What can I do to prevent colds?

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Josie	1. Wash your hands! Often! 2. Disinfect your phone..keyboard.. doorknobs! 3.Take Goldenseal/echinachea at the 1st sign of a cold. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mr Fawlty	These 10 tips for defeating a cold should really come as no surprise, and yet few people follow them. They certainly work for me to limit the frequency and severity of colds. 1) Wash your hands often. Think about how you might have gotten the cold in the first place. It’s possible that it is airborne and someone coughed near you, which is hard to avoid. But what if you got it from that door handle that you just touched? 2) Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. If you blow your nose, wash your hands before touching your mouth or eyes. If you cough, wash your hands before touching your eyes or nose. If you need to rub your eyes (itchy eyes) try to wash your hands first. The key here is that you CAN give a cold back to yourself. 3) It’s okay to blow your nose. It is your body’s way of cleaning debris and foreign objects (viruses and/or its byproducts) out of your system. 4) Take Vitamins. It is always good to take vitamins, but especially when you are sick. Whatever vitamins you take, remember to also take Vitamin C as it helps strengthen your immune system. It is good before a cold to help buffer against getting a cold, and during a cold to help boost your immune’s power against the virus. 5) Limit contact with people who are sick. If you don’t want a cold you probably don’t want to intentionally expose yourself to people who have a cold. IF you must, wash your hands afterwards if you touched them (shaking hands) and it wouldn’t hurt to make sure you take your vitamins that day. 6) Eat healthy, energizing food. Your body always needs fuel but when you’re sick a lot of your bodies energy is devoted to your immune system. Eating regularly (perhaps a little more than you would normally) can give you the energy your body needs. If you are an active person, just remember it is crucial to replace the energy used during this time. 7) The myth about rest. Too much sleep does you no good and only harm. Rest is important (don’t try to live on 4 hours sleep each night and expect to get better fast) but keeping as close to your normal routine as possible is very effective. You may skip the gym and avoid people at work but do something else other than sleep. Your cold won’t go away just because you are unconscious and if you are laying there with a handful of old Kleenex rubbing your eyes, coughing and scratching your eyes you are making the situation worse. 8) DRINK WATER! Your body naturally needs 8 glasses a day. When you are sick treat this as a BARE minimum that you must drink, preferably more. The human body is what 98% water? We need water to function efficiently. An efficient body can fight off disease better. 9) Stay warm and dry. If you get cold and wet in the rain or swimming dry off promptly. The combination of cold and wet can use energy (while your body tries to warm itself) and this energy may have been all that was keeping that cold virus from defeating your immune system. You stay cold/wet and BLAM, cold or BOOM worse cold. 10) This final one is more for comfort during a cold. If you have a fever it has helped me to drink cold water or put a cold slightly moist cloth on my head to cool me down. All being hot ever does is make me FEEL sick. Staying cool and comfortable helps to sleep better and/or enjoy my activities more. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

supergran	Do`nt meet a single living soul. Just keep on eating vitamin C. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Vincent M	you seriously need a bit more meat. colds are mainly caused by the physical status of your body. too much healthiness, and cold is on your way. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Dee Cee	Wear a mask in public. Keep it on in crowds. Colds are given by viruses passed in the air. There is nothing you can take to avoid catching them. Try not to vary your body temperature too much, i.e. keep warm etc after swimming as that can nake you susceptible. I guess you work in an office? or at least were air is recirculated? That's were you are picking the colds up. aiiicthoooooo... scuse me!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

bluberry	probably more on the weather.... try having an immunization... flu vaccine. it will help a lot. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

novembr	Simply wash your hands more often. Thats it. Can u believe theres such a simple solution to your tri-yearly problem ! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

wanna know	I have found that taking Vitamin C every day 500 mgs through out the year will help prevent colds,be sure and take it after you eat . also if you have a cold take 1000mg per day. nd that will help you get over it faster. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

missBambi	Eat raw onions...its supposed to work but you wouldnt be very popular. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

ptruelove01	Apparently, you have a high susceptibility to getting these upper respiratory things. Drinking alcoholic beverages slows down and, even eliminates, the storage of antibiotics in your system (natural and prescription). You may have developed a resistance to the antibiotic by having to take them so often. You should always make sure your nasal passageways are clear by simply blowing your nose. Use a saline (salt water) nasal spray every day. It's natural so you won't become addicted to it. You should wash your hands frequently. If you work in retail or another job and are handling money frequently, you are acquiring the germs on each dollar bill that you touch and, you should use a hand sanitizer often. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

BubbleGum	wrap your self in bubblewrap or a giant bubble ball and never come out EVER and take deinfectent spray with yah x Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Ollie	Hi,I am the same have tried everything & still get every thing going. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

ginnyann88	The best way to help prevent most illness is to wash your hands with soap and warm water. If you can't do that, a hand sanitizer will work also. One other thing is to keep your hands from getting too chapped use a good hand lotion. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

sineque	Try using an aromateherapy oil burner in your home, using a few drops of Lavender and / or Peppermint which is good for combating colds and general congestion. Cut down of milk and wheat products if required as these promote build up of excess mucuss in the membranes Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Ano N	know what u talkin about. i get sick around 3-4 times a year, its especially bad in the winter. almost everytime it comes down to two reasons: 1. went clubbing, had a lot to drink and going out into the cold being sweaty and all 2. infected by someone else. u cant really avoid all that coughing at college in a socially compatible way. this and paired with lack of sleep and im almost sure to get sick what u can do? dress up warmly!! 50% of ur body warmth is lost over the head. use a hat even in mild regions, add a scarf if its really cold. dont drink too much smoke too much. try to avoid sick ppl. WASH UR HANDS. I cannot stress this enough. hands are several times more infectious than lets say the nose mouth or breath of someone else (ppl use their hands to block their sneezing, millions of virii or bacteria stick there and infect everything thats being touched). again, hands are the no. 1 source of infection. pay special regard on all this when u didnt sleep well! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Harry Callaghan	You need to keep your nose warm. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Hammer&Drill	Eating plenty of onions and or Garlic is good to help your resistance, I hardly ever get colds. also get plenty of vitamin C, either naturally oranges and lemons vegetables etc, or tablets. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

crashtheblues	There are no known cures for colds and flu, so Cold And Flu prevention should be your goal. A proactive approach to warding off colds and flu is apt to make your whole life healthier. The most effective way for preventing the flu is to get the flu shot. It may not be natural, but it works better than anything else. But there are other strategies you can employ as well. #1 Wash Your Hands Most Cold And Flu viruses are spread by direct contact. Someone who has the flu sneezes onto their hand, and then touches the telephone, the keyboard, a kitchen glass. The germs can live for hours -- in some cases weeks -- only to be picked up by the next person who touches the same object. So wash your hands often. If no sink is available, rub your hands together very hard for a minute or so. That also helps break up most of the cold germs. Or rub an alcohol-based hand sanitizer onto your hands. #2 Don't Cover Your Sneezes and Coughs With Your Hands Because germs and viruses cling to your bare hands, muffling coughs and sneezes with your hands results in passing along your germs to others. When you feel a sneeze or cough coming, use a tissue, then throw it away immediately. If you don't have a tissue, turn your head away from people near you and cough into the air. #3 Don't Touch Your Face Cold And Flu viruses enter your body through the eyes, nose, or mouth. Touching their faces is the major way children catch colds, and a key way they pass colds on to their parents. #4 Drink Plenty of Fluids Water flushes your system, washing out the poisons as it rehydrates you. A typical, healthy adult needs eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids each day. How can you tell if you're getting enough liquid? If the color of your urine runs close to clear, you're getting enough. If it's deep yellow, you need more fluids. #5 Take a Sauna Researchers aren't clear about the exact role saunas play in prevention, but one 1989 German study found that people who steamed twice a week got half as many colds as those who didn't. One theory: When you take a sauna you inhale air hotter than 80 degrees, a temperature too hot for Cold And Flu viruses to survive. #6 Get Fresh Air A regular dose of fresh air is important, especially in cold weather when central heating dries you out and makes your body more vulnerable to Cold And Flu viruses. Also, during cold weather more people stay indoors, which means more germs are circulating in crowded, dry rooms. #7 Do Aerobic Exercise Regularly Aerobic exercise speeds up the heart to pump larger quantities of blood; makes you breathe faster to help transfer oxygen from your lungs to your blood; and makes you sweat once your body heats up. These exercises help increase the body's natural virus-killing cells. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No