How often do you get a cold?

Student2014

This year from what I remember I had a cold in end September/start October, again end November/start December.

And this week I have a very tame version of it, but still annoying. I also had it in February and April this year from what I remember, maybe I had it over the summer but I don`t remember that I did.

So thats five-ish, possible six times in a year

I could do with being more disciplined on the oul five portions of fruit and veg I suppose.

How often do you get a cold?

nice_guy80

never.
seriously

cowlove

It has been years since I've had the flu. I drink lemon in hot water every morning and I feel this helps.

Alf Veedersane

You're talking about a cold. Manflu is just a less embarrassing name for being a pussy about having a cold. It's viral so having a bit more fruit and veg is unlikely to have a massive difference. I'm open to correction on that but I'm pretty sure that's the case

Stench Blossoms

A lot of people think they have the flu when in fact they just have a cold.

If there was 50e on the ground and you're too fooked to pick it up, then you have a flu.

Oh you know I have the flu but I'm supposed to go out tonight so sure I might as well go out and have a few

...

endacl

I had the flu once. There's no such thing as 'a touch of the flu'. If you've had it, you know it! Nearly two weeks in bed. Couldn't move, couldn't eat. Could barely even think at one point. Lost 12 pounds.

In answer to the question though, I sometimes feel a bit less than 100%. I never get manflu though. Manflu is bull5hit in the same way as 'a touch of the flu' is.

Student2014

Ok guys let me rephrase my question to avoid any confusion between a cold and the flu :pac::

This year from what I remember I had a cold in end September/start October, again end November/start December.

And this week I have a very tame version of it, but still annoying. I also had it in February and April this year from what I remember, maybe I had it over the summer but I don`t remember that I did.

So thats five-ish, possible six times in a year

I could do with being more disciplined on the oul five portions of fruit and veg I suppose.

How often do you get a cold?

Stench Blossoms

Student2014 wrote: »

How often do you get a cold?

Didn't have one last year.

Student2014

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Didn't have one last year.

Nice

LuckyLloyd

Since training regularly, eating / sleeping better and supplementing Vit C I have barely had a sniffle.

My housemate rarely exercises, eats and sleeps poorly and has had a cough / cold it seems for weeks.

There are lots of myths around colds, at root you still have to be exposed to the virus one way or another. The difference is how robust your immune system is in terms of warding it off.

BrianD3

I haven't had a sick day from work in over 12 years and while I do get colds they're not frequent and I barely notice them. I'd say I might get one a year.

I don't think it has much to do with fruit and veg intake.

When I was in school/college I was getting worse colds more frequently. Not surprising I suppose considering I'd be sitting in a lecture theatre with 100 people many of them coughing or smokers or who had been out the previous night.

Student2014

BrianD3 wrote: »

I haven't had a sick day from work in over 12 years and while I do get colds they're not frequent and I barely notice them. I'd say I might get one a year.

I don't think it has much to do with fruit and veg intake.

When I was in school/college I was getting worse colds more frequently. Not surprising I suppose considering I'd be sitting in a lecture theatre with 100 people many of them coughing or smokers or who had been out the previous night.

Yeah, I guess the environment your in could have a big impact. There was one period when I worked in a nice office building with free fruit available in the hall, I never caught a cold when I worked there.

Anybody around young kids a lot get colds more often?

newmug

I'm like you OP, its just a never-ending cycle of having a cold, beating it, getting another one etc.


Fruit and veg have nothing to do with it. That's bollox of the highest order. I eat enough F+V for 2 people every day and it makes no difference.


I think it has something to do with your whole sinus / respiratory / throat system, and the relationship between them. I produce a woeful amount of thick snot every day, my sinuses just seem to get irritated very easily. Its a family thing, all my fathers side have nasal-y problems. With a pint of snot running down the back of your throat every day, its bound to pick up more germs than your average person.


Then your throat gets infected. This leads to ear infections and puffy eyes.


Then at night, while unconscious and lying down, you cant just blow your nose or cough up phlegm, so it oozes into your lungs and just sits there. Then this gets infected. You wake up with your chest feeling like a slurry tank, and in the morning your coughing and spluttering sounds like a diesel locomotive trying to start.


Exercise helps by loosening the sh1te in your chest, but that's about it. By midday, you've coughed up about a cupful of green sludge, you've sucked down about the same from your head, and things are clear. The rest of the day will just involve nursing your sore ear, eating cold food to help your throat, and keeping the snot, albeit now clear snot, moving.


And so bed-time comes. The cycle will start all over again. This will go on for 6 weeks. Then you might have a reprieve of a month or so. Then another 6 week cold. Then another break. Life is not very pleasant. And all of this happens because the lining in your sinuses is too fussy. Sinussess, I am disappoint.




On a side note, I find onion-type products help make the snot more runny, and therefore easier to deal with. Anything oniony, garlic, scallions, shallots, and also eucalyptus.

siochain

not in at least 5+ years, pick up the odd stomach ailment but haven't had a cold in years.

touch wood probably hanging next week

Whenever I get stressed for too long, I get one

_Redzer_

The only things that make me sick are the occasional migraines, I never get colds or bugs. To the best of my memory I've also never gotten the flu.

My diet is full of fruit and veg and as a kid we were a bit OD'd on garlic so that might explain a lot.

cletus van damme

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

A lot of people think they have the flu when in fact they just have a cold.

If there was 50e on the ground and you're too fooked to pick it up, then you have a flu.

based on that definition , I have never had the flu and I never will.

mitosis

Maybe one cold per year. But then I avoid touching other people as much as possible. Had the 'flu in 2011, first time in at least 20 years - that's a proper bitch of an illness.

I've been bravely battling man-flu for the past 3 days. I think I may just survive. Maybe.

Seriously, though, I get a cold once every 2-3 years. I've had the flu once when I was about 10.

dastardly00

I normally only get one cold per year, and it's always around Christmas/New Year's (I have it at the moment ).
Although in 2013 I had a couple of colds in August/September, and I put that down to my immune system being weaker than normal as I had just started a job, moved house, and was preparing for my driving test!!

username123

newmug wrote: »

I think it has something to do with your whole sinus / respiratory / throat system, and the relationship between them. I produce a woeful amount of thick snot every day, my sinuses just seem to get irritated very easily. Its a family thing, all my fathers side have nasal-y problems.

I suffer with my sinuses. Start rinsing them, it really helps.

Two years ago I finally quit smoking AND saw a good ENT who operated on my nasal polyps and got me on a routine of sinus rinses and nasal spray. Since then I haven't had a cold. I used to get colds that would hang around for 6 weeks, produce buckets of mucous, it'd get into my ears, my chest, I'd be wrecked. Now a cold hasn't a chance of taking hold with my lovely clear sinus cavities being rinsed daily. And I'm sleeping better than I have in ten years.

metamorphosis

I think maybe once in the last 2 years, could carry on as normal though, no biggie.

newmug

username123 wrote: »

I suffer with my sinuses. Start rinsing them, it really helps.

Two years ago I finally quit smoking AND saw a good ENT who operated on my nasal polyps and got me on a routine of sinus rinses and nasal spray. Since then I haven't had a cold. I used to get colds that would hang around for 6 weeks, produce buckets of mucous, it'd get into my ears, my chest, I'd be wrecked. Now a cold hasn't a chance of taking hold with my lovely clear sinus cavities being rinsed daily. And I'm sleeping better than I have in ten years.

How do you rinse them? This sounds like the answer to my prayers, tell me more!

username123

newmug wrote: »

How do you rinse them? This sounds like the answer to my prayers, tell me more!

Google Neilmed Sinus Rinse, you get it in normal chemists, it's just little salt sachets and a squeeze bottle. You put warm water in the bottle, add a sachet, squeeze up each nostril, sinus clearing heaven. Takes a while to get used to doing it and the effects are cumulative so if you do it once a day you will really notice the difference after a couple of weeks (although there is immediate relief).

Just so as not to go off topic, sinus rinsing really helps if you have a cold.

Student2014

username123 wrote: »

Just so as not to go off topic, sinus rinsing really helps if you have a cold.

Just bought some of this Neilmed sinus rinse stuff, sick of waking up in the morning this last few days not able to talk cause i`m all blocked up.

Would you take it the night before or just when you get up or both?

SteelyDanJalapeno

newmug wrote: »

I'm like you OP, its just a never-ending cycle of having a cold, beating it, getting another one etc.


Fruit and veg have nothing to do with it. That's bollox of the highest order. I eat enough F+V for 2 people every day and it makes no difference.


I think it has something to do with your whole sinus / respiratory / throat system, and the relationship between them. I produce a woeful amount of thick snot every day, my sinuses just seem to get irritated very easily. Its a family thing, all my fathers side have nasal-y problems. With a pint of snot running down the back of your throat every day, its bound to pick up more germs than your average person.


Then your throat gets infected. This leads to ear infections and puffy eyes.


Then at night, while unconscious and lying down, you cant just blow your nose or cough up phlegm, so it oozes into your lungs and just sits there. Then this gets infected. You wake up with your chest feeling like a slurry tank, and in the morning your coughing and spluttering sounds like a diesel locomotive trying to start.


Exercise helps by loosening the sh1te in your chest, but that's about it. By midday, you've coughed up about a cupful of green sludge, you've sucked down about the same from your head, and things are clear. The rest of the day will just involve nursing your sore ear, eating cold food to help your throat, and keeping the snot, albeit now clear snot, moving.


And so bed-time comes. The cycle will start all over again. This will go on for 6 weeks. Then you might have a reprieve of a month or so. Then another 6 week cold. Then another break. Life is not very pleasant. And all of this happens because the lining in your sinuses is too fussy. Sinussess, I am disappoint.




On a side note, I find onion-type products help make the snot more runny, and therefore easier to deal with. Anything oniony, garlic, scallions, shallots, and also eucalyptus.

Disgusting post!

JJayoo

I haven't been sick in any way since I was about 17.

Student2014

JJayoo wrote: »

I haven't been sick in any way since I was about 17.

Not even sick in the head? :pac:

Joke, thats good for you. What age are you now and Whats your lifestyle.

Alf Veedersane

Student2014 wrote: »

Not even sick in the head? :pac:

Joke, thats good for you. What age are you now and Whats your lifestyle.

He's not allowed to answer that before the watershed.

Stench Blossoms

Student2014 wrote: »

Not even sick in the head? :pac:

Joke, thats good for you. What age are you now and Whats your lifestyle.

His lifestyle is me.

He does me. That keeps him fit and healthy.

JJayoo

Ye guys are sooooooooo mean to me

I usually take 1g of vit C each day and any time I feel like a cold might be trying to sneak in I up it to about 10g. The thing about vitamin C is your body can't store it, so it either uses it or you will piss it out. The key is to keep a nice amount floating around in your blood stream.

Also Glutamine is very good when your immune system is in the crapper.

username123

Student2014 wrote: »

Just bought some of this Neilmed sinus rinse stuff, sick of waking up in the morning this last few days not able to talk cause i`m all blocked up.

Would you take it the night before or just when you get up or both?

Whenever it's needed. You can use it up to 4 times a day. Personally I find that a bit much, but morning and evening sounds good. You may be blocked from inflammation as opposed to anything needing to be washed out but the rinsing helps with that too.

newmug

TiltedBrain wrote: »

Disgusting post!

Sorry to disgust you, but that's my life. I can't help it.

ash2008

My biggest tip for reducing the amount of colds you get is frequent handwashing. I read before that it is not as easy to catch a cold airborne - meaning that even if you're in close proximity to someone who is coughing/ sneezing, you aren't that likely to catch it that way. It's mainly spread through touch, so say a person coughs into their hand, then touches a door handle...you later come along touch the same door handle and then maybe rub your eyes, eat some food with your hand etc...bang, you've caught it.

I started getting a lot of colds when I used to take the bus to work, probably picking things up through touching the doors, holding the poles. Same when I got a job which involved helping other people with their computer issues, so touching their keyboards, mice etc... Since I started washing my hand more frequently, I have seen a huge reduction in colds.

Also, to the people who constantly seem to have runny/blocked nose, maybe get checked for allergies?

CM24

I always pick up a cold when I'm trying to lose bodyfat. The combination of lowered carbs and lots of intense training seems to weaken my immune system or something. Lack of sleep and stress definitely leads to it aswell. Eric Cressey wrote a great article called ''Invincible Immunity'' with supplement guidelines to ward off Colds and ''Flu''. here

chriity139

not for a few years

Tasden

ash2008 wrote: »

My biggest tip for reducing the amount of colds you get is frequent handwashing. I read before that it is not as easy to catch a cold airborne - meaning that even if you're in close proximity to someone who is coughing/ sneezing, you aren't that likely to catch it that way. It's mainly spread through touch, so say a person coughs into their hand, then touches a door handle...you later come along touch the same door handle and then maybe rub your eyes, eat some food with your hand etc...bang, you've caught it.

I started getting a lot of colds when I used to take the bus to work, probably picking things up through touching the doors, holding the poles. Same when I got a job which involved helping other people with their computer issues, so touching their keyboards, mice etc... Since I started washing my hand more frequently, I have seen a huge reduction in colds.

Also, to the people who constantly seem to have runny/blocked nose, maybe get checked for allergies?

People forget that what is more important than regular hand washing is drying them properly after each wash! And also washing them properly too. The amount of people who run their hands under the tap for a few seconds and then flick the water off and leave. This to me is worse than not washing at all.

I used to work a couple of jobs where I was dealing with members of the public so being run down from working every day basically and being in constant contact with people carrying the virus I was always catching colds. I used a hand sanitiser regularly enough but didn't do much to help.

Since reducing work hours and leaving one of the jobs I haven't had a cold even when everyone else in the house has

Thud

i get a ear/throat infection in Autumn most years from wearing shorts/t-shirts well past when it's sensible to do so.....never learn though

InFrame

Once every 2 years maybe. I'm careful not to touch the poles or hand rests on the train. I've seen people sneezing into their hands and then putting their hands on the poles.

smemon

got pneumonia about 4 years ago during one of those really bad / cold winters... since then i don't think i've had any problems although that's probably because i've become much smarter / more aware of how to prevent them and why they occur in the first place (every breath actually hurt to breath so needless to say you don't want that **** to occur again):

1. drink more water
2. get ~30 minutes of exercise per day
3. don't rub your eyes or put your fingers in your eyes under any circumstances until they've been thoroughly washed
4. get 6+ hours sleep every night, i aim for 8
5. eat less sugar