What to do to prevent getting ill (a cold)

Sounds like you are already ill. But what I always used to do is sprite, chicken noodle soup and theraflu. To prevent sickness, don’t touch your face a lot and wash your hands.

Zycam and Emergen C QUICK!!!

Nyquil cures all ills! Does for me anyway!

Vitamin C, lots of it and tons of liquids to stay hydrated.

Rest and vitamin C. You’re probably already sick, I hope it passes quickly.

My mother and her friends swear by something called golden seal, which is sold in capsule form. I’ve never tried it myself, but they tell me that it always works for them when they feel like they are getting sick.

I think Airbourne works. I don’t take anything t prevent colds, but my babe loves that stuff

btw, I’m referring to normal things. Not drugs.

The don’t touch your face and wash hands is a good one. I often touch my face while sitton at my desk using the computer.
Haven’t gotten a lot of sleep lately. And I guess I’ll drink tons of orange juice :) and see how that goes.

You might find this helpful.

I’m not sure you can totally avoid getting sick, as most virus’ like colds etc… are airborne and you can’t really avoid them. Washing your hands regularly is a good idea and carrying around some of this http://www.auravita.com/products/aura/cehe10652.asp in your bag/office drawer comes in handy, you can get it at most supermarkets here in the uk in the handsoap aisle.

Drinking plenty fluids- water being the best and eating fresh oranges I suppose won’t do any harm, but I’m not sure it will help stop you getting sick completly!

If you are sneezing already there is a possibility you have already caught the bug that your brother had :( So plenty rest, fluids and sympathy for having ‘man flu’ titters quietly go out to you and hope you feel better soon!!

@lloydbird Wow, I didn’t know garlic was that healty. I like it a lot.
I’m not yet sneezing. maybe once a day. But my throat does act up.

Gonna make some noodles, and put fresh garlic in it. Maybe also some tabasco to loosen up any bacteria in my nose.
(omg I just heard a house mate sneezing while typing this, better avoid them)

Prevention is the best medicine for me! I take a daily multi-vitamin, eat well and exercise. Keeps this old body running smoothly.

Nothing will really help you now, the virus is inside of you as you are exhibiting symptoms. Nothing has been scientifically proven to help with speeding up the duration of a cold, so the best you can do is make yourself comfy. Chicken soup is recommended because it’s easy to eat (really drink), soothing on the throat, nutritious, and easy to make.

To avoid letting the virus into you, you need to wash your hands regularly and disinfect things like doorknobs etc which your brother would have touched likely with germ-ridden hands. But even then, the virus will be in the air. The only real way to not get sick is to not see the infected person until their infectious period has ended, which varies from disease to disease of course!

You are sick already.

I haven’t read all of the above, but if youw ant to not get sick next time there are some things to know in general:

DON“T TOUCH YOUR FACE. I was told this throughout my childhood, and it seems this chant has gone away. We get sick by touching something and then putting the germ into our eyes, nose, or mouth. We cannot wash our hands every 5 seconds, so if you never get that germ from your hand to your face, you probably aren’t going to catch a cold or flu, unless they are coughing and sneezing on top of you. A good habit is to use the back of your wrist if you have an itch or something and not use the inside of your palm or fingers if you need to touch, because you use the inside of your hand to grab door knobs and if you shake hands they are not touching that area.

Generally people are most contagious 24 hours before and the first two days into the symptoms of the illness (depending on what illness it is), so if someone is just starting to feel under the weather keep away from them.

Check your overall health, for women low iron is big, But for both sexes many people are difficient in vitamin D and B12. I don’t think you can get rid of a cold once you have one by taking bunches of vitamins. The vitamin C study had never been able to be duplicated and pretty much is not considered valid.

Well, I bought a bottle of hand sanitiser after I read about a guy who said since he started using it, he seldom fell ill.

I have two bottles in fact. One at home and one in the office. I also take B-150 complex, EPO and Royal Jelly. So far so good. I also avoid stuff that creates phlegm in my throat. No dairy products, chocolate, oily stuff, citrus fruits and bananas. I have green tea after lunch occasionally. Lots and lots of plain water.

I am also spending more time in my garden and feeling less stressed.

Vitamin C, zinc lozenges, and hot chicken soup made with garlic. Also, make sure to get enough sleep. You can also try soaking in a hot tub or a very hot bath to raise your body temperature slightly and thus help wipe out some of the cold virus.

I hope you like grapefruit….

Just went to the supermarket and got myself 2 cans of soup, 3 packs of noodles, a big net full of oranges, bundle of spring onions, a dispenser of anti-bacterial soap, salomon, and milk.
Still have enough garlic and I try to use the back of my wrist to rub my nose/face and I cleaned all door knobs, light switches, mouse + keyboard. and I wash my hands before I make / eat any foods.

No I don’t like grapefruit… too bitter :( ... but if they work miracles I’d give it a shot.
Also took a very hot shower till the point that i got a little light in my head and then washed off with cold for a few secs. It’s rainy outside so I guess it’s best to stay dry and warm inside.

@Inofaith so, are you officially sick? You caught it? You are all stuffed up?

@JLeslie Not yet, still on the verge of…
I really can’t use it right now, got some important appointments in a few days.

Funny thing is that my ex gf and I always get sick at the same time… got an email today that she is feverish :P

@Inofaith typically you start with a sore throat for two days, then it eases up, you have half a day of reprieve and then the congestions starts…at least that is a typical cold. Start to finish is almost always around 7 days. But, hopefully you are atypical and you will feel all better fast! Good luck, no harm in trying the vitamin c and zinc, even though I don’t buy much into it, I have been wrong before :).

Although, fever is not very usual with a cold in adults, just thinking about your gf, maybe a very low one, less than 100, high fever is something else.

Well, it’s been 6 days now. And I’m ok :)
Continue to drink orange juice, eat some kiwi’s and put garlic in my dinners just to make sure.
But it didn’t go trough. It has been some nice weather too, that maybe helped out a bit. :) thanks for all your tips. Next time I’ll be able to push it of before it even starts.

cheers.

It may be a little late for you for this season, but after this one is gone, start taking 500 mg of Vitamin C each day. i have not had a cold in many years. prevention is where its at. and, be sure to wash your hands or use a hand sanitizer…...often.

Well it’s been 3 years and 3 das since I posted this question and I feel another cold coming.

This time I know the reason:
Went to an out-door festival and it rained pretty much all day, so 11 hours of wetness, my shoes and socks kindo got moist by the end of the day.
And yesterday (3 days later) I prepared meatballs and I probably didn’t clean my hands and utencils well enough because now (the next morning) I feel sick-ish.

Running to the store to get fresh oranges, vitamin-C pills and honey. Then I’ll put loads of garlic in everything I eat :P

Being wet does not make you sick, a virus does. Miserable weather can make you wipe your eyes and nose more often, and if a virus is on your hand you will transfer is to you and catch the cold. This is part of the reason people get sick in winter, cold makes our nose run, and then we touch our nose with germy hands. Plus, getting sick 4 days later is kind of at the edge for a cold, most begin within 72 hours of exposure, sometimes less than a day, although it can be as long as 5 days I think.

I don’t understand what the meatballs have to do with it? Unless you have a stomach flu?

Well all that partying, wet weather, also not much sleep and lack of fruit lately will surely have brought my immune system down. Right?
I handled raw minced meat with my hands, and used the same spoon and fork that touched the meat to handle the meatballs in the pan, though the meatballs were cooked well I think there might have been some bacteria left on the fork and spoon, also I washed my hands pretty quickly after handling the meat.

Bacteria does not give you a cold a virus does. The bacteria you would worry about with minced meat would give you a stomach illness. Colds are caused by the rhinovirus. Yes, being up late and tired will make your immune system weak, and could cause you to catch a cold more easily, that is true.

So what do you do against a stomach illness?

To be clear, stomach illness can be a virus or bacteria. The 24 hour flu is usually a virus, if you have siblings you probably remember one getting the 24 hour flu, and then all the other kids too, it is very contagious. Raw meat can have the bacteria ecoli, and it can make you very stomach sick, and then also affect other body systems, it can be deadly. If you just cook the meat through it kills all the ecoli. The bacteria would be on the surface of a steak, so even rare cooked steak is safe as long as the outside has been cooked. Minced meat or chopped meat needs to be cooked all the way through, because when it is ground the outside of the meat is now all mixed in with all of the meat. Chicken and eggs risk the bacteria samonella, which also is no problem if the chicken or eggs are cooked thoroughly. Each virus amd bacteria has a very specific mechanism for making you sick. Some are similar of course, and some are very different. Ecoli is not going to gove you a stuffed nose.