3 ms·
> our bodies need to learn again to fight against viruses This is unequivocally false. There is zero benefit to exposure to almost all viruses that infect huma
by modeless 2y ago
> our bodies need to learn again to fight against viruses
This is unequivocally false. There is zero benefit to exposure to almost all viruses that infect humans. At best you would get sick and then have limited immunity to that single strain for a period of time, but getting sick is always worse than not getting it. You're not going to get immunity to the flu by "exercising" your immune system with colds or vice versa.
The only exception I'm aware of is chicken pox, where getting it young had better outcomes than getting it in adulthood so it made sense to seek exposure, but we have a vaccine for that now which is significantly better than ever getting it.
That doesn't necessarily mean we should all go around wearing masks always. There are certainly tradeoffs associated with that.
- jhanschoo 2y ago> The only exception I'm aware of is chicken pox, where getting it young had better outcomes than getting it in adulthood so it made sense to seek exposure, but we have a vaccine for that now which is significantly better than ever getting it. Indeed, please consider a chickenpox vaccination over inducing exposure if it is a choice between the two; there is a significantly lower risk of shingles.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- on_the_train 2y agoThe best case of a virus exposure is not getting sick. Humans have an immune system, which is exactly what was being alluded to
- modeless 2y agoSure, but not getting sick also won't cause your body to "learn again to fight against viruses" as OP claimed. Regardless of whether you wear a mask or not.
- on_the_train 2y agoThis is out of my expertise but I have a hard time believing that
- born2web 2y agosame here... at a species level, I would expect evolutionary benefits if immunity increased with exposure