Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medicines, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your health professional.

Conditions

• Age older than 60
• Surgery to remove the spleen

Lifestyle choices

• Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
• Drug abuse or withdrawal
• Recent travel

Medicines

• Blood-thinning medicines, such as warfarin, heparin, and aspirin
• Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
• Medicines to prevent organ transplant rejection
• Medicines used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
• Radiation therapy

Diseases

• Adrenal or pituitary gland problems
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Anemia
• Anxiety or panic attacks
• Cancer
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD or emphysema)
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Eating disorders
• Fibromyalgia
• Heart disease, including prior diagnosis of irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), heart failure, or coronary artery disease
• Infections, such as HIV infection, tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, or a parasite infection, or Lyme disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Kidney disease
• Liver disease
• Malnutrition
• Multiple sclerosis
• Myasthenia gravis
• Parkinson's disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Sickle cell disease
• Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
• Thyroid disease