Recurrent Infections & Immunity
An antibiotic deals with the infection in front of you. It is not there to change why you keep getting them — and if the same sinus, chest, throat, urinary or thrush problem keeps coming back, that is the question worth asking. We work on the ground between infections: vitamin D and the immune nutrients, the gut, sleep and stress.
The first conversation is always free — 15 minutes, no obligation, and we will tell you honestly if we are not the right people for it.
What this is, and what it is not
This is support for your immune system between infections — building the nutrient status, gut health, sleep and stress resilience that let it keep watch properly.
It is not a treatment for an infection you have now, and it is never a reason to decline or stop antibiotics or any other treatment your GP has prescribed. An infection that is getting worse rather than better, or a temperature that will not settle, is a medical conversation and it comes first.
You might recognise some of this
- A sinus infection every winter, sometimes more than one
- Every cold going to your chest
- Sore throats or ear infections that keep coming back
- Gums that flare up again and again
- A UTI, then another, then a low-dose prescription to stop the next one
- Thrush after every course of antibiotics
- Taking three weeks to recover from something that flattens other people for three days
The immune system is a surveillance system
Your immune system should be acting like a security guard on patrol — not a firefighter waiting for the alarm to sound. On patrol, it can recognise harmful bacteria, identify viruses early and destroy pathogens before they become a bigger issue. When it is short of what it needs, it shifts into survival mode instead, and reacts after problems appear rather than preventing them.
It also needs the body calm enough to let it patrol. The nervous system and the immune system run in parallel: someone who is not sleeping well is holding more cortisol, the body reads that as high alert, and while it is on high alert it is not making the calming hormones that let the immune system get on with surveying for bugs. So they get poorly more easily.
Why is vitamin D the first thing we check?
Because vitamin D is what helps keep that patrol active, and alongside zinc it is one of the two most important nutrients for supporting the immune system properly. It is also one of the most commonly low markers I see, and the NHS do not tend to test it as a standard test.
When they do, they consider you fine at 50 nmol/L. For immune surveillance I aim for 100–120. Some people absorb it well from the sun and some do not; some do not absorb it well from a tablet either. You will never know which you are until you test — and because too much is not good for you either, we test, supplement, retest and adjust rather than guessing at a dose.
The rest of the team: zinc, vitamin C, selenium and magnesium
Vitamin D works as a team player. Low zinc weakens the defence against what enters the body, low vitamin C reduces immune resilience, and low magnesium can prevent vitamin D being activated at all — so a good vitamin D level on its own is not the whole picture. Selenium is the other mineral worth knowing about for immunity.
Magnesium deserves a separate mention, because every metabolic reaction in the body requires it and stress spends it fast. A busy, stressful stretch is exactly when you deplete it fastest.
Why does the gut matter for a chest or sinus infection?
Because around 70% of the immune system is in the gut — the friendly bacteria living there, and the physical gut wall itself, a barrier that stops bad bacteria and invaders getting into the system. Supporting immunity really means two jobs: feed those bacteria, and look after that wall.
The stomach matters too. Chewing increases digestive enzymes, and the enzymes and the stomach are the first thing that deals with bad bacteria coming in. And H. pylori, which many people carry without any noticeable signs, can block the absorption of iron, B12 and zinc — one of the ways a gut problem quietly becomes an immune one.
Why we test rather than hand you an immune formula
Many people come to me already taking several products that contain zinc — a multivitamin, an immune formula, a gut product. Zinc and copper compete for the same absorption sites in the gut, so when zinc intake is consistently high it crowds out copper, and copper levels quietly drop over time. More is not automatically better.
So we measure what is actually low, correct that, and retest. It is slower than buying a bottle marked immune support, and it is the only way to know whether you have fixed anything.
Sleep, stress and toxic load
Sleep is when we recover and repair, and a broken bedtime shows up as a cold. Fixing it comes before buying another supplement. Toxic burden tires the system out as well, and if you reduce the toxic load the body simply functions better — poorly or not, it feels better and it recovers better.
None of this is glamorous, and it is where I would start before anything that comes in a bottle.
What working with us looks like
- A full history of your infections — what, how often, what has been prescribed, and what changed when they started
- Testing where it will change the plan — vitamin D, iron, B12 and folate, and the markers behind them
- Gut assessment, including H. pylori testing where the picture warrants it
- Targeted nutrients based on measured status, not a stack of immune formulas
- Sleep and stress work, because the immune system cannot patrol a body on high alert
- A plan that works alongside your GP and whatever they have prescribed
Not sure if this is the right starting point?
That is exactly what the free call is for. Fifteen minutes, no cost and no obligation — we will work out whether recurrent infections & immunity is where you should start, or whether something else fits better.
Common concerns we work with here
- recurrent sinus infections
- chest infections that follow every cold
- ear and throat infections
- gum infections
- recurrent UTIs
- recurrent thrush
- repeated courses of antibiotics
- slow recovery from illness
Recurrent Infections & Immunity — your questions
Should I stop taking antibiotics?
No. If your GP has prescribed antibiotics, take them as prescribed. Nothing we do replaces treatment for an active infection. Our work is on why the infections keep coming, in the time between them.
Can you help with recurring thrush or UTIs?
We look at the same ground as for any recurrent infection — vitamin D and the immune nutrients, the gut, sleep and stress — and at the pattern of when yours arrive. A new or worsening infection still goes to your GP first.
I take an immune supplement already. Why am I still getting ill?
Possibly because it is not what you are short of, or because you are not absorbing it. That is why we test first: a good level of one nutrient does not help if another member of the team is missing.
What tests are useful?
Vitamin D almost always, alongside a baseline blood panel — iron, B12, folate and the rest. Where there is a gut story running alongside the infections, stool testing can be worth it. We will tell you which are worth paying for in your case and which are not.
How long before I notice a difference?
I would not put a number on it, and I would be wary of anyone who does. Sleep tends to be felt first because it is the fastest to change; the gut work is the slow, cumulative part.
Further reading
Why Your Vitamin D Level Matters More Than You Think
Over the past few years, working closely with many clients — especially those dealing with immune challenges and cancer — one thing I keep seeing again and again is low vitamin D. It’s one of the most important markers I look at on a blood test. Yet many people don’t realise just how powerful vitamin D is for protecting their health. When you next go for a blood test please ask your doctor to check for this as well.
Leaky Gut: Immunity Starts in the Gut Wall
Around 70% of your immune system sits in the gut, and the gut wall is what does the work. What leaky gut is, what damages it — seed oils, medications, constipation — and the foods, probiotics and vitamin D testing that rebuild it.
Five Immune Hacks for Back to School
Kids bring the bugs home. Five simple things that happen in my house each autumn — the sanitiser swap, feeding the gut that holds around 70% of your immune system, protecting sleep, replacing magnesium, and supporting recovery.
H. Pylori: The Silent Stomach Invader
H. Pylori is a bacterium that takes up residence in your stomach lining, often without raising any immediate red flags. This microscopic intruder can quietly inhabit your digestive system for years, potentially causing significant health complications that may go unnoticed.
You might also be looking for
- Gut Health & DigestionBloating, constipation, reflux and IBS-type symptoms — finding what is driving your gut, not just quietening it
- Functional TestingOrder tests through us as your practitioner, so someone reads and explains the results properly
- Children’s NutritionChildren's digestion, immunity and mental health, including ADHD and autism support
Or see all our nutrition services.
Last updated: 23 September 2026. Written by Niki Charnock, Naturopathic Nutritionist (CNM/ANP registered) and Injury Specialist. We advise on nutrition and lifestyle — we do not diagnose, and nothing here replaces care from your GP or specialist.