and alcohol, both of which affect immune cell function more than people expect.

What’s actually recurring. Recurrent tonsillitis, recurrent thrush, recurrent urinary infections and recurrent chest infections are four different problems with four different approaches.

⚠ Recurrent infection that needs investigating

A clear change from your own baseline is worth medical assessment rather than supplementation — particularly infections needing repeated antibiotics, ones that won’t clear, unexplained fevers, night sweats, unexplained weight loss, or swollen glands that persist.

Underlying causes worth excluding include diabetes, thyroid disease, iron deficiency and immune conditions. Where investigation is the next step, we’ll refer you with a letter setting out what was found and what we recommend.

Who you’d see

Sara Canney works across digestive health, mood, stress and immunity, with over fifteen years in clinical practice.

Related: beating a cold, candida and thrush, urinary tract infection, stress and energy, gut microbiome and leaky gut.