How to Prevent and Treat a Winter Cold!

There are so many great things about autumn and winter, the gorgeous clothes you can wrap up in; the abundance of fun holidays like Halloween, bonfire night and Christmas; and the fact that hot chocolate can be consumed on a daily basis with absolutely no guilt. However there are drawbacks and one of the worst is the dreaded winter cold, by now I’m sure the vast majority of us have either suffered the symptoms, know someone who has or has had to sit through a lecture full of sniffing, sneezing and hacking coughs – you can almost see the germs floating in the air, it’s not a pretty scene. There are a few things you can do to stave off that pesky cold though, or at least hopefully lessen its effects if you do get caught out:

• Hand sanitizer/washing your hands regularly – it may sound obvious but keeping your hands clean is a great way to stop the spread of cold germs, this is especially important to do before touching your eyes, nose or mouth, as these are the main ways that it can get into your system.

• Reduce stress – a stressful lifestyle will impair your immune system so make sure you take some time to relax and keep those stress levels down.

• Keep warm – if you’re renting a house this year you may have already been faced with the dilemma of when to turn the heating on, but remember it is much healthier to be comfortable, you don’t want to need to wear gloves whilst typing out your next essay. Being cold takes up a lot of energy and leaves you feeling run down, so make sure you wrap up warm when leaving the house – keeping your nose warm is particularly important!

• Vitamins C and D – results are inconclusive on whether these vitamins will help you prevent a cold but many swear by them and it can’t hurt to keep your levels up anyway. Vitamin C is obtained from citrus fruits like oranges and our main source of vitamin D is sunlight (which can be difficult to get enough of during a British winter) or you can buy daily vitamin tablets that contain all your essentials from most pharmacies.

• Keep fit and healthy – general healthiness will improve your immune system so try to eat well and take regular exercise.

If these tips don’t work or if you are currently suffering with a cold, here are some things that should hopefully make you feel better, and speed up recovery time:

• Take it easy – there are few positives of having a cold but one of the nicer parts is that in order to feel better you should get plenty of rest. If possible take a day or two off doing anything too strenuous, and avoid the next couple of nights out as you’ll feel better and you’ll also be less likely to pass your cold onto others. 

• Drink plenty of fluids – you need to replace the fluids you’re losing and it is always important to remain hydrated.

• Steam inhalation – Steam inhalation involves sitting with your head over a bowl of hot water, place a towel over your head, close your eyes and breathe deeply and it should help to ease your congestion. Adding menthol, eucalyptus, camphor, thymol or pine oil to the water may help to clear the passageways in your nose.

• Pharmacy treatments – there are various things you can buy from your local pharmacy or supermarket that might help you feel better when suffering with a cold such as vapour rubs, nasal drops and painkillers like paracetamol, ibuprofen and aspirin, but make sure to follow the instructions carefully.
Unfortunately colds are just another inevitable part of the changing seasons, but if you follow this advice hopefully you can lessen the annoyance it causes in your life and get back to normal as soon as possible. So eat well, wrap up warm and if you do get a cold don’t be afraid to take it easy and stay in bed with a nice warm drink!

Image credits: nhs.uk, grabbits.nl