Help!! How do you head off a cold/flu?

[tamawrite]

One of my coworkers has had a cold (or the type of flu that behaves rather like a cold -- sore throat, aches, congestion) all week and I just now feel myself coming down with the aches & sniffles.

What can I do to ward this off??

Right now, I'm drinking lots of mint green tea and water. After work, I'm going to get some cold/flu meds and start taking them right away (doing that seems to keep the illness more mild.)

What else can I do? Help!! I'll be really upset if I'm sick for the 3-day weekend. :(

[mbrogier]

I've heard a lot of people swear by those zinc tablets you get at the drug store.

Lots of vitamin C will help.

I normally take ONE nyquil liquicap (if I take two I'm all draggy the next day) that first night and feel tons better the next morning.

I know others that swear by Echinacea. I haven't used it.

[claire797]

I take lots of vitamin C and it really seems to work. Echinacea's supposed to help too.

[lhall]

If you like herbal teas I know Celestial Seasonings makes one with Echinecea in it. I've got a box in my tea cabinet. Also make sure you get a good night's sleep.

Leigh

[VictoriaL]

One of my pet peeves-- people who come to work while they're sick! :mad:

This has always worked for me:
1) overload on vitamin C (500mg three times a day) and
2) echinacea (standardized capsules, according to package directions) and
3) Cold-Eez (lozenges available at WalMart-- contains zinc, use as directed) and
and (I can't stress this enough)
4) LOTS of liquids, LOTS and LOTS of sleep.

Hope you are able to shake this and can enjoy some of your weekend!

[badunnin]

Originally posted by VictoriaL
One of my pet peeves-- people who come to work while they're sick! :mad:


Do you really take a sick day for a cold?

[mbrogier]

If you have a little sniffle and aren't hacking all over everyone, that is one thing. If you sound like you're coughing up a lung and sneezing everywhere, stay away from me! I get sick very easily. I can't help the fact that I don't have a good immune system, but other people could be more considerate of others around them when they brave the world with a fever spewing germs everywhere. I have gone to work with colds, and I'm very careful about washing my hands, using tissues, and warning others not to touch my computer, etc. unless they want germs. You'd be surprised at people that don't have that consideration. I think most schools have a don't come to school if you're contagious policy anyway.

[badunnin]

Originally posted by mbrogier
If you have a little sniffle and aren't hacking all over everyone, that is one thing. If you sound like you're coughing up a lung and sneezing everywhere, stay away from me! *snip* You'd be surprised at people that don't have that consideration. I think most schools have a don't come to school if you're contagious policy anyway.

When I get a cold, it usually sticks around for a week. I have never had a job where I can take a week's leave for a cold. My colds usually have some congestion, thus coughing is involved. Kids are always contagious - they are little germ factories. Even if you aren't showing symptoms, you can still transmit.

[VictoriaL]

Originally posted by badunnin


Do you really take a sick day for a cold?

If at all possible! My worst asthma attacks are preceeded by respiratory infections, so I'm very careful not to "pass it on" if I do get sick.

[Gilgamesh37]

Everything that VictoriaL said, plus:

get plenty of sleep
and LOTS of onions and garlic, baby. That whole family (name escapees me right now) have immune properties. Cook something that can convey lots of both--onion soup or spaghetti sauce. Chow down.

(and if you have a dicey stomach, watch out for the zinc tablets, lots of people have trouble with them)

[badunnin]

Originally posted by Gilgamesh37
Everything that VictoriaL said, plus:

get plenty of sleep
and LOTS of onions and garlic, baby. That whole family (name escapees me right now) have immune properties.

Alliums.

[DebGo]

Zi-cam. swear by it whenever i'm beginning to feel a cold coming on. keep using it (3-4x daily) until symptoms disappear.

debbie

[Canice]

I don't care if they never find "a cure for the common cold" but I sure wish I could get some reliable FACTS. For example, I've often read that once you have symptoms you can pump whatever you want into your body but you're already sick and it's not going to help. Yet a lot of people have tactics they swear by. I've also heard that you are only contagious in the early stages, before symptoms appear - but evidence doesn't seem to bear it out. Then there's the whole You won't get sick by being cold or wet - again, evidence doesn't seem to bear it out.
Is anything really known --as in generally accepted in the medical community-- about this? :confused:

[kkapow]

like mbrogier, i also have a deficient immune system and get sick easily. in fact, i now have a cold because one of my coworkers came to work sick. that's all it took; i woke up sick friday after working with her on thursday night.

it's been said that as long as you're not running a fever, you're not contagious, but i don't know about that....

anyway, now i'm socking in for the weekend with all my juices, teas, etc... and i had such wonderful plans for cooking this weekend!!! now all i feel like doing is curling up on the couch with my Southern Living magazine and a cup of hot tea.

pity party, anyone????

karen

[greysangel]

Echinacea is really preventative....it doesn't do much once you have a cold. I start cycling (3 weeks on, 1 week off) Echinacea around the end of September.

My suggestions aka my old singer tricks:

1)sweat it out - it means lots of sleep with blankets and thick sleepwear. I usually take some nightime sleep aid/cold aid to make sure I'm in a deep sleep and cannot take covers off.

2)garlic - The easiest way for me to get in a lot of garlic when I'm sick is to crush lots of cloves, stir fry them with a little o.o. and then mix with chicken broth and drink it.

3)gargle with salt water - several times a day to sort of clear up what is hiding in the back of your throat and in the pits of your tonsils (if you have them...mine are huge!)

4)stay hydrated - water, juice cut with water etc.

5)Vitamin C - the time released kind otherwise what ever your body doesn't absorb goes right through you :eek: :D

6) Finally if you have a cold already and it involves congestion and/or sore throat...boil up equal parts cider vinegar, water and honey. It is truly vile to drink but it does seem to help.

JeAnne

[gabbyh]

Lots of what others have said: plus, there are lots of supplements out there to boost your immune system...Moducare is one of them...also, here is the Common Cold Protocol that my company puts out:

http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcls-txt/t-prtcl-036.html

It can give you more info on doses, etc.

I always make sure the Vit C I take also has "bioflavanoids", which really helps me, and I take a high potency Vit C 3 times a day (at least 1000mg each time, plus I use "enhanced whey protein w/ lactoferrin"...

Feel better soon!

~Gail

[Kay Henderson]

At the first sign of feeling that I may be coming down with a cold or worse:

Vitamin C
Echinecea
rest and STAYING WARM

Almost always works.

Kay

[mbrogier]

I got the Asian Flu after running in the rain one winter. It was going around school (someone went to Asia on Christmas break and brought it back) and running in the rain, while fun, weakened my then strong immune system enough that I caught it.


I used to have large nasty tonsils, but after I had them removed I stopped getting sick as much. (it did change my voice a bit.)

[Kayaksoup]

Originally posted by badunnin


When I get a cold, it usually sticks around for a week. I have never had a job where I can take a week's leave for a cold. My colds usually have some congestion, thus coughing is involved. Kids are always contagious - they are little germ factories. Even if you aren't showing symptoms, you can still transmit.
I can't have sick days. At all! I have been allowed to go home early once when my asthma was so bad that I couldn't walk two steps without gasping for air. I really wish I had the luxury of calling in sick....

[wallycat]

Saline nasal rinse.
I SWEAR by this ....I do it daily. Every morning, like clockwork, when I shower or brush my teeth, I do the nasal rinse.
If pollen is around and I am congested I will add the tiniest drop of Tea tree Oil.
I know I am due for a cold or flu or something soon, but it's been 9 years and counting...

wash your hands, do the nasal rinse and get plenty of rest and your body should have an advantage during germ season.

Once you feel "icky" I think rest is most important. I wouldn't shy away from the nasal rinse. Make the area as inhospitable as possible for the germies :)
Cold viruses tend to enter through mucus membranes, so your eyes, lips/mouth and nose are the first portal of entry. If you have clean hands and environment they would prefer not to enter, you're ahead of the game.

Post back...how are you doing?? did you manage to nip it in the bud?
Hope you're feeling better...

[kwormann]

I also have a very low immuine system after having mono in 1989. Also, working with 5 year olds and working in an early childhood center with LOTS of kid germs and kids that arent always careful with hand washing, I get sick ALOT!

I use echinecia, zinc and vit c if I feel something coming on.

Wallycat, please tell me more about the nasal saline......

[wallycat]

Kim, I just use table salt and water mixed in a cup and inhaled and spit and ...well, blown out of the nose.
Dr. Weil discusses it much better than I can.
If I feel congested or think I may be starting sinusitis from allergies, I add the tiniest, tiniest drop of tea tree oil into the mix.
Salt is a natural antibacterial (bursts their little cell walls :D ) so I feel it tends to nip things in the bud.
I'm sure I will get sick this year as DH's grandkids are school age now :rolleyes: Still, I used to get 4 or 5 colds a year and am a miserable person when I am sick ...worse than most guys :p :o .

When I read about this I thought it was worth a shot.
Make sure you have just the right amount of salt for your needs...not enough and you get that pain in your nose like when you're diving into pool water; too much and it is yucky ....just right and it feels like a soothing thing.

When I worked at a public library (adult and kids), I washed my hands a lot and always tried to keep my hands away from my face. I never realized how hard that is.

Of course, now I have seasonal allergies...not sure which I'd rather have, an occasional cold, or allergies that just make you feel like you have one, but longer..:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :mad:

[kwormann]

Do you have directions? I found the recommendation on his site, but not the specifics....

[wallycat]

I just inhale the salt water (dunk my nose into the cup and inhale GENTLY and slowly). When I get a snoot-ful, I try to blow it out ...as if I were blowing my nose. I make sure that if anything is going down my throat, I spit it out.
Weil suggests that it all comes out your mouth, but I can't bear that.

I just do it 5 or 6 times. When I'm finished, I hang my head down to make sure it is all drained...and blow my nose and that's it.

[kwormann]

How much salt v water do you use?

[wallycat]

I use about 1/4 tsp. to 6-8 oz. of water. Swish it in your mouth first and if it tastes slightly salty, you should be OK...spit it out and proceed :D

[Valerie226]

I've escaped several nasty colds my husband has brought home. to echo wallycat, the most important thing is wash your hands religiously & keep them away from your face. that's not so easy to do. Pay attention when you're not sick to how many times you unconsciously touch your face. you'll be surprised.
I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in my car. after shopping I "wash" my hands. It's almost impossible not to touch things that may have cold virus on them, like shopping cart handles, telephones, keyboards. what you CAN do is make sure you don't touch your face, and wash ASAP.
I get very sick with head colds, so I'm aggressive about not contacting them in the first place. One of the smartest things I ever did was get my tonsils out when I was an adult. Every head cold (and sometimes for no reason at all) I got tonsillitis. sick, sick, sick. It was worth the week's worth of discomfort to get rid of the darn things.
I also drink herbal tea, broth, take extra vitamin c and some zinc get plenty of rest, & back off the exercise program if it feels like I may be coming down with something.

[schuh]

As someone with allergies, asthma and chronic sinusitis, I can get very sick with a "cold." I once had a cold aggravate my asthma so much that I had to take prednisone in order to breathe. The problem was, I was scheduled for surgery that week. That surgery needed to be delayed for two months due to the prednisone. So I was very sick for months, all due to a cold. I understand that people can't miss work from sniffles, but I don't like that people don't take their illness seriously. If you need to go to work, at least try to isolate yourself as much as possible. Wash your hands a zillion times a day, etc.

I carry around antibacterial hand lotion from Bath & Body Works. It doesn't dry my hands out like the hand sanitizers, plus it smells wonderful!

Back to question at hand...

I swear by ZICAM. It's basically zinc. It's a gel that you swab on your nostrils at the first sign of a cold. I get killer colds every year, but last year I used Zicam when I first got a sign of a cold. It really helped.

I also use saline, but it's a lot easier just to buy saline nasal spray in a bottle. Do six or so sprays in each nostril, then blow your nose. That helps loosen/thin secretions.

[tamawrite]

Thanks for all the ideas! I managed to ward off the oncoming cold Friday night/Saturday morning by loading up on cold meds (Sinutabs for day, Theraflu tea at night.) I never really got sick.

BUT I exhausted myself by painting the interior of my house for 14 hours a day all weekend...

...and relapsed...

...and missed work yesterday.

*sigh* But the walls look great! :D