Is there anything more annoying in life than coming down with a cold? If there is I don’t know what it is. That endless drip of snot on the end of your nose. The body shaking sneezes. The throat tickling coughing. The aching head. Of course, you know none of it is going to kill you – but it’s just all just so annoying!
The common cold is thought to be the single most common illness amongst humans worldwide. It’s certainly the most common reason why children miss school and adults miss work.
Considering all our technological advances, you would think the boffins in white coats would’ve solved this one by now. But no. We continue to sneeze away!
Well, to be fair, it’s not like they haven’t tried. The problem we have is that while the common cold is not just one thing, in fact any one of hundreds if not thousands of different viral infections can present itself as a cold. It seems the cold is here to stay. Boo!
Below we are going to look at what you can do to reduce your chances of succumbing to the dreaded cold and then we’re going to look at what you can do to relieve the symptoms once you’ve caught one.
Cold prevention tips
The following three tips are preventative. They are three golden nuggets you should live your entire life by. Not only will they reduce your chances of succumbing to the common cold, they will help you in other aspects of your existence too…
- Wash your hands frequently
You probably remember this piece of advice from school. Well, it was true back then and it’s still true today. Nothing will help you avoid the common cold more than washing your hands well and often.
During cold season it’s especially important to keep your hands clean. Especially if you’ve been visiting public places such as schools, shopping centres, gyms or the supermarket. Think of all the hands that have touched those doors handles before you today?
If it helps, think of hand washing like the full stop at the end of a sentence. Anytime you finish an activity or move location, wash your hands. It needn’t be a chore, you needn’t have to rush off to find a bathroom every 20 minutes, just carry a little tube of hand sanitizer in your pocket or bag. Simples.
- Sleep Well
Have you ever noticed how colds tend to hit at the worst possible time. They seem to sneak up after a big family event, a busy time at work, or even just after a holiday. There’s a reason for that. Colds pray on the tired.
When you haven’t been sleeping enough your immune system becomes impaired, your body’s internal defence system becomes less able to identify and fight off foreign invaders. The result, the common cold. If you want to stay cold free, stay well rested.
Getting more rest is often easier said than done, millions of us suffer from a variety of sleep blocking disorders. If you struggle to drift off at night, pop over to The Sleep Advisor – Healthy Sleep Tips, News and Product Reviews blog for mountains of free expert help and advice.
- Avoid stress
When we are stressed our body is flooded with the hormone cortisol, the bad boy of the endocrine system. Also known as the ‘stress hormone’. Raised levels of stress have a similar impact on our immune system as missing sleep, the more stressed you are the weaker your defences, the more likely you are to get a massive case of snot nose.
Cold reduction tips
The bad news is there is no cure for the cold. Despite what your friendly neighbourhood witch doctor may tell you. Once you’ve got a cold you basically have to ride it out and let your immune system do its job. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t things you can do to shorten the suffering. Below three ways you can exorcise the snuffles in the record time…
- Sleep more
Hold on, didn’t we have this one already? Yes we did. Sleep is not only the best thing you can do to prevent colds, it’s also the single best thing you can do to hasten your recovery. If you have a cold you’ll likely feel a huge desire to nap, lean into it. Sleep is when our body repairs and replenishes itself. Let sleep do what it’s designed to do – fix you.
- Drink warm liquids
There’s a very good reason chicken soup has become so associated with cold and flu. It works. Well, not specifically chicken soup, any warm drink provides relief for cold sufferers. Lemsip, tea, warm lemon or apple juice. Every culture around the world seems to agree on this one. It’s thought the heat and steam play a role in easing congestion and promoting mucus flow. It basically melts the snot out of you. Lovely!
- Take a hot bath
For much the same reason as drinking warm liquids works, so does taking a hot bath. The heat and steam help to loosen mucus and tend to get things moving a little bit. A hot bath is also amazing good at reducing inflammation, soothing achy bones. Plus, a hot bath before bed will help you sleep like a baby.
Well, there you have it fellow cold haters – my top six things you can do to battle the common cold. If I was to summon up my advice in two words it would be this – sleep more. Sweet dreams and good luck out there!
