Prevention of colds in adults at home

Contents

Step-by-step instructions for preventing colds in adults
Popular questions and answers

It is much easier to prevent a disease at its first appearance than to treat it for a long time and deal with complications. To do this, you need to engage in the prevention of colds. And not from time to time, but constantly!

The prevention of colds is most often talked about when it comes to children. But after all, adults also need to take measures so that the disease does not take them by surprise. Everyone can protect himself from the disease himself. A healthy lifestyle, strengthening the immune system through hardening and vitamins will help in this. The main thing is the desire to maintain your health.

It is important to understand: the prevention of colds and flu must be approached comprehensively. First of all, this is a correction of lifestyle and nutrition, and only then the use of folk remedies.

Step-by-step instructions for preventing colds in adults

Take care of yourself

If you know that strong immunity is not about you, and any infection immediately sticks to you, take care of how to complicate this task for her.

Dress for the weather, even if you are going to a party or a soiree. When the risk of getting sick is especially high, starting in the fall or now, when the coronavirus epidemic has not been defeated, stay at home.
If you must go outside, avoid crowded places. Remember: any measures to prevent colds in adults begin with this rule.

Eat well

Surely you have heard many times that to increase immunity you need to eat more fruits, vegetables, drink tea with honey and lemon. All this is correct and can help in the prevention of colds in adults.

And here’s some science for you: antibodies and enzymes that destroy bacteria and viruses are proteins that our body receives from meat (preferably lean, like poultry or beef fillet), fish, cottage cheese and sour-milk products. If not enough of them enter the body, the immune system cannot work fully. Therefore, animal products should be on the table every day. Just do not try to replace meat with sausages and other semi-finished products.

Observe the regimen

Sleep at least eight hours a day, work during the day and rest in the evening, do not sacrifice breakfast and do not overeat in the evenings, try to avoid stress and do not overwork. The fact is that all this undermines the immune system and gives the “green light” to viruses.

Ventilate the room

Not only your apartment, but also your office. The second is more difficult, because you have to agree with colleagues who are terribly afraid of drafts. Remind them that regular ventilation reduces the concentration of viruses and bacteria in the air by 80-90%, and this is the surest way to ensure the prevention of colds in adults.

You need to ventilate correctly: do not sit with an open window all day, but open the windows wide for 20-30 minutes and repeat this 2-3 times a day.

Humidify the air and … your nose!

The colder it is outside, the less moisture there is in the air. And if the batteries are “spinning” in the room, then it’s hard not to feel the dryness of the air. Why is it dangerous? Under such conditions, the mucous membranes of the nose and throat often dry up and it is much easier for viruses to get into our bodies. Due to dry air, the functions of local immunity are disrupted: all our “defenders” – lysozyme, interferons, immunoglobulins are able to work normally only in a humid environment – in the mucus that the mucous membranes produce. Therefore, the air needs to be humidified additionally.

If you don’t want to spend money on a humidifier, place water containers next to the batteries or on the windowsills. Or hang wet terry towels on batteries. By the way, the banal advice that after a trip on public transport or visiting a place where there are a lot of people, you need to regularly wash your nose is very effective. This helps to wash away viruses from the mucosa. It is better to rinse the nose with saline or “sea” water, which you can do yourself.

temper yourself

Everyone has heard the phrase: “Temper if you want to be healthy!”. Now, this is true. A hardened person resists viruses much more effectively, this has already been proven. Hardening improves thermoregulation, which means it protects against hypothermia. Just do not jump headlong into the hole or pour a bucket of ice water on yourself. You need to start gradually. Air baths in a well-ventilated area, a contrast shower with a gradual decrease in temperature, pouring water on your feet with a gradual decrease in its temperature will help to harden. In any case, hardening is not a quick process; it requires patience and constancy.

Popular questions and answers

When should you start cold prevention?

Prevention of colds in adults should always be done! You do not know where and when you can catch the virus. This can happen in hot summers, and at sea, and even if you are sitting at home and not in contact with anyone! It all depends on how strong your immune system is. And, as we found out, it needs to be supported, because even the strongest immunity can weaken, for example, due to acclimatization, stress or pregnancy in women.

Does garlic help ward off a cold?

Scientists came to the conclusion that for the prevention of influenza and SARS, garlic is a very weak remedy. Yes, it contains phytoncides, which can protect us from some viruses that cause SARS. But like any herbal component, it acts in a very short period of time. In the midst of an epidemic, you won’t go to work wearing onion and garlic beads! But it is in the subway or office that contact with a carrier of the virus is most likely. In addition, garlic is irritant and in large quantities can cause problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

Are warming effective for colds?

Another misconception is to wrap yourself in a blanket, warm your feet and drink as much hot tea as possible. There is no doubt that the body needs liquid to fight viruses. But thermal procedures that are applied after the onset of the disease are of no benefit. If the virus has already entered the body, it is almost impossible to influence the development and duration of the infection. You’ll have to get over it.

And, by the way, practitioners are unanimous that the iodine mesh does not help with coughing. But the fact that iodine is absorbed and enters the body through the skin should not be forgotten.