How long to leave a cold before asking advice? And (in UK) would you approach GP or derm about it?
I have a sneezy runny nose, sore throat and cough - classic cold.

(Sun-04-10-2015, 12:53 PM)Turnedlight Wrote: How long to leave a cold before asking advice? And (in UK) would you approach GP or derm about it?
I have a sneezy runny nose, sore throat and cough - classic cold.

For me I would wait a week to ten days, if it was getting better I wouldn't bother. On the other hand if it's very bad or getting worse I would probably tell my GP after around day 4-5, if it feels like the classic cold I would say you will be fine with some paracetamol.  

Or better still my favourite way of dealing with it is.

Mug of hot water.
Shot of your favourite spirit whisky vodka brandy etc.
Spoonful of brown sugar.
Good squeeze of lemon juice.
1 crushed paracetamol.

Besides the placebo effect and some known infections, there is no evidence that TNFs make colds worse. I would take Freds advice, if not better in ten days call GP.

(Sun-04-10-2015, 12:53 PM)Turnedlight Wrote: How long to leave a cold before asking advice? And (in UK) would you approach GP or derm about it?
I have a sneezy runny nose, sore throat and cough - classic cold.

In 10 to 14 days it should be almost over .

What you also can do is steam.
Cook some water in a pan, just a few cm on the bottom.
Put it on the table, get a towel put it over your head and hang above the steam.
Just breath in and out calmly.
You don't have to do anything in it. The steam does the job.

That's fine, thanks for the replies. Just wanted to know if you can still fight off a cold when on this drug. I understood it hits the immune system, just didn't know to what extent.
I think probably it does makes things worse, given I can't remember the last time I had a cold at all!

(Sun-04-10-2015, 23:38 PM)Turnedlight Wrote: That's fine, thanks for the replies. Just wanted to know if you can still fight off a cold when on this drug. I understood it hits the immune system, just didn't know to what extent.
I think probably it does makes things worse, given I can't remember the last time I had a cold at all!

Yes you can still fight but it can weaken the immune system. Having said that I've been on Bio's for about 7 years now and never had a cold or flu worse than Mrs Fred, and I've never had any flu injections. Yes I get the occasional cold and did get a bad flu two years ago, but It was no worse than my wife.

All the Bio's will weaken your immune system and you should keep a close eye on things, but if a cold or flu feels no worse than it usually would to you then your body can and still will fight it. Severe, long term or repetitive colds/flu should be reported, but if it's the usual type of thing you have experienced before going onto the Bio's your body will still cope.

(Sun-04-10-2015, 23:38 PM)Turnedlight Wrote: That's fine, thanks for the replies. Just wanted to know if you can still fight off a cold when on this drug. I understood it hits the immune system, just didn't know to what extent.
I think probably it does makes things worse, given I can't remember the last time I had a cold at all!

It may be related but there is a lot of viruses doing the rounds at the moment , so it may just be an unfortunate coincidence,
Whilst your white blood count is normal your immune system should be functioning as normal

Hope you feel better soon. If you run a fever for more than a couple of days, call your doctor's office. The nurse can help you decide if you need to go in.  Everyone reacts differently to Humira. Keep a journal of your symptoms so next doctors visit can go over info with you doc. Sometimes it helps with dosage.

It's flu season too! Stay away from people or flying . I always get sick when I fly. Cooties everywhere!

Traditional drugs like MTX supress the immune system far more than than TNFs. The best thing for you is to rest and do not worry about it. If it is not better in ten days or get worse over the next few days I would contact your GP.