Coping in the time of sniffles
June 6, 2003 | 12:00am
It all happened so quickly, didn’t it? You were enjoying the sun for weeks at the beach and getting drunk in the early afternoons without caring to give the hapless bartender a decent tip. This went on for so long it almost became the meaning of life. And the funny thing is that you actually thought it was perfection.
But just like George Harrison said: "All things must pass." And in the blink of an eye, summer was all over. The clouds got grayer by the minute and the beach was suddenly passé. The bartender is gone, and you find yourself stuck inside your room staring at the window in awe.
You begin to imagine where did all this rain come from? It only felt like a couple of hours ago you were in Camiguin flirting with any girl who was crazy enough to give you a second look and now this? A friend then calls you up on the phone and says she can’t make the dinner party tonight because "of a bad cold." You shake your head and go back watching the water trickle down from the sky to that blue car across your gate.
It is only upon waking up the next morning with the sniffles yourself and your head a-throbbing that you realize that the "fun in the sun" has finally taken its toll. It’s been a glorious summer indeed, but just like many people out there, you have to quickly adapt to the weather and ponder how to pick out a whole new wardrobe.
Worse, you gotta find a way to fight the blasted cold that has plagued a lot of my buddies and relatives. Thinking that a simple case of drowsiness may lead to SARS is a bit extreme, but you can never be too safe these days. And if you’re just as determined as I am to be immune from the flu, here are the kinds of advice so-called experts have to offer:
Since there are no known cures for colds and flu, prevention must be your goal. A proactive approach to warding off colds and flu is apt to make your whole life healthier. The most effective way to prevent flu, frankly, is to get the flu shot. It may not be natural, but it works better than anything else. But there are other strategies you can employ as well. WebMD went to Charles B. Inlander, president of the People’s Medical Society, for suggestions you may want to try:
• Wash your hands.
Most cold and flu viruses are spread by direct contact. Someone who has the flu sneezes onto their hand, and then touches the telephone, the keyboard, a kitchen glass. The germs can live for hours – in some cases weeks – only to be picked up by the next person who touches the same object. So wash your hands often. If no sink is available, rub your hands together very hard for a minute or so. That also helps break up most of the cold germs.
• Don’t cover your sneezes and coughs with your hands.
This may sound like a very disgusting and improper tip, but it’s quite effective. Because germs and viruses cling to bare hands, muffling coughs and sneezes with your hands results in passing along your germs to others. When you feel a sneeze or cough coming, use a tissue; then throw it away immediately. If you don’t have one, turn your head away from a friend and into an enemy near you and cough into the air.
• 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.
• Drink plenty of fluids.
Water flushes your system, washing out the poisons as it rehydrates you. A typical, healthy adult needs eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids each day. How can you tell if you’re getting enough liquid? If the color of your urine runs close to clear, you’re getting enough. If it’s deep yellow, you need more fluids.
• Take a sauna.
Researchers aren’t clear about the exact role saunas play in prevention, but one 1989 German study found that people who steamed twice a week got half as many colds as those who didn’t. One theory: When you take a sauna you inhale air hotter than 80 degrees, a temperature too hot for cold and flu viruses to survive.
• Get fresh air.
Granted that it is very tough to get some clean air in Metro Manila, it still does a world of good if you can actually get some. A regular dose of fresh air is important, especially in cold weather when central heating dries you out and makes your body more vulnerable to cold and flu viruses. Also, during cold weather more people stay indoors, which means more germs are circulating in crowded, dry rooms.
• Do aerobic exercise regularly.
Aerobic exercise speeds up the heart to pump larger quantities of blood and makes you breathe faster to help transfer oxygen from your lungs to your blood. It also makes you sweat once your body heats up. These exercises help increase the body’s natural virus-killing cells.
• Eat foods containing 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.
• Eat yogurt.
Some studies have shown that eating a daily cup of low-fat yogurt can reduce your susceptibility to colds by 25 percent. Researchers think the beneficial bacteria in yogurt may stimulate production of immune system substances that fight disease.
• Don’t smoke.
Statistics show that heavy smokers get more severe colds and more frequent ones.Even being around smoke profoundly zaps the immune system. Smoke dries out your nasal passages and paralyzes cilia. These are the delicate hairs that line the mucous membranes in your nose and lungs, and with their wavy movements, sweep cold and flu viruses out of the nasal passages. Experts contend that one cigarette can paralyze cilia for as long as 30 to 40 minutes. This probably explains why I got the cold faster than anybody else in the family.
• Cut alcohol consumption.
Heavy alcohol use destroys the liver, the body’s primary filtering system, which means that germs of all kinds won’t leave your body as fast. The result is, 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. (Ah, but doesn’t it just feel divine after consuming a half bottle of vodka?)
• Relax.
If you can teach yourself to relax, you can activate your immune system on demand. There’s evidence that when you put your relaxation skills into action, your interleukins – leaders in the immune system response against cold and flu viruses – increase in the bloodstream. Train yourself to picture an image you find pleasant or calming. Do this 30 minutes a day for several months. Keep in mind, relaxation is a learnable skill, but it is not doing nothing. People who try to relax, but are in fact bored, show no changes in blood chemicals.
Okay, okay. So I don’t really know if the last tip is as effective as the others, but hey it’s worth a shot. Wouldn’t you take it? Sayonara and have a cold-free June, fellas.
(Author’s note: Info taken from the People’s Medical Society)
My sincerest apologies to the hundreds who have written me since last year but I will no longer be able to answer you letters. Some soul hacked his way inside my mailbox and erased all of your messages. As a result, it is now empty and I will be unable to respond. I’ll be posting a new e-mail address pretty soon. Thank you and I sure hope you guys understand what happened.
But just like George Harrison said: "All things must pass." And in the blink of an eye, summer was all over. The clouds got grayer by the minute and the beach was suddenly passé. The bartender is gone, and you find yourself stuck inside your room staring at the window in awe.
You begin to imagine where did all this rain come from? It only felt like a couple of hours ago you were in Camiguin flirting with any girl who was crazy enough to give you a second look and now this? A friend then calls you up on the phone and says she can’t make the dinner party tonight because "of a bad cold." You shake your head and go back watching the water trickle down from the sky to that blue car across your gate.
It is only upon waking up the next morning with the sniffles yourself and your head a-throbbing that you realize that the "fun in the sun" has finally taken its toll. It’s been a glorious summer indeed, but just like many people out there, you have to quickly adapt to the weather and ponder how to pick out a whole new wardrobe.
Worse, you gotta find a way to fight the blasted cold that has plagued a lot of my buddies and relatives. Thinking that a simple case of drowsiness may lead to SARS is a bit extreme, but you can never be too safe these days. And if you’re just as determined as I am to be immune from the flu, here are the kinds of advice so-called experts have to offer:
Since there are no known cures for colds and flu, prevention must be your goal. A proactive approach to warding off colds and flu is apt to make your whole life healthier. The most effective way to prevent flu, frankly, is to get the flu shot. It may not be natural, but it works better than anything else. But there are other strategies you can employ as well. WebMD went to Charles B. Inlander, president of the People’s Medical Society, for suggestions you may want to try:
• Wash your hands.
Most cold and flu viruses are spread by direct contact. Someone who has the flu sneezes onto their hand, and then touches the telephone, the keyboard, a kitchen glass. The germs can live for hours – in some cases weeks – only to be picked up by the next person who touches the same object. So wash your hands often. If no sink is available, rub your hands together very hard for a minute or so. That also helps break up most of the cold germs.
• Don’t cover your sneezes and coughs with your hands.
This may sound like a very disgusting and improper tip, but it’s quite effective. Because germs and viruses cling to bare hands, muffling coughs and sneezes with your hands results in passing along your germs to others. When you feel a sneeze or cough coming, use a tissue; then throw it away immediately. If you don’t have one, turn your head away from a friend and into an enemy near you and cough into the air.
• 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.
• Drink plenty of fluids.
Water flushes your system, washing out the poisons as it rehydrates you. A typical, healthy adult needs eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids each day. How can you tell if you’re getting enough liquid? If the color of your urine runs close to clear, you’re getting enough. If it’s deep yellow, you need more fluids.
• Take a sauna.
Researchers aren’t clear about the exact role saunas play in prevention, but one 1989 German study found that people who steamed twice a week got half as many colds as those who didn’t. One theory: When you take a sauna you inhale air hotter than 80 degrees, a temperature too hot for cold and flu viruses to survive.
• Get fresh air.
Granted that it is very tough to get some clean air in Metro Manila, it still does a world of good if you can actually get some. A regular dose of fresh air is important, especially in cold weather when central heating dries you out and makes your body more vulnerable to cold and flu viruses. Also, during cold weather more people stay indoors, which means more germs are circulating in crowded, dry rooms.
• Do aerobic exercise regularly.
Aerobic exercise speeds up the heart to pump larger quantities of blood and makes you breathe faster to help transfer oxygen from your lungs to your blood. It also makes you sweat once your body heats up. These exercises help increase the body’s natural virus-killing cells.
• Eat foods containing 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.
• Eat yogurt.
Some studies have shown that eating a daily cup of low-fat yogurt can reduce your susceptibility to colds by 25 percent. Researchers think the beneficial bacteria in yogurt may stimulate production of immune system substances that fight disease.
• Don’t smoke.
Statistics show that heavy smokers get more severe colds and more frequent ones.Even being around smoke profoundly zaps the immune system. Smoke dries out your nasal passages and paralyzes cilia. These are the delicate hairs that line the mucous membranes in your nose and lungs, and with their wavy movements, sweep cold and flu viruses out of the nasal passages. Experts contend that one cigarette can paralyze cilia for as long as 30 to 40 minutes. This probably explains why I got the cold faster than anybody else in the family.
• Cut alcohol consumption.
Heavy alcohol use destroys the liver, the body’s primary filtering system, which means that germs of all kinds won’t leave your body as fast. The result is, 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. (Ah, but doesn’t it just feel divine after consuming a half bottle of vodka?)
• Relax.
If you can teach yourself to relax, you can activate your immune system on demand. There’s evidence that when you put your relaxation skills into action, your interleukins – leaders in the immune system response against cold and flu viruses – increase in the bloodstream. Train yourself to picture an image you find pleasant or calming. Do this 30 minutes a day for several months. Keep in mind, relaxation is a learnable skill, but it is not doing nothing. People who try to relax, but are in fact bored, show no changes in blood chemicals.
Okay, okay. So I don’t really know if the last tip is as effective as the others, but hey it’s worth a shot. Wouldn’t you take it? Sayonara and have a cold-free June, fellas.
(Author’s note: Info taken from the People’s Medical Society)
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