What Is an Upper Respiratory Infection?
4. Who Is at Risk for Getting a URI?
There are a number of factors that increase a person’s risk for getting a URI. These risks can be behavioral, environmental or biological. Individuals who have a compromised immune system or who have experienced physical trauma that causes physical abnormalities to the respiratory system are at a higher risk of contracting an upper respiratory infection.
Behavioral and environmental factors play a large role in who contracts respiratory illnesses. Smoking, which causes damage to the mucus membrane, and poor handwashing habits both increase URI risks. Certain environments — such as hospitals, schools and daycares — are conducive to the spread of upper respiratory infections, as is any location that requires you to be in close contact with others.
Advertisement
