The key facts

  • Adults get ARVI on average 2–4 times a year, children in kindergarten up to 10–12 times
  • Colds are caused by more than 200 types of respiratory viruses
  • A reason to see a doctor is a severe course, prolonged recovery, or complications, not the number of sick days

How many times a year you get sick is normal

Adults on average experience two to four episodes of acute respiratory viral infections per year, while children attending kindergarten can have up to ten or twelve. This was stated by Alexander Kozlov, a general practitioner at the docmed clinic, in an interview with Gazeta.Ru. According to him, frequent colds do not necessarily indicate immune problems on their own: in children, the immune system encounters a large number of different pathogens, and a cold can be caused by more than 200 types of respiratory viruses.

What affects the frequency of illness

Kozlov listed the main factors. One of the most important is the number of contacts with viruses: parents of young children, teachers, healthcare workers, and employees of large teams encounter pathogens more often, so comparing the number of colds among people with different lifestyles is not always fair. The condition of the airways also plays a role — allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma increase susceptibility to infections — as do smoking, chronic stress, and lack of sleep.

When to be concerned

“Judging the immune system's performance solely by the number of sick days is wrong. If a person falls ill several times a year, but the infections proceed without complications and they fully recover between them, this does not necessarily indicate an immune system disorder. However, unusually severe infections, prolonged recovery, or recurring complications are a reason to discuss the situation with a doctor,” Gazeta.Ru quotes Kozlov as saying. A “second wave” of illness deserves special attention: if the temperature rises again after an improvement on the fifth to seventh day, this may indicate a bacterial infection joining in — sinusitis, otitis, or pneumonia.

Seasonality and the cost of treatment

Seasonality affects the number of medical visits: in summer, the share of visits for colds and respiratory conditions does not exceed 15% of all visits under voluntary medical insurance, while in autumn and winter it rises to 33%, peaking in February. According to Rosgosstrakh's estimate, a single course of cold treatment at a mid-range private clinic can cost approximately 10–15 thousand rubles — taking into account the initial and follow-up doctor's appointments, diagnostics, and medications.