Tips for Winter Season
How to Avoid
Catching a Cold This Winter
To avoid the winter bugs you should get vaccinated
against flu, limit exposure to infected people & keep yourself warm. Other main
tips are as follow;
Perform Exercise
& Stay active
When it's cold outside you might be tempted to spend
the winter months curled up inside, huddled on a couch, reading a good book.
But getting off the couch and doing some exercise will help you keep those
sniffles at bay.
Research has shown that exercise is another way to
boost your immune system, one study found that people who exercised were less
likely to develop a cold and if they did, then it was less severe.
Take fruit and
vegetables over supplements
Maintaining a healthy diet, which includes plenty of
fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, is also believed to help improve
your immune system. In fact, it's more likely to do so than topping up on
supplements such as vitamin c, zinc or Echinacea.
Most of the research into supplements generally
suggests that they don't work, and the money you save on supplements you can
spend on fresh fruit and vegetables.
Wash your hands
often
Short of living alone in a sealed room, it's
impossible to avoid the 200 or so viruses that cause colds. These bugs are
everywhere from door knobs to other people's hands, to money and shopping
trolleys. In fact, you'll find these bugs anywhere that's been contaminated by
someone who has a cold; when they've coughed, sneezed or touched a surface. But
you won't get a cold if you simply get the virus on your hands. The particles
need to make their way into your nose.
Washing your hands regularly gets rid of these germs
before they can cause you any harm. Keeping your hands away from your face –
especially your eyes and nose – also helps.
Get plenty of
rest & Sleep
Most of us know that getting good sleep is essential
for good health. This is especially the case when it comes to keeping your
immune system in good shape. It's your immune system that helps you to fight
off common infections, such as colds. A large body of research has shown that
poor sleep and insomnia can affect your immune system and contribute to a wide
range of health conditions, including the common cold.
It's not clear exactly how much sleep you need to
keep your immune system in good shape. Also the amount of sleep you need varies
from person to person, which is why some people are able to function reasonably
well on very little sleep. But making sure you get plenty of rest can help you
want to maintain a strong immune system, which will help you fight winter bugs.
Throw away used
tissues
Don't leave dirty tissues or hankies lying around.
It's not just gross; it can also spread your cold. When you cough, sneeze or
blow your nose the secretions that end up in your hanky or tissue are teeming
with the virus that's making you sick. These viruses can survive for some time
once they leave your body, so when you leave a tissue for someone else to pick
up you're actually leaving a little virus bomb to go infect someone else's
hands. So throw away any used tissues and wash your hands straight away – so
you don't spread the germs around. And if you prefer hankies take care not to
leave them lying around and be sure to wash them regularly.
Avoid smoking
There are loads of reasons to avoid smoking. And
here's another: smoking destroys tiny hairs that propel mucous from the lungs.
This tips the balance in favour of viruses and bacteria, predisposing smokers
to bronchial infections and colds.