Preventing a cold (while travelling)

[Ksandra]

Anyone here travel a lot and have any suggestions about preventing a cold? I went home (to CT) for thanksgiving and had all these plans to do with my mom, but sure enough second day there I got sick and basically my vacation was wasted and I'm still trying to recover. It seems to happen a lot, I can only assume that airplane + going from sunny cali weather to New England weather = doom, and this is maybe the 3rd or 4th time it's happened.


I'm only back to Cali for like 3 weeks then I'm flying back home for the week of Christmas, and I really want to do whatever I can to try and not get sick this time, so at least we can do the plans we were going to do during Thanksgiving. (added to that I"m going to a friend's wedding)

I was thinking of drinking as much orange juice as possible till then, also I hear that Airborne stuff works well though I've never tried it before. Any other tricks you guys know that might help me from getting sick this time around?

[Correction]

Carry hand disinfectant. Wash your hands every time you arrive somewhere new. Most of the time you get a cold because you've touched a surface like a cab door, airplane seat, etc. that's had a million other hands on it between cleanings.

Also get more sleep than you normally do.

[Xanthe]

Carry hand disinfectant. Wash your hands every time you arrive somewhere new. Most of the time you get a cold because you've touched a surface like a cab door, airplane seat, etc. that's had a million other hands on it between cleanings.

Also get more sleep than you normally do.

This. I rarely get sick EVER partially because I'm pretty anal about getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Staying rested, combined with practicing good hygiene will go a long way in keeping you healthy.

[0ni0n]

I would suggest flu shots but they aren't for everyone. I think some over-the-counter flu fighting medication will also do the job, taking them at the first sign of flu will greatly reduce it severity. Keeping a distance from anyone seemingly flu ridden will also minimize the probability of contracting the disease.

[Ksandra]

I forgot about the hand sanitizers, I heard once though if you use them too much they can actually make it easier for you to get sick, any truth to that?

[Correction]

Don't substitute the hand sanitizer for actually washing your hands and you'll be fine. The sanitizer is for when you're a long distance between sinks. Like on a plane.

[Kerberoz]

I forgot about the hand sanitizers, I heard once though if you use them too much they can actually make it easier for you to get sick, any truth to that?

Over the long term if you're obsessive-compulsive about washing, maybe. Mostly a myth, though.

[bebeci]

Crank the vitamin C.
And if you want, pop a few cold FX pills?

[Tristam]

Wash your hands alot, NEVER RUB YOUR EYES if you've got allergies or whatever. Plenty of sleep, generic vitamin supplements never hurt, no need to go crazy with any particular vitamin though.

[Shade]

I forgot about the hand sanitizers, I heard once though if you use them too much they can actually make it easier for you to get sick, any truth to that?

It's sort of a general thing that if you're never exposed to anything your body will never know how to fight anything off. And also, if you're going around killing "99.9% of all germs!" with those sanitizers all the time, you're basically wiping out all the bacteria in an environment except for those .1% strongest -of-all-germs. With all their other germ buddies dead they no longer have competition for food sources, and they get to multiply more than they normally would. This means that you're encouraging the success of germs that have a better chance of getting past your immune system.

But as mentioned, so long as you're not OCD about it you should be fine. Eat well (fruits/veggies), wash your hands, get your sleep, don't touch your face with your hands while you're out, and you should be fine.

[Arnwulf]

Even though Airborne isn't "endorsed" as an effective cold remedy / preventative, I've still found it very valuable to me. Whenever we have a cold going around the office, I usually take one a day for a few days and MOST of the time I get away with either not getting sick at all, or very minimally.

Lots of Vitamin C and water are also very good. And rest, as others have stated, never underestimate the power of drinking lots of water + a good night of sleep.

[Vuitton]

Over use of antibacterial products is very bad. Whoever said its a myth is wrong. Why do you think hospitals are huge breeding grounds for deadly viruses and shit? Its because they're so insanely clean that the only things that survived were the strongest of the strong. Thousands of people die each year in the hospital from things they caught IN the hospital while being treating for something else. This is why you're not supposed to go there for stupid shit like a cold because you're gonna risk catching a staph infection or MERSA or some shit.

This is also why doctors don't throw around antibiotic pills at every little thing (and when they do they'll over prescribe it and make you take it all just to be sure everything is killed.) Over exposure breeds immunity and then they stop being effective.

[Jefe]

Vitamins/w/e that minimizes your chances of acquiring it, avoid exposure, and use common sense.

[Kerberoz]

Airborne is just a multivitamin, lol

[Katlan]

I would suggest flu shots but they aren't for everyone.

Flu shots are usually amazing, but it's always a calculated/scientific guessing game at what strains are gonna go around in the next "X" months. You never get the same "cold/flu (or w/e you want to call it)" twice in your life ("infections" do not apply) because once your body recovers it develps immunity/antibodies to w/e it is you had. But people constantly get sick and exhibit the same [previous] symptoms due to there being near limitless variations/strains of diseases. And again, infections are entirely different and unless you get antibiotics your body may never recover.

And yeah... the flu shot really missed the mark this year, sucks... I reccomend just drinking a "lot" of fluids if your starting to feel sick... make yourself need to pee every 20-30 minutes from drinking so much (lol). By consistently flushing your system you help your immune system deal w/the flu more effectively. No joke, everytime I start to feel a little sick (be it sore throat, cough, ect...) I drink tons of water all day long and about 80% of the time I don't get worse and am over it in a day or two

[Tristam]

I forgot about the hand sanitizers, I heard once though if you use them too much they can actually make it easier for you to get sick, any truth to that?

This is a myth, the active ingredient insofar as (liquid) hand sanitizers are concerned is alcohol. Bacteria will never develop resistance to alcohol. Triclosan in soap is another matter, but pretty much everything in your bathroom has some triclosan in it and most research suggests that triclosan isn't responsible for the outbreaks of antibiotic resistances in hospitals.

[Tristam]

Flu shots are usually amazing, but it's always a calculated/scientific guessing game at what strains are gonna go around in the next "X" months. You never get the same "cold/flu (or w/e you want to call it)" twice in your life ("infections" do not apply) because once your body recovers it develps immunity/antibodies to w/e it is you had. But people constantly get sick and exhibit the same [previous] symptoms due to there being near limitless variations/strains of diseases. And again, infections are entirely different and unless you get antibiotics your body may never recover.

And yeah... the flu shot really missed the mark this year, sucks... I reccomend just drinking a "lot" of fluids if your starting to feel sick... make yourself need to pee every 20-30 minutes from drinking so much (lol). By consistently flushing your system you help your immune system deal w/the flu more effectively. No joke, everytime I start to feel a little sick (be it sore throat, cough, ect...) I drink tons of water all day long and about 80% of the time I don't get worse and am over it in a day or two

Yeah getting enough water is a really big thing that most people don't even consider as a preventative measure, drink until your pee is almost clear.

[Epical]

Carry hand disinfectant. Wash your hands every time you arrive somewhere new. Most of the time you get a cold because you've touched a surface like a cab door, airplane seat, etc. that's had a million other hands on it between cleanings.

Also get more sleep than you normally do.

Yeah, this. Over the last year and a half I've been REALLY conscious about hand cleanliness and I've only been sick for a few days throughout that entire time. I have a little Purell bottle of hand sanitizer in arms distance whenever I'm not in my own space that I know is clean, and I wash my hands probably 5-10 times a day. I'm not OCD or anything because I don't mind touching things and other people, I just make sure to get that shit off me ASAP, and you should too!

Also, keep your hands away from your face and food.

[Osede]

Yeah getting enough water is a really big thing that most people don't even consider as a preventative measure, drink until your pee is almost clear.

We will need to clarify that the water is plain water, but not those beer and soft drink lol

[Correction]

This is why you're not supposed to go there for stupid shit like a cold because you're gonna risk catching a staph infection or MERSA or some shit.

psst, MRSA is a staph infection.

Don't give medical advice unless you've done a modicum of homework.