Colds with Menstrual Cycle

[3dMommy]

Every month when I come on my cycle I seem to catch a cold. Is there really a link? What can I do to try to head it off before I get sick? Is this normal or do I have an immune system issue?

[dhorses]

Me too, my doctor said there is no link between the two but I have to disagree.

[19841171]

I think there is a link. as i myself go through this almost every month. Mind you i only noticed this about a year ago. it could be because of hormone changes in the body. i am looking into this....best of luck.

[ggreg]

I'll give my thoughts on this, but just guessing.  When you bleed every month, could be it's creating a little anemia.  This sets up the body to where it cannot resist infection as well.  So, the solution is to eat foods and take vitamins that will help restore blood cell counts to their normal levels.  Do a search online for anemia and foods & vits that will help it.  I used to have a website handy I'd give folks about that, but I lost it a few months ago.  I know steak is what a relative of mine would eat when he had chemo, to ward off anemia, and I believe iron is the mineral you need to replace after that time of the month.

[cinjam]

I am so glad I found this post.  I was beginning to think I was imagining the link.  I've only been tracking for about a year or so, but if I think back I would say this has been going on for over 2 years.  With just about every period I get a cold, sometimes a mild head cold, sometimes it develops into something more (specifically in November 2008, I was diagnosed with a pneumonia and don't you know that day my period started).  My GP said he did not know of any link & so did my OB.  

I've upped my vitamin intake - no luck.  I am just so glad to know that I am not imagining this.  It's kind of depressing to KNOW that every month, in addition to all the routine complaints of getting your period, I am going to get head cold symptoms too!

BTW, I am 40.  Generally in good health.  Last blood work panel (with inlcuded a vitamin test) showed pretty much everything was good (b-12 & D were low, PTH was high; and I know this means that I need to increase my calcium & D)

[ladymac66]

I am a 43 yrs old and I have been getting a cold after my cycle for the past 7 or 8 years. It is more so during the winter months. I am not for sure if this if because I dislike cold weather or because my body dislikes cold weather. In the summertime I seem fine. I can tell my immune system is weaker, but I do not get the cold.

[PNEW78]

I am glad I am not crazy....I know that there has to be a link!  I get a head cold at the beginning of my cycle (before the cramping and bleeding) every single month.  It has to be hormonal.  I suspect it is because my mucus thins.....it has been much more consistent ever since my last child who is now 14 months old!

[martina04]

boy am i glad i came across this post
i thought i was imagining this link
for as long as i can remember, before i start menstruating, my sinus cold would act up.  stuffy nose, sore throat. stuffed up in the sinus
and once i do menstruate, it gets worse. i get the body aches, chills, fever every now and then, headaches.
it gets like this all year round. not as bad during the summer, but i still get the sinus cold, just not the fever, body aches not as bad, and i still get the chills. i have to wear thick socks during the evenings in the summer.
so wondering if its hormonal or what??
and i'm 28. mind you, this has been happneing for quite a while now.

[BriitBratt]

Im 19 and this recently started a couple of months ago. I remember feeling nauseated and I had a head cold. When I went to the doctor they couldn't tell me any specific thing that was wrong, I thought it was food poisoning. But the doctor didn't agree she said maybe your menstrual cycle is about to begin, and sure enough later on that day it came on. My mom also told me that my aunt had similar symptoms when she was younger. I really don't know where the source of these colds come from, is it genetic, is it only specific women who have these symptoms? I'm glad I found this post and know that I'm not alone.

[tjrue]

I don't just end up with a cold sometimes, like now it has really messed up my asthma. For 2 days I lost my voice and just felt cold and clamy, now I know why. In my teen years I could passout while sitting down. Once I heard something about some syndrome, but no one else ever did and it seems like I imagined it, when I know I didn't!

[jessmhood]

Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome could possibly be what you are referring to. I had that growing up and had to have an ablation done to treat it.

[jessmhood]

Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome could possibly be what you are referring to.

[ana334]

Thanks for the post.
i have cold and flu symptoms before each period. i am searching the internet to see if i have allergy to the progesterone and estrogen my body manufactures
also check progesterone allergy autoimmune disease postings

[rieam]

i also had that bad moment evrymonth of my period...and i ask it already on my ob...he said that its really normal as long that you have your regular period evry month...it is also maybe a genetic problem...just only for my own opinion because me and all my sisters and my other cousins have experiencing too....

[nsjsmom]

I have noticed this too. Over the past 2 years (after 40) I get a sore throat, cold, chills, and also am extremely tired the week before my period.  It usually clears up within the next week.
Glad I'm not alone.

[azian]

I have this sysmptoms :(  I had flu vaccine for a year it does help me  but after a year of flu vaccine expired  I got flu almost every period :(  

Now i have to get rid this flu  for flu vaccine :(  I hate this feelings ..fever  ,runny  nose and clogged nose

[ellensglen]

Every time  i catch a cold i have noticed it starts about a week before my period starts - why what can i do =what can i` take that can help replace whatever is missing at this time/ joanne

[tsele70]

OMG...i thought that i am the only one that is going thru this...it is getting so irritated...today i woke up again with stuffy nose, cough, chills, and i realize its that time of the month....i been having this cold everymonth and i am scared to catch cold again because once i start coughing it will go on and on...pls i need a cure...someone help me...thanks...

[StephanieOfTheSun]

yowza! glad to see this isnt particularly uncommon (well, not really GLAD...). this started with me after the birth of my sun... started off with sore throat/sinus issues then morphed to a cold. my first cycle came during the holidaze and my husband is attributing the cold and cycle connection to food and celebration ~although i agree to a certain extent, i think (after reading this) that it could also have to do with hormones and the whole after 40 mark (I know that doesn't speak to the ladies under 40 :-/ ). im going to try green juicing at the onset of the next cycle and see if that helps... drinking it during my last bout with this seemed to help tremendously ~cleared up the cold in a couple of days. good luck to us all!

[splatpaint]

There is no doubt in my mind that  about a week before my period starts, I always get cold symptoms (sore throat, sniffles, tired).  I'm so sick of this.  I wish I could find out what I could take to prevent it.  I've tried oil of oregano, echinacea, vitamin supplements - Argrrggg!!!

[splatpaint]

check out this link

http://www.livestrong.com/article/204893-cold-flu-like-symptoms-before-a-period/

[FredaMoon]

I´m also grateful for this site. I´m 42, and I´m sick and tired of all this stuffy nose and throat, as if a type of allergy would hit me just before and during my period. I take care of myself, I´m quite healthy in other respects but nothing I do is really changing this. If you have any further suggestions please post them. Thanks

[rivergal1962]

I am so glad I found this thread!  I was starting to think that I was loosing it. I'm 50 and Peri-menopausal.  This getting sick every time my period shows up (usually with a cold) had me wondering what the heck is wrong with me!  So, I guess it's good old hormones.  Doesn't make it any better, but at least I have some peace of mind.

[mrb1111]

The last 7-10 days before the onset of your cycle, your immune system weakens to protect a possible pregnancy from being destroyed. (Your body views the implantation as a foreign object.) Your sleep cycle may also be interupted. Once your body decides conception did not occur, you proceed to get your cycle. My hunch is, if you are exposed to viruses aroind or just before your immune system takes a nap, you get sick because you dont have what you need to defend yourself until your immune system rebuilds over the next week of your cycle. What helps me...take otc sleep meds to stay rested that week, hand sanitize constantly, and keep my work/home well washed and cleaned. If I slip up and slack off, I get sick. There are also suggestions of low calcium and vitD right before you menstruate and supplements are recommended.

[anj98290]

I don't know how I just put this together. I get a cold EVERY period for about 9 years now; Wall of fatigue hits, tickle in my throat, runny nose, congestion, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, Im couch bound fatigued for days. I'm out of work for at least 3 days. My cycles are becoming longer, 5 weeks... I eat very healthy, no refined sugars, no gluten, no dairy. I run 3 miles 4 days a weeks (except for my period week). Also interesting, never been pregnant, gave up trying years ago. Im 35. This all started about 9 years ago. Before that I was on birth control... coincidence? After reading all of your similar miseries I am suddenly very hopeful. Tomorrow morning I will purchase Vitex (chaste berry extract) and I might even start birth control. Birth control gave me migraines but Id rather have those than a cold that lasts week.... What infertile woman needs a period anyways?! Do they still have Depo injections? 3 months of no periods and cold sounds promising. Thank you all for you generous advice!!

[letslookintoit]

Wonderful insight; it is unfortunate that doctors in general do not attempt to connect hormones with sickness; unfortunately diagnosis tends to focus solely on functioning mechanics of the sloughing of the uterine lining.. so prescribe treatments tend to be hormone therapy (birth control) ablation, hysterectomy, when a thoughtful intellectual rationale for monthly symptoms is not tested;
I get sick as well, with congestion, temperature changes, sleeplessness, and general aches, especially in my back; it is hard to not feel like a hypochondriac;
It would be nice if there were more articles on the functioning of the endocrine system as it relates to the menstrual cycle.  

[clairex55]

I'm on the contraceptive pill and a few days after I have taken my last pill of the packet I start with a cold. It's not every month, however, it's more often than not. I'm 34 and have been like this from my early twenties.