Common cold prevention: 10 tips

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These 10 tips for defeating a cold should really come as no surprise, and yet few people follow them. They certainly work for me to limit the frequency and severity of colds.

1) Wash your hands often. Think about how you might have gotten the cold in the first place. It’s possible that it is airborne and someone coughed near you, which is hard to avoid. But what if you got it from that door handle that you just touched?

2) Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. If you blow your nose, wash your hands before touching your mouth or eyes. If you cough, wash your hands before touching your eyes or nose. If you need to rub your eyes (itchy eyes) try to wash your hands first. The key here is that you CAN give a cold back to yourself.

3) It’s okay to blow your nose. It is your body’s way of cleaning debris and foreign objects (viruses and/or its byproducts) out of your system.

4) Take Vitamins. It is always good to take vitamins, but especially when you are sick. Whatever vitamins you take, remember to also take Vitamin C as it helps strengthen your immune system. It is good before a cold to help buffer against getting a cold, and during a cold to help boost your immune’s power against the virus.

5) Limit contact with people who are sick. If you don’t want a cold you probably don’t want to intentionally expose yourself to people who have a cold. IF you must, wash your hands afterwards if you touched them (shaking hands) and it wouldn’t hurt to make sure you take your vitamins that day.

6) Eat healthy, energizing food. Your body always needs fuel but when you’re sick a lot of your bodies energy is devoted to your immune system. Eating regularly (perhaps a little more than you would normally) can give you the energy your body needs. If you are an active person, just remember it is crucial to replace the energy used during this time.

7) The myth about rest. Too much sleep does you no good and only harm. Rest is important (don’t try to live on 4 hours sleep each night and expect to get better fast) but keeping as close to your normal routine as possible is very effective. You may skip the gym and avoid people at work but do something else other than sleep. Your cold won’t go away just because you are unconscious and if you are laying there with a handful of old Kleenex rubbing your eyes, coughing and scratching your eyes you are making the situation worse.

8) DRINK WATER! Your body naturally needs 8 glasses a day. When you are sick treat this as a BARE minimum that you must drink, preferably more. The human body is what 98% water? We need water to function efficiently. An efficient body can fight off disease better.

9) Stay warm and dry. If you get cold and wet in the rain or swimming dry off promptly. The combination of cold and wet can use energy (while your body tries to warm itself) and this energy may have been all that was keeping that cold virus from defeating your immune system. You stay cold/wet and BLAM, cold or BOOM worse cold.

10) This final one is more for comfort during a cold. If you have a fever it has helped me to drink cold water or put a cold slightly moist cloth on my head to cool me down. All being hot ever does is make me FEEL sick. Staying cool and comfortable helps to sleep better and/or enjoy my activities more.