Catching a cold puts you into a cozy group of people where it is estimated that more than one billion colds are freely exchanged each year.
On average an adult will catch between two to four colds a year and children will have three times that many.
Curing the common cold would mean less sick days at work and school but even today in this advanced age of medicine there is still very little your doctor can offer to help.
How Did You Catch the Cold?
A cold is a virus spread by touching a surface that is contaminated with the virus. The object may have been touched by someone who already has a cold and had their snot or saliva on their hand when they did so. Perhaps they just sneezed and caught it with their hand or blew their nose.
Regardless, the pen you picked up, the elevator button you just pushed, even the coffee cup at the coffee shop could be infected with the cold virus.
The virus can live on inanimate object for several hours.
Just coming into contact with a cold virus does not guarantee you will catch it though. The other side of this cure is your own immune system.
Things that can weaken your immune system making your more susceptible are your diet and lifestyle. If you eat too many sugars, don’t get enough vitamin D, stressed out, and/or don’t’ get enough sleep, you could be setting yourself up to get sick more often than someone in better health.
Vitamin D Deficiency
Both the cold and flu can be a symptom that you are not getting enough vitamin D which is a huge provider of antimicrobial peptides that are responsible for killing bacterias, fungi, and viruses – including the cold and influenza viruses.
It is true that the preferred and best source of vitamin D is the UVB from natural sunlight, the winter months make this difficult for most people in the northern hemisphere.
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How to make your cold go away
Colds typically last anywhere from a week to three weeks depending on the strength of the virus and your state of health when you contracted the virus.
Over the counter medications may help you with symptoms but don’t promote your immune response system. There is actually a study that shows taking common pain relief medications can actually reduce your body’s ability to fight the cold virus because they have been shown to retard your body’s natural production of antibodies.
Remove simple sugars, food additives and chemicals, as well as processed foods from your diet when you feel yourself getting sick. Feel free to remove these from your diet forever. Broccoli is higher in vitamin C than Orange juice and broccoli does not metabolize into sugar like the fruit.
Sugar has been shown to suppress your immune system.
Eat well, drink lots of fluids, and get lots of rest.
Always call your medical adviser if you feel you need to.
How to avoid the common cold virus
The simplest way is to never touch your face. At least not until you have thoroughly washed your hands. It is by touching infected objects and then feeding the virus into your system through your mouth, nose or eyes that puts you in direct contact with other peoples colds.
Try to stay away from enclosed spaces. Sick people will be taking the elevator – making it a good time to adopt a stair climbing regime to get to your office.
Pay it forward
So often when a person gets sick they do nothing to help avoid spreading the virus. Do others the favour and stay home from work while you are contagious. Keep your kids home when they get sick. Sneeze into your elbow, and don’t touch things with snotty hands.
Stay off the bus and other crowded areas. If you need something at the pharmacy or grocery store, send a friend, a personal shopper, or get delivery.
Enjoy being sick
Having a cold can make you feel miserable but you can use this time to pamper yourself. Call in sick, turn on the tube or pick up a book if you can focus on reading. Enjoy a couple of days home, alone, in the peace and quiet. You are sick after all.
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