The 23 worst things you can do if you have a cold, according to doctors
Avoid these habits or risk that your very common becomes something more serious.
Winter is ideal for many things - drink hot chocolate, snowmen, holidays ... The list goes on and on. But it's also the season of something that is not so great: thecommon cold. AsYale researchers Discovered in 2015, the cold weather coming with the winter monthsweakens your immune system, make your body vulnerable toThe rhinovirus As soon as the temperature falls. So, what should you do if the common cold has its way into your system? Well, in fact, it's more like whatshould not you do. Read about all things to avoid doing so that your bad cold do not worseandSo you do not put other people torisk getting sick.
1 Antibiotics
By definition, antibiotics are drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria. The rhinovirus, as its name suggests, is caused by a virus. Therefore, not onlyAntibiotics do not work on the common coldBut taking them unnecessarily can make your body resistant to their body if you need it later. See more than 2.8 million Americans contract an antibiotic resistance infection each year, according to theCenters for Disaster Control and Prevention (CDC), make a favor and take antibiotics only when you need it.
2 Drinking orange juice
Despite what you have heard, orange juice consumption actually makes more harm than well in the treatment of current cold. Because orange juice is so acidic, it will burn the membranes in the throat when you are sick and irritates them again. AsMichael Klaper, MD,Warning on his website, "Do not burn your inflamed groove membranes with acidic liquids! Avoid orange juice (yes, orange juice!), Citrus, pineapple, cola drinks or acidic acid liquid, Until your throat is painless. "
3 Blow your nose with excess force
Growing up, your parents or nurse at school could have told you to blow up the difficult nose to get all the Gunde. But, according to research published in the journalClinical Infectious Diseases In 2000, the breath with too much force can actually propel the mucus into the sinuses and cause a sinus infection. When you blow your nose, your safest bet is to do it softly, eliminating a nostril at a time.
4 Or blow your nose too often
Blow too often your nose is as bad as blowing your nose with too much strength. According to a 2016 article of the experts of theUniversity of California in Berkeley, turning too often to the fabrics "can break the small blood vessels in the nose and cause nosebleeds, especially if the lining lining is already irritated with a cold".
5 Do not have enough sleep
When you get off with a cold, your antibodies operate overtime to combat infection and restore your health. Corndeprivation of sleep Prevents your immune system from doing its job. In fact, according to a 2017 study published in the journalTo sleep, Getting something less than seven hours of rest can significantly harm your immune system. In fact, even if you do not already have cold, a 2015 study has also been published in the newspaperTo sleepshowed that people who did not sleep enough sleep are more likely to catch a cold.
6 Stress
Try to take it if and when the rhinovirus enters your system. According toAmerican Association of PsychologyBy simply stressed alter your immune system, making it more difficult to fight bacteria and viruses. This is particularly important forOlder individuals Pay attention to, because the aging process naturally weakens your immune system.
7 Wash your hands too often
Although doctors recommendwash one's hands On a regular basis during the cold season and the flu to eliminate bacteria, to do it in excess can actually weaken your immune system and make you more subject to patients. A 2011 from thePublic Health School of the University of Michigan foundlive too clean of an environment-What includes excess handwashing - can harm your immune system and prevent your body from properly combining infections.
8 Do not drink enough water
There is a reason why doctors recommend drinking at least eight glasses of water every day. WhenYou are dehydratedYou limit the secretion of antimicrobial proteins in your saliva, as a 2012 study in the newspaper.Applied Physiology, Nutrition and MetabolismExplain. Since these proteins play a huge role in the natural defenses of your body, do not drink enough water prevent your ability to preserve infections.
9 Exercise too hard
Although you do not want to stop your intense workouts simply because you have a little sniff or cough, following your gym schedule while sick could end up prolonging the infection and even the worst, according to a 1994 document published in theInternational Journal of Sports Medicine.
The good news? Another 2017 study published inBrain, behavior and immunity found that only one 20-minute moderate exercise session can benefit the immune system and help fight infections. So, yes, youcan Work when you have a cold, make sure to keep the light.
10 Or use gym machines
For the love of all others, it is better not to use any of the equipment or machines at the gym until you are as if your cold has left your system. "If you would not like the person next to you on the treadmill or ending in front of you on the elliptical to besneezing and coughing and wipe their noses, so do your gym company a favor and make a lighter workout at home, "Richard E. Besser, MD, saysHealth.
11 Use too much nasal spray
Be careful to use too much nasal spray on your cluttered nose. This can cause something called therebound phenomenon, in which the blood vessels of your nose become immunized against the effects of nasal spray and aggravating clogging.
12 Sweet snacks
Nobody wants to give up their candies and favorite bakery products, but you will have at least for a few days - if you want to get rid of your cold once and for all. This is because "sugar consumption can significantly slow down your immune cell function and interfere with your ability to find and fight the bacteria you are trying to avoid," explains the naturopathic doctorJulia St. Clair.
13 Smoke
If your cold makes you spit all kinds of foreign substances, thenenlighten will only make your symptoms worse. AsBrandi black, a holistic nutritionist, explains that cigarettes are "known to wear the immune system". When you are sick of a cold, your lungs already work twice as late to rid your body of the infection and the last thing they need, it's an influx of cigarette smoke to make their work even more difficult .
14 To drink alcohol
When you suspect, you go down with a cold, cancel any plan that you have to come will tempt you from you.to drink alcohol. A 2015 study published in the journalAlcohol found that a strong drinking night can significantly harm the ability of the immune system to do its job.
15 To travel
"If you have a cold, you can not master yourself by drugs especially, I will not fly at all,"Jeffrey Linder, MD, a doctor associated with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, saidCondé NAST Traveler.Not only fly while sick put your passenger colleagues in danger, but it will also make your experience with miserable air (read: painfully obsolete ears for days). The end simply does not justify the means.
16 Go to work
Even if you do not want to admit that you come with something, it is not fair to go to work with a cold and put your colleagues at risk as a cough and sneezing in their presence. "The days in the office can be busy, which can make you forget how your body feels and what it needs," explains the practical nurse registeredJocelyn Nadua, care coordinatorHealth Services C-CARE. "If you go to work, you can not have time to drink the appropriate amount of liquids and eating nutrients that your body needs."
17 DO NOT COST VITAMIN C
It is not because you should not drink orange juice while sick with a cold does not mean that you should launch your vitamin C consumption. When researchers atUniversity of Helsinki Studied the effects of vitamin on the virus in 2017, they found that people who consumed 8 grams of vitamin C per day were able to shorten the duration of their disease by 19%.
You do not know what to eat to get vitamin C apart from O.J.? Try green and red peppers, Kale and Broccoli.
18 Swimp on zinc
When you feel under the weather, another nutrient you would like to make sure that you have enough zinc. According to a 2017 study published in the journalInfectious diseases at the open forum, people who consume Zinc acetate mezzzengs while sick of cold three times faster than those who do not use them.
19 Avoid probiotics
If you want to deny your cold in the bud, you should seriously set up your probiotic intake while your body works again again. Why? When researchers atUniversity of Medicine and New Jersey DentistryDescaped the disease rates in colleges in 2013, they found that those taking probiotics had less grupted 34% symptoms and colds that were two more short days than students who took no supplement of probiotics.
20 Cough in your hand
When a cough correspondence flies into a public and public space, most people have immediate instinct to use their hand to cover their mouths andPrevent the propagation of germs. But while this gesture comes from a good place, the unfortunate reality is that coughing in your hand is actually worse than just let it go out in the open air.
According to the U.K.National health service, Rhinovirus lives longer on surfaces than in the air. To avoid transferring your cold to others, your better bet is to touch your handle, which tends to make less contact with others and other surfaces.
21 Drive
A combination of lack of sleeping mood and doctors' drowsiness makes driving with a cold a bad idea. According to the national road safety administration, as indicated by theCDC, about 72,000 crashes and 44,000 injuries in 2013 were due to driving driving. Do yourself and everyone around you a favor and simply call a Uber if you really need to go somewhere while you are sick.
22 Skip breakfast
Although breakfast is always important, the morning meal is particularly vital when it comes to fighting a cold. When researchers atCardiff University I studied rhinovirus in 2002, they found that one of the factors that played a role in the fact that their subjects fell ill was the frequency where they had lunch.
23 Be pessimistic
When you have a cold, how you choose to perceive that your difficult situation could be the difference between recover quickly and suffer from days. In fact, according to a definitive study of 2011 ofThe University of Carnegie MellonOptimistic individuals are less likely to undergo typical signs and symptoms associated with common cold, even when they are infected with the virus.