How Do You Short Circuit A Cold?
Every year I have gotten sick during the OS. I have two little girls who spend 3 days a week in day care (aka petri dish heaven) and Maura gets a sinus infection 1-2x the winter as well. Currently on number two. So far this OS, I have been pretty good. The changes I have made include:
- More sleep -- 7 hours a night.
- No caffeine -- see sleep above.
- Better hydration -- see no caffeine above.
- Supplements: Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Daily Multivitamin, Echinacea (sp?)
- When I start to blow gunk/stuff out of my nose, I add Mucinex to force it out before it makes a home in my lungs.
I am curious what you all do to stay healthy in the winter? I have supplemented before, so I think the sleep thing is the biggest...
Thanks for sharing!
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Coach P,
Culturelle Probiotic is worth looking into. It "supports a healthy immune system...boosts digestion and overall digestive health....restores the natural balance of good bacteria in your digestive tract...core health begins in the intestinal tract." I admit to taking this sporatically, which could be why I am on day 4 of antibiotics for my Christmas illness that is still hanging on.
Part of my New Year's resolution is to remember to take my daily vitamins EVERY day!
Heather
Good sleep, good hydration, good nutrition, washing hands a lot as WW suggests, and getting the kids older so they go to school... (whoops, forget that last one!) are the best proven preventatives.
Unfortunately, I don't think there's any conclusive evidence on Zinc. You can find a study here or there that seems to support it, and then just as easily, one that refutes it. What can be taken from that is that - even if there is an effect, it is small. (I suspect WW would have avoided those colds if someone had given him pop-rocks instead of Zn tablets but didn't tell him, but of course I can't counter n=1 anecdotes... we all use them!)
If anyone in the data-driven EN Haus starts advocating anything with the words Homeopathic in it anywhere, it better be followed with "placebo effect". I am not normally a kick-in-the-nutz guy, but homeopathy is over the line....
Antibiotics are extremely useful drugs, but should be STRONGLY AVOIDED for anything viral like a cold, because we as society only get to use them X number of times before they won't work any more, and they don't do anything.
The Mayo clinic web site is kind of "dumbed down" for public consumption, but as far as I know, will give you the skinny on current science. Here's their set of articles on the common cold: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/common-cold/DS00056
Bottom line for me: lots of sleep and other things that reduce stress on the system, and good hygiene.
P.S. Going caffeine-free may be great for lots of reasons (especially sleep!), but I don't think hydration is one of them for moderate use. Again, lots of studies (medline search possible here). Mayo clinic comes down on the "not-dehydrating" side for <500 mg/day.
Yeah, so wash your hands a lot. I also find that if I can knock out two consecutive nights of 9+ hours sleep when I feel a cold starting, it tends to be less severe. Of course, I could just feel better because I've had two consecutive nights of 9+ hours sleep.
As for homeopathy : I have a wheel that was once in the same store as a Zipp 808 Firecrest carbon clincher, and hence retains some memory of the Zipp's aerodynamic nature. Now on sale for only 90% of the going price for the Zipp.
When the weather changes drastically, like it does frequently here in TX, I also add two Emergen-C packets/day to my water regimen. Might be placebo, but I stick with it.
My protocol exactly; I routinely stop one or two colds in their tracks before they take hold by completely shutting down for 24-36 hours at the first hint of a throat tickle or nose sniffle as Scott describes. Except I get my vitamin C from massive quantities of OJ.
I tend to follow Chris G's approach as well.......... not kidding.......
I have been doing Emergen-C and Nuun daily just for flavor in my water. It did not prevent me from getting sick.
This year I was lax. Staffer came to work ill, touching everything. She called out sick the next day. 3 days later- Christmas day, I woke up with a stuffy nose but otherwise felt fine. I even got on the bike for 90 minutes! I cooked. We went to our friends. As we were leaving in the afternoon, I started to feel sick. By the time we got home 20 minutes later I had a fever and basically passed out. Slept all night, most of the next day. (Only awesome part was watching the snow fall and being free to ignore it, all cuddled up in blankets).
No exercise for 3 days. Lots of tea and soup and sleep. I felt great by Day 4.
And I am back to wiping down EVERYTHING that anyone touches when they are sick. (I am already an avid hand washer)
Sorry, but I think it is part of having kids. And recent research shows that kids that are exposed through day care and in the early school years, are healthier later in the school year- if it's any consolation. they miss fewer days of school.
Now if that doesn't work, grab some cold medicine and water it down like 1000 times. Then drink it constantly. Will make everything better.
Or Jagrmeister. That helps in every situation.
I'm on the Chris G plan.
Actually, a formulation from my late Nonna which she called a "bagno Maria" (in honor of the Virgin Mary):
[] boil some hot water in a small saucepan
[] pour a generous amount of grappa into a glass (not a shot glass); you can substitute vodka or tequila for grappa
[] sprinkle some salt (a pinch) into the glass
[] add a slice of lemon into the glass
[] finally, place the glass into the boiled water (sauce pan removed from stovetop); just long enough to warm the grappa ... you don't want to evaporate the alcohol.
Prepare and consume just before bedtime ... then get a good night's sleep.
Yes, tastes awful; but stops virus dead in its tracks.
I highly recommend Zicam. I was quite skeptical, but when I saw peer reviewed literature out of the Cleveland Clinic demonstrating reduced duration and severity of colds, I decided to give it a try.
I used to get colds often, and would have a very tough time kicking them. I've used zinc supplements (first cold-eeze, then Zicam, as it has less aftertaste) for about 6 years now, and can't remember the last time i had a cold that lingered more than a day.
Yes, n=1, and there's absolutely no way to rule out placebo in my experience. YMMV, but I'm certainly glad I discovered it.
I've used Zicam, also Airborne. Airborne was made by a teacher, and lots of us (teachers) use it. Seems to help. You have to start it at the first hint of a cold. Try it and see how you do. Emergen C is pretty darn good too.
I've had a cold going now on day six. First few days I did nothing, then Advil, Airborne, Zicam and yesterday started the mucunex. The tequila hasn't got me better either. My workouts (including my FTP and 5K tests) have been miserable. Thanks everyone for the input, I definitely need to step up the hydration.
If you 'have' to workout, keep it real short and ez, with extra day off every now and then. Try to stay away from taxing, or stressing, the system.
Once you feel better, still might take a couple of workouts to get back up to speed. But, in the long haul, the reduced efforts and increased down time will more than pay off!
Hope you feel better.