Primary Immunodeficiency: Causes, Signs, and How It Affects Your Health

When your body can't fight off common infections because your primary immunodeficiency, a group of genetic disorders where the immune system fails to develop or function properly. Also known as inborn errors of immunity, it's not something you catch—it's something you're born with. Unlike secondary immune problems caused by drugs, viruses, or aging, primary immunodeficiency is built into your DNA. That means your white blood cells, antibodies, or complement proteins don't do their job right from the start. You might get the same cold five times a year, or a simple ear infection turns into a hospital stay. It's not bad luck—it's your immune system missing a key part.

People with this condition often face recurrent infections, frequent, severe, or unusual infections that don't respond to standard treatments—sinus infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, or even skin abscesses that keep coming back. Kids might fail to gain weight or grow normally because their body is always fighting. Some types, like antibody deficiency, a subtype where the body doesn't make enough protective antibodies like IgG, show up later in life, often after age 5, when maternal antibodies fade. Others, like severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), hit babies hard and fast. It's not just about getting sick more—it's about getting sick in ways healthy people rarely do. Think fungal infections in the lungs, or diarrhea from parasites that shouldn't even affect you.

What helps? immunoglobulin therapy, regular infusions of donated antibodies to replace what the body can't make is a lifeline for many. It doesn't cure the problem, but it keeps infections at bay. Some need daily antibiotics as a shield. Others get bone marrow transplants if the defect is severe enough. And yes—genetic testing is now part of the standard check. If you've had more than four ear infections in a year, or two pneumonias, or need IV antibiotics often, it's not just coincidence. It might be your immune system screaming for help.

You won't find magic cures here, but you will find real stories about what works—and what doesn't. The posts below cover how medications like IVIG are used, how infections tie into immune weakness, and what families need to know when a child is diagnosed. You'll see how treatments like steroids or antibiotics are used cautiously, and how conditions like chronic sinusitis or eczema can be red flags. This isn't theory—it's what people live with every day. Let’s see what the data says about managing this quietly common but deeply misunderstood problem.