Firstly a disclaimer: I am not a 'knower' of things. But sometimes I think I know “facts”. That’s very much what this column is about. I hope you enjoy and find something to consider here. At the same time I implore you to check what I’m writing. In fact, it’s a good idea to fact check anything you read. In my experience people can be full of hot air and ego and like to act like they know things because it makes them seem smarter than you.
Case in point…
So, as of Friday 21st December we are officially over the hump as the Earth pivots back towards the Sun and our mornings become less like waking up in the middle of rural Bulgaria where the bears roam freely and the people cluster themselves into log cabins feverishly drinking fermented potato drink to cope with the bleak, bleak winter (as is my understanding).
Whilst Spring is officially on its way, temperatures remain low and sun light is in short supply. UV rays kill colds. This means air born viruses are having a party at our expense.
So it’s not 100% accurate to say you get a cold when it’s cold. You’d be better saying you get a cold when there’s no sunshine.
The question is then how can you go upside the head of the tenacious lurgy monster trying to bung up your nose and clog up your head?
- Get the flu jab. Why not? It will improve your chances of not getting the flu.. but that’s all it will do. Contrary to what some believe you can still catch colds and other types of flu other than the strain you have been immunised against.
- Wash your hands. I mean, that’s just good advice and if you didn’t know that then shame on you. I actually have no idea if this helps you to not get ill but it can’t hurt, right? Certainly it will help you stop spreading the illness.
- Sneeze into a tissue and throw that thing away. Are you not doing this already? Gross. Do you use a hanky? We might even have to re-appraise our friendship then chum.
- Eat cashews. Cashews are high in zinc. Zinc boosts your immune system. Officially.
- Drink fluids. This is where the idea of chicken soup helping your cold probably comes in. One of the best things you can do is flush your illness out.
- Oranges. Interestingly vitamin c has no known effect on your immune system. You might get a placebo effect from drinking orange juice when you’re poorly though so go for it.
- Avoid taking antibiotics. Antibiotics cannot kill viruses because bacteria and viruses have different mechanisms and machinery to survive and replicate. The antibiotic has no “target” to attack in a virus. Taking antibiotics do nothing except strengthen biological organisms resistance to antibiotics (that is bad). Chances are if you’ve felt that antibiotics helped you get over a cold previously you are already on the other side of beating it on your own or it was a placebo effect. If your doctor offer then to you I suggest a “thank you, no”.
- Relieve a blocked nose with decongestant sprays or tablets.
- Ease aches or lower a temperature with painkillers like paracetamol or ibuprofen
So, there it is: some things that I wrote. Perhaps it was fun to read? Perhaps some of it was even accurate and informative. One can only hope.
Next month I plan to talk about breathing. Until then you can practice yours in preparation.
Be good.
