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Immunodeficiencies

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A big focus of parenting is on keeping kids healthy. This is, of course, complicated by the fact the children’s immune systems are still developing. Children often encounter various infections ‘for the first time’- which means they have little pre-existing immunity and are prone to getting ill from these infections. In subsequent exposures to similar bugs, an immune memory will have been built up and the illness will tend to be less severe. So what is this thing called the immune system? The immune system is a maze of cells, tissues and organs that work together to: – protect us from invading pathogens – protect us from allergies (over-reacting to “benign” external allergens) – protect us from auto-immunity (attacking our own cells) – resist repeated infections ​ Parts of the immune system are innate (we are born with it) and parts are acquired (built up over time, usually after initial…