----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Carmack"
>I have a cold brought home from two of my children from school.

Your diet is not likely to be failing you here.  If it is indeed a true
cold--that is, originating from a virus--and not an allergic reaction of
some origin (which could be a real possibility given that the fall allergy
season is starting to bloom in many parts of the country), then all it means
is that you've not been exposed to/had this particular virus before.  Your
immune system is mounting a response to the new invader for which you have
no existing antibodies on board.  Consequently, neither you nor your
children will ever catch this particular cold virus again.  If your children
have had a sniffle or two in the last three years that you didn't catch,
it's because at some time in your life you had already had that particular
cold virus and were not susceptible to it again.  --At least that's the way
I understand cold viruses and our immune systems to work.

Cold viruses are legion and do mutate, however, and so we never reach a
point or time where we become exposed to or immune resistant to all of them.
We just tend to catch fewer colds as adults because we were exposed to/had
so many different colds while growing up and older.  That's why parents
don't usually catch their children's colds, whereas siblings (particularly
ones close in age) tend to share and share alike.

I think I've got the gist right.  Somebody jump in if I don't.

My own observation is that health status does seem to have some influence
over how hard a person is stricken.  (Though much of the discomfort of a
cold is not caused directly by the virus but rather by the immune response.)
For example, my son with JRA has a harder time fending off/springing back
from most infections in general than does another more relatively healthy
son.

Hope you and the kiddos get well soon.

Theola