Avoid Catching a Cold or Getting the Flu

You've probably had the common cold or influenza at some point. Many people experience the cold and flu during the winter months, leading to increased health care costs, physician visits, and lost productivity.[1] These upper respiratory viruses have no cure and show different symptoms, but are more likely to be fought off by a healthy immune system. Improving and maintaining your immune system can help decrease your likelihood of getting sick.

Steps

Improving Your Immune System

  1. Wash your hands frequently. It's easy to pick up germs from door handles, grocery shopping carts, public transportation, and anything else that might be handled by other people. Get in the habit of washing your hands with warm water and soap or antibacterial soap. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds (sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself twice) before rinsing and drying your hands. This is especially important to do after being around someone who's already sick.[1]
    • When leaving a public bathroom after washing your hands, take care to push the door open with your foot or use a paper towel to open the door.
  2. Get plenty of restful sleep. As an adult, you should get between seven to nine hours[2] of quality, uninterrupted sleep every night to prevent disease. This will improve the function of your immune system and help your body cope with stress and emotional control. It's important to establish a regular sleep cycle. In fact, studies have shown a higher rate of cancer among people whose sleep/wake cycle is disrupted (like night shift workers).[3]
    • Teenagers should get eight to 10 hours of sleep, school-age children may need between 10 and 13 hours, and toddlers need between 11 and 14 hours of sleep.[2]
    • If you suffer from insomnia, the poor quality of sleep affects how you function during the day and can keep your body's immune system from properly fighting off disease.[4][5]
  3. Get a flu shot. While no vaccine exists for the common cold, it may be available in the future.[6] Fortunately, a flu vaccine is created every fall for the upcoming flu season. It's highly recommended that you get the vaccination to prevent getting the flu.[7]
    • Every fall, the Centers for Disease Control creates the annual flu vaccine based on the flu strains they believe will be prevalent that season. Getting the shot doesn't mean you won't get the flu, but it does reduce your chance of catching the flu.
  4. Practice good hygiene. Get in the habit of not touching your eyes, nose or mouth. These are easy ways to spread germs. You should also clean and disinfect areas of your home that get a lot of use like the bathroom, kitchen, and door knobs.[8]General recommendations, stay home until symptom free or 24 hours without fever. Not only will this give you a better chance to rest, but it may prevent the spread of disease to others.[8]

Taking Supplements to Prevent the Cold or Flu

  1. Talk with your doctor before taking supplements. Many dietary supplements are not studied as rigorously as prescription medications, so there is little to no scientific proof that they work — most evidence is anecdotal. In addition, they are not regulated by the FDA.[9] This means there is no assurance of the strength of the supplement or the purity of the ingredients, which can make it difficult to figure out proper dosage . As such, you should always discuss supplements with your doctor before you begin taking any.
    • Some supplements may interact negatively with other medications or even other supplements, which could potentially have life-threatening effects.[9]
    • It is possible to take too much of a supplement, including vitamins.
    • For example, let's consider zinc supplementation. For disease prevention, you should take 50mg of zinc a day. If you're already ill, take 150mg to 175mg in order to reduce the duration and severity of a cold. A major study showed that rates of pneumonia dropped significantly when zinc supplements were added to the study group's diet.[10] Zinc is an essential trace element that your body needs to fight infection. Since zinc deficiency is widespread, it's important to add it to your diet.
    • You can also get zinc from eating oysters, lobster, beef, wheat germ, spinach, and nuts.
  2. Take probiotics. Talk with your doctor about adding a specialized probiotic supplement to your diet. Probiotics are microorganisms naturally found in your intestines. Studies have shown that they can improve your immune system and may decrease the duration and severity of colds.[11][12] While you can take oral probiotic supplements, the following are also good sources of probiotics:[13]
    • Sauerkraut, curtido, or kimchi
    • Kvass, kefir
    • Yogurt
    • Aged cheeses (like Roquefort or Gruyere)
    • Kombucha
    • Pickles
    • Miso
  3. Take echinacea. Take 300mg of echinacea by mouth for one week if you're already feeling ill. While some believe that taking echinacea can prevent colds or the flu, other studies argue against its effectiveness.[14] Another study has suggested that echinacea decreases the duration of a cold by half a day to four days.[14][15]
    • If you're unsure about whether to add echinacea, ask your doctor to advise you.
  4. Get plenty of vitamin D. Though research is ongoing, vitamin D is thought to have a beneficial effect on the immune system.[16] People who are deficient in vitamin D are more susceptible to infection.[16] Your body synthesizes vitamin D from sunlight, but if you have little exposure to sunlight, you may need to supplement with food or pills.
    • Good food sources of vitamin D include egg yolks, oily fish (such as salmon, tuna, and sardines), and fortified foods like milk, soy milk, and orange juice.[17]
    • Dietary recommendations for vitamin D intake for ages 9-70 years of age averages around 600 units per day.
  5. Consider vitamin C when you are sick. Though it has long been considered a "must" for boosting your immune system, there is actually insufficient evidence to prove that vitamin C prevents colds or improves your immune system.[18][19] There is, however, some evidence to suggest that taking vitamin C while sick with the common cold can slightly decrease the duration of illness.[18][20]

Identifying the Common Cold and Influenza

  1. Distinguish between symptoms of the common cold and the flu. Both the cold and flu can cause coughing, sore throat, and, in some cases, fever. Fever (over 100.4°F or 38 °C) as a cold symptom is more common in children, while fevers due to flu are usually greater than 101°F or 38.3°C. If you have a cold, you may also experience nasal congestion and runny nose. On the other hand, if you have the flu, you may notice body aches (myalgia), headaches, and shaking.[21]
    • The symptoms of a cold usually last one week on average. If they last longer or worsen, you may be developing a secondary infection like an ear infection, sinus infection, or bronchitis.
  2. Learn about disease transmission and risk factors. The common cold is easily spread by coming into contact with infected mucous (passed orally or nasally). It only takes a few days for the disease to incubate, making it likely that adults will get approximately one cold a year, while children under two will get six colds a year. The flu is also spread through direct contact with infected secretions or airborne droplets that are passed through normal breathing or coughing. For example, you might get it by inhaling the disease around an infected person who's coughing.[22]
    • It is important for everyone to practice "respiratory etiquette," which includes covering your mouth and nose with sneezing, excellent hand hygiene, and staying home when sick. Infected people should consider wearing a mask to prevent spreading the illness.
    • Flu season typically lasts from late fall through the end of winter.
    • You are at an increased risk of getting a cold if you are under physical or mental stress, or have a child or elderly adult who attends daycare or lives in a skilled nursing facility.
  3. Know when to get medical attention. If you have cold symptoms that worsen or don't improve after ten days, get a medical examination. You may be experiencing a secondary infection. If you have flu symptoms and are at risk for complications, you should see your doctor. Risk factors for flu complications include:[23]
    • Being over 50
    • Being under two
    • Being pregnant
    • Having a weakened immune system (from chemotherapy, HIV/AIDS, have received an organ transplant, or other medical treatments)
    • Having signs of pneumonia (such as labored breathing, chest pain, coughing up green or yellow mucus, and fever)[24]

Tips

  • The Rhinovirus strain causes 24 to 52% of common colds.[1] More than 200 viruses can cause the common cold.[25]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 G Michael Allan MD Bruce Avvol MB PhD Prevention and Treatment of the Common Cold : Making Sense of the Evidence, Canadian Medicine Academic Journal Feb 18 186 ( 3) 190-199.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need
  3. ↑ Freda DeKeyser, Ganz RN, PhD, Critical Care Nurse, Sleep and Immune Function, April 2012 volume 32 (2) e 19-e-25
  4. ↑ (Freda DeKeyser, Ganz RN, PhD, Critical Care Nurse, Sleep and Immune Function, April 2012 volume 32 (2) e 19-e-25)
  5. ↑ Stateia, MJ, Doghramjik, Hauri, PJ, Morin CM Evaluation of Chronic Insomnia. Sleep 2000, 23 243-308.
  6. ↑ Terho Helkkinen MD,Asko Jarvinian MD The Common Cold, The Lancet, 2003 Vol 361, no 9351,(4) p 51-59
  7. ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm109760.htm
  10. ↑ Michael Hambridge, Human Zinc Deficiency,Journal of Nutrition, May 1 2000, Vol 130 No 5 s13445-s13949).
  11. ↑ http://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/prevention-tips
  12. ↑ En-Jin Kang, Soo Young Kim, In Hong Hwang, Prevention of the Common Cold: A Meta Analysis of Randomized and Controlled Trials and Studies. Korean Journal of Family Medicine 2013 Jan 34 (1) 2-10 ).
  13. ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/Health/probiotic-foods-yogurt/story?id=33088296
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/expert-answers/echinacea/faq-20058218
  15. ↑ Sachin A Shah PharmD, Stephen Sender PharmD, C Michael White PharmD, The Lancet, Infectious Disease Vol 7, No 7 July 7 2007 p 473-480
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406/
  17. ↑ http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/vitamin-chart.html
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19263912
  19. ↑ http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system
  20. ↑ Hemilia, H Vitamin C Supplementation and the common cold: Factors Affecting the Magnitude of the Benefit, Medical Hypotheses, 2012, 52 (2) 171-178.) Magini, S, Beverly S, Suter M, Combination High Dose Vitamin C plus Zinc, Journal of Internal Medicine Residency 2012 40 1-28-42)
  21. ↑ http://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/cold-or-flu#FluSymptoms7
  22. ↑ http://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/cold-or-flu#CommonCold2
  23. ↑ http://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/cold-or-flu#SeekHelp9
  24. ↑ http://www.lung.org/lung-health-and-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/symptoms-causes-and-risk.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
  25. ↑ http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/community/for-patients/common-illnesses/colds.html
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