Sunday, July 12, 2009

Best Ways to Cure a Cold

With me being sick the past two weeks I've decided to search the web to see if there is something I can do to help speed up the recovery and get better. Not being able to train for almost two weeks is driving me crazy.

I've been back at the doctor on Friday and are now on my third set of antibiotics. Must say Saturday morning was the first morning that I could feel an improvement in the last two weeks. Although I am far from healthy again I feel much better. The only problem now with all the antibiotics is I now have an upset stomach.

Searching the web is helpful but you find too many things and which statements can I believe? As someone once said, "The best advice he ever got was not to use advice from everybody"

I came across the following post and must say I am doing almost all ten of the below. It's only NR 5 that I used to do but stopped with it about two weeks before I got sick as time did not allow. Well guess where I'm off too, the gym and into the steam bath.

"Best way to cure a cold
There are no cures for the flu or the common cold virus, so treating these nuisances to our health is all about prevention and symptom relief. Setting habits in place and using simple regular preventative measures is the best way to a healthier life.

Top 10 Ways to Avoid a Cold

1.Hand Washing

Colds and the flu are spread from both airborne droplets as well as direct contact. Telephones, keyboards, drinking glasses all serve as vehicles for transmission for germs from an infected person.
The germs can live for hours or even weeks on an object.
So, washing your hands often will diminish the possibility of the germs making their way into your own system. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if no sink is available.

2.Don't Cover Your Sneezes and Coughs With Your Hands

Sure this is what we were all taught. But in reality, germs and viruses love our hands and of course, we can imagine how easy it is to pass the germs on directly from our hands.
When you feel a sneeze or cough coming, use a tissue or some other disposable germ catching object. At the very least, turn your head away from the people near you and cough into the open 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 cleanses and flushes toxins out of your system. Typically, an adult needs 9 ounces of fluids each day. Make sure you're drinking enough liquid that your urine is close to clear. Deep yellow is a sign of dehydration, and a guarantee that toxins are gaining a foothold in your system.

5.Sauna or Steam bath

While not confirmed that steam treatment can prevent the onset of a cold, in 1989 a study found that people who steamed twice a week got half as many colds as the control group who did not. The theory is that when you are in a sauna, you breath air which is hotter than 80 degrees: too hot for viruses to survive.

6.Exercise Regularly

Aerobic exercise speeds up the metabolism and pulmonary system (heart) making you breathe faster and sweat. This exercise helps increase the body's natural virus-killing immune system.

7.Eat Foods which have Phytochemicals

"Phyto" means plants, and the natural chemicals in plants give the vitamins in food a supercharged boost. So put away the vitamin pill, and eat dark green, red, and yellow vegetables and fruits.

8.Yogurt!

Some studies have shown that eating a cup of low-fat yogurt each day can reduce your chances of getting a cold or flu by 25%. It is believed the bacteria in yogurt my give a boost to the immune system.

9.Don't Smoke

Statistics show that heavy smokers get more severe colds and more frequent ones.
Smoke from cigarettes numbs and dries out the hair in the nose and ears that are there to protect us from viruses that cause cold and flu.

10.Don't Drink Alcohol

Alcohol suppresses the immune system in a variety of ways. Heavier drinkers are more prone to initial infections as well as secondary complications. Alcohol also dehydrates the body -- it actually takes more fluids from your system than it puts in"

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