Immune Imbalance

The immune system is your body’s way of protecting itself from illnesses — it’s what prevents you from constantly getting sick.

Organs, tissues, and cells found throughout your body make up this system. These components work together to attack foreign pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses, located within your body through the use of white blood cells. However, sometimes this essential system can falter and cause various issues.

Read on to learn more about immune imbalance and how the team at the Carolina Brain Center can help you combat this problem.

What Is an Immune Imbalance?

This imbalance is a malfunction of your immune system. A person’s system can either be:

• Overactive and mount a response against harmless parts of the body or
• Underactive and allow dangerous germs to flourish and make them ill.

Each disease caused by an imbalance has its own symptoms, causes, and treatment plans. As scary as these sounds, the Carolina Brain Center is well equipped to handle them all.

Overactive Immune Imbalances

Autoimmune diseases are the result of an overactive disease-fighting system. These diseases cause the body to attack itself and cause additional complications. Without treatment, rogue white blood cells can damage organs, create skin lesions, and cause chronic fatigue. 

Allergies are a different display of an overactive system. They cause the body to react to environmental pathogens that are not inherently harmful to the human body, such as pollen and tree nuts. These environmental factors are not dangerous themselves. Rather, it is the body’s overreaction that makes them potentially threatening. 

COVID long-haulers syndrome is real. We are seeing an increasing number of patients who feel like they have not fully recovered from having COVID-19. 

Underactive Immune Imbalances

Acquired and primary immune deficiencies are characterized by weak disease-fighting systems. People with this type of imbalance often get sick because the body cannot protect itself effectively from illnesses. 

Some people are born with an inadequate immune system and get diagnosed with a primary immune deficiency (PID). However, sometimes serious infections and certain medications can overwhelm a strong disease-fighting system and result in an acquired deficiency. For example, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy often experience immunity issues due to the potency of their treatments.

What Are the Symptoms?

Since immune imbalances affect the entire body, the symptoms can be quite vast — fatigue, dry eyes, fever, rashes, and repeated infections are just a few. More importantly, an imbalance can make you more susceptible to other illnesses and diseases. That is why it is so important to seek treatment right away. 

At the Carolina Brain Center, we aim to control the progression of your condition and alleviate your symptoms.

Common Examples of Immune Imbalances

These types of imbalances are relatively common. They present themselves as different illnesses but still refer to some sort of vulnerable state. Here are a few well-known examples:

• COVID long-haulers
• Chronic fatigue 
• Lupus
• Rheumatoid arthritis

Reach Out to the Carolina Brain Center!

Are you unsure of where to turn for help with managing your immune imbalance? Don’t wait any longer — excellent treatment and care are just around the corner. Request a consultation with Dr. Dane at the Carolina Brain Center today.