Don’t Make These Mistakes
Here we go again: You woke up this morning, and that cold you felt coming on is now in full bloom. Your head hurts. Your throat feels sore, and you have a cough. With more than 200 different types of viruses responsible for the common cold, you’re likely to get sick a few times a year or more, according to the National Institutes of Health. As an adult, you’re likely to have two or three colds a year, and kids catch eight or more colds a year on average. If you treat it properly, your cold is likely to last a week or two. But if you don’t, it could lag on longer. Here are some common mistakes that prolong cold and flu misery.
Spreading Your Germs Around
It usually takes two to three days from the time you’re exposed to the cold virus before you actually start to feel sick, but it could take as long as a week. You may feel fine, but you could also have a cold brewing. That’s why it’s so important to make a conscious effort to contain your germs once you feel sick. To keep a potentially contagious cold from spreading, always cover your mouth and nose when you cough and sneeze, and wash your hands often. Otherwise, your cold can spread around the house or office and boomerang back to you, leaving you feeling like you can’t recover. You won’t believe how quickly germs spread. A study found that contamination of a single doorknob can lead to the spread of viruses throughout an office building or hotel in as little as two hours.
Neglecting to Stay Well Hydrated
When you have a cold, you may not feel like eating or drinking. It’s important, though, to drink plenty of fluids. Grandma’s remedy, chicken soup, isn’t just folklore — it really helps! Your mucous membranes are better at trapping and disposing of the virus that has invaded your nasal cavities when they are moist. “By drinking fluids, you’re also flushing out the toxins and bad stuff that’s invading your body,” Dr. Taneja-Uppal said.
Lighting Up
Smoking will make your cold symptoms, especially your cough, worse. “When you smoke, you’re irritating and damaging your lungs,” Taneja-Uppal says. When you have a cold, your lungs are already irritated. So smoking while you have a common cold will only worsen that irritation. You should also stay away from others who smoke as well. Secondhand smoke can be as irritating as smoking itself when you have a cold, Taneja-Uppal said. Sources:www.everydayhealth.com
