Catching the flu in winter
I'm wondering if there is anyone out there who regularly catches colds during the winter. Sometimes I get two colds, one after the other. I'm not really sure why I am so prone to them.
One problem I think is that I don't dress warm enough, basically wearing summer clothes, throughout the day. But my reason for doing this and for not wearing thick pyjamas is because I cannot take the texture of thick heavy clothes, I feel really uncomfortable in them.
Anyone have any advise for me, especially in trying to avoid the flu.
This is common for EVERYONE, as the flu virus, among other viruses love the cold/dry weather. This is why people get yearly flu shots before winter, to try to avoid it.
My advice to try to avoid geting sick would be to try to stop the spreading. Wash hands more often, you wouldnt believe the number of people who
wipe there nose with there hand then open a door with it, spreading germs, or don't cover there mouth while coughing and sneezing. It really grosses me out, and this is a main way viruses are spread.
I used to, before I cut out gluten. My immune-system was essentially under chronic stress from gluten-intolerance.
Another thing I have found helps a lot is avoiding eating carbohydrate, ( bread, rice, potatoes, corn, etc ) and proteins, ( meat, fish, cheese, eggs, etc ), at the same meal. Leave 4 hours between them.
Eating enough fresh fruit and veg/salad is a good idea too.
And finally if/when you do catch a cold/flu cutting out dairy for the duration helps because it reduces the amount of catarrh/phlegm your body produces.
.
I would look to vitamin D more than C.
Epidemic influenza and vitamin D.
Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S, Garland CF, Giovannucci E.
In 1981, R. Edgar Hope-Simpson proposed that a 'seasonal stimulus' intimately associated with solar radiation explained the remarkable seasonality of epidemic influenza. Solar radiation triggers robust seasonal vitamin D production in the skin; vitamin D deficiency is common in the winter, and activated vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D, a steroid hormone, has profound effects on human immunity. 1,25(OH)2D acts as an immune system modulator, preventing excessive expression of inflammatory cytokines and increasing the 'oxidative burst' potential of macrophages. Perhaps most importantly, it dramatically stimulates the expression of potent anti-microbial peptides, which exist in neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer cells, and in epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract where they play a major role in protecting the lung from infection. Volunteers inoculated with live attenuated influenza virus are more likely to develop fever and serological evidence of an immune response in the winter. Vitamin D deficiency predisposes children to respiratory infections. Ultraviolet radiation (either from artificial sources or from sunlight) reduces the incidence of viral respiratory infections, as does cod liver oil (which contains vitamin D). An interventional study showed that vitamin D reduces the incidence of respiratory infections in children. We conclude that vitamin D, or lack of it, may be Hope-Simpson's 'seasonal stimulus'.
PMID: 16959053
Be sure to wash your hands often and before you eat.
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I catch a flu twice or three times a year. The one before Christmas is the most severe.
My advise is not to get too close to those that are already sick. Wash hands before eating is a must. After coming back home, take a shower if you can, or at least wash your hands and face.
That's what I normally do.
EternitieNow
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Good advice about regular handwashing (people in general are filthy) and a Tamiflu prescription.
Also, it's good to be mindful when it comes to food, and I think it worth mentioning because a lot of what we think are "flu"s are in fact food poisoning.
--Any meat product is only good as leftovers for four days at the outside unless you freeze it
--It's best not to leave anything requiring refrigeration or freezing in the food temperature danger zone for longer than two hours (they say four's the max) and to keep it covered while it's sitting out. If you're at a barbecue and have picnic salads, keep 'em covered and in a cooler with ice as much as possible (and the same goes for the uncooked burgers, dogs and brats), and get what's left over back into the fridge ASAP
This really isn't a difficult practice and doesn't require one to drive oneself to distraction; a little bit of mindfulness goes a very long way, and proper food handling becomes a low-stress lifelong habit pretty quickly.
One other big thing: just as one never should touch the face with anything other than freshly washed hands (or rubber gloves) because it clogs pores, one also should avoid rubbing the eyes with unwashed hands --the mucosa in the corners are a quicky conduit for viruses and bacteria of all descriptions, and I got this bit of advice from a guy who works with dangerous pathogens for a government agency on a daily basis. So don't be digging into those eyes, folks!
I have a suggestion I think would solve most of your problems, but I know you're not going to like it and you probably won't do it.
Pick your nose and eat it. SRSLY, it's like a vaccine because all the nasty bugs get stuck in there and die. (Yum, right?) I've heard some doctors say it's the best thing you can do. And I do. And I hardly ever get sick. (And I never get it bad. Oh shi... just jinxed myself.)
Also, don't wash your hands too often for most of the year. Wash them if you think you've come into contact with the thing you don't want to catch, but otherwise, don't wash them too many times a day. Even (maybe especially) if you've been out in public. I keep hearing about how people in Japan have been using way too much hand sanitizer recently (apparently there have been a lot of dispensers put up in public places) and then they've all been getting sick in flu season. You have to give your immune system something to work with. Keep it up to date and on its toes!
I don't think dressing cool in winter is really a problem. Your body does burn more energy to keep you warm, but if you're well fed, it shouldn't be short on energy to burn.
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