Cold and flu season will soon be in full swing. Already there have been several people that I have talked with that have dealt with a case of the cold or flu. As a chiropractor in Colorado Springs, I am often asked “What do you do for a cold or flu?” and my response usually surprises most people. Today I will share with you a few simple things to help prevent a cold or flu and a little of the why behind it.
First off, there are hundreds of different viruses and bacteria that can cause cold- or flu-like symptoms. The symptom pattern of a cold or flu is not limited to one or a few ‘germs.’ This actually is one big reason I do not recommend getting a flu shot, because it very well may not protect you from getting the ‘flu.’ You see, each year the makers of flu shots are guessing what the most active strains of flu will be, but they really don’t know. Under ideal conditions (perfect match of virus and vaccine) it takes 33 healthy adults to be vaccinated to prevent one case of flu-like symptoms. Under average conditions it takes 100 healthy adults to get vaccinated to prevent one case of flu-like symptoms.1 Not exactly the wonderful results you are led to believe. Also the research does not show any reduction in complications like pneumonia or transmission of the disease.1 Personally, I will just stick with natural approaches to help keep the body and immune system healthy.
One more thing before we get into some common-sense things you can do to prevent and fight colds and flus. If most cold- and flu-like symptoms are caused by viruses, then antibiotics are useless. So please don’t insist on an antibiotic for something that is likely viral in nature. It just leads to overuse of antibiotics. And as far as medications for colds and flus go, they really just mask the symptoms. Reduced symptoms can be nice, but if symptoms are the body’s way of handling the invader, what does suppressing the symptoms do? If a fever boosts the activity of the immune system, what would happen when you suppress a fever? If a cough or sneeze is to clear out your airways and try and ‘flush out’ the virus, what happens when you take a cough suppressant? In many cases you will likely prolong the disease.
Okay so what can you do to prevent a cold or flu? Well the short answer is to keep your immune system functioning at its best. Many of the things I will share with you are probably not very surprising. So let’s get into it.
1. Wash Your Hands
Yes, helping to prevent a cold or a flu can be as easy as washing your hands. Now you don’t need to be extreme about sanitation and disinfect everything, but the simple act of washing your hands with regular soap (not antibacterial) decreases your chance of ‘catching’ a cold or flu. Now the reason being is that you are less likely to introduce a virus into your body with washing your hands after possibly coming in contact with the virus. Now this does not strengthen your immune system, but it does cut down on the load of viruses and bacteria that it needs to respond to. So it will not get overwhelmed by those viruses that it does have to respond to.
2. Reduce Stress
I believe stress plays a huge role in how sick we are as a country. Constant stress leads to a weakened immune system, which leaves you more susceptible to a cold or flu. Finding ways to reduce stress is great for your health overall and really is a topic of its own. Following are a few things you can do to help reduce stress.
- Stop worrying about things you cannot control
- Take a little time to plan and schedule your day
- Talk to someone about your stress
- Use relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, meditation, etc.
- Exercise
3. Eat Healthy
This probably does not come as a surprise either. If you are eating poorly, your body does not have what it needs to fight off an infection. So eating a healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits and limits highly processed foods will help give you the needed nutrients to keep your immune system healthy. Part of a healthy diet also includes adequate water which helps to flush out invaders and speeds the rate at which the immune system can respond to an invader.
A quick side note is that there are some that believe the cold/flu season is during the winter because of decreased levels of vitamin D from decreased sun exposure during that time. It makes some sense that this could be a contributing factor, since vitamin D does have many roles including how the immune system functions.
Conclusion
While there are many other things that can help prevent a cold or flu and strengthen your immune system this will get you started. If you do have any questions about health feel free to stop by or give us a call.
References
1. Jefferson T, Di Pietrantonj C, Rivetti A, Bawazeer GA, Al-Ansary LA, Ferroni E. Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD001269.
