Tips for Winter Season
How to Avoid Catching a Cold This Winter
To avoid the winter bugs you should get vaccinated against flu, limit exposure to infected people & keep yourself warm. Other main tips are as follow;
Perform Exercise & Stay active
When it's cold outside you might be tempted to spend the winter months curled up inside, huddled on a couch, reading a good book. But getting off the couch and doing some exercise will help you keep those sniffles at bay.
Research has shown that exercise is another way to boost your immune system, one study found that people who exercised were less likely to develop a cold and if they did, then it was less severe.
Take fruit and vegetables over supplements
Maintaining a healthy diet, which includes plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, is also believed to help improve your immune system. In fact, it's more likely to do so than topping up on supplements such as vitamin c, zinc or Echinacea.
Most of the research into supplements generally suggests that they don't work, and the money you save on supplements you can spend on fresh fruit and vegetables.
Wash your hands often
Short of living alone in a sealed room, it's impossible to avoid the 200 or so viruses that cause colds. These bugs are everywhere from door knobs to other people's hands, to money and shopping trolleys. In fact, you'll find these bugs anywhere that's been contaminated by someone who has a cold; when they've coughed, sneezed or touched a surface. But you won't get a cold if you simply get the virus on your hands. The particles need to make their way into your nose.
Washing your hands regularly gets rid of these germs before they can cause you any harm. Keeping your hands away from your face – especially your eyes and nose – also helps.
Get plenty of rest & Sleep
Most of us know that getting good sleep is essential for good health. This is especially the case when it comes to keeping your immune system in good shape. It's your immune system that helps you to fight off common infections, such as colds. A large body of research has shown that poor sleep and insomnia can affect your immune system and contribute to a wide range of health conditions, including the common cold.
It's not clear exactly how much sleep you need to keep your immune system in good shape. Also the amount of sleep you need varies from person to person, which is why some people are able to function reasonably well on very little sleep. But making sure you get plenty of rest can help you want to maintain a strong immune system, which will help you fight winter bugs.
Throw away used tissues
Don't leave dirty tissues or hankies lying around. It's not just gross; it can also spread your cold. When you cough, sneeze or blow your nose the secretions that end up in your hanky or tissue are teeming with the virus that's making you sick. These viruses can survive for some time once they leave your body, so when you leave a tissue for someone else to pick up you're actually leaving a little virus bomb to go infect someone else's hands. So throw away any used tissues and wash your hands straight away – so you don't spread the germs around. And if you prefer hankies take care not to leave them lying around and be sure to wash them regularly.
Avoid smoking
There are loads of reasons to avoid smoking. And here's another: smoking destroys tiny hairs that propel mucous from the lungs. This tips the balance in favour of viruses and bacteria, predisposing smokers to bronchial infections and colds.
