Your immune system sometimes snoozes

Turns out your defenses take breaks too. Here's when and why

By Smartasaurus· 1 min read Curious

Most of the soldiers currently guarding your body will be gone…

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The short version

Turns out your defenses take breaks too. Here's when and why
When you see pus from an infection, you are looking at a mass graveyard of millions of white blood cells that died in combat.
This constant cycle of birth and death means your entire internal defense force is almost entirely new every week.

Most of the white blood cells patrolling your body right now will be dead by Tuesday. While your red blood cells live a long, stable life of about 120 days, the average white blood cell survives for only 1 to 3 days.

These cells are the disposable infantry of your immune system. They are designed to hunt, engage, and often destroy themselves in the process of neutralizing a threat.

When you see pus from an infection, you are looking at a mass graveyard of millions of white blood cells that died in combat. Your bone marrow has to work at a furious pace to keep up, churning out 100 billion new white blood cells every single day.

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