I just had a cold for Thanksgiving, and now it is back after New Year's Day. Usually, we read about how to avoid a cold or how to treat a cold, but how do we avoid getting a repeat of a cold which we just had?

I had a cold around Thanksgiving too- it wasn't even a very bad one, but I am still coughing once every hour or so from it!

I'd say the best way to avoid a repeat cold is to make sure you take it easy when you are recovering from the first one- plenty of rest etc.

It take 14 days to get over the cold (untreated) it takes about 2 weeks to get over the cold (treated)... (Little Humor).

A cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system (nose and throat). Being viral it can not be treated with antibiotics.

However being viral gives us a clue on how it is spread and how we pick it up. Usually by touch (touch a door knob, touch your face - BAM - you gots the cold.


Cold Season is not caused by seasonal changes of the cold viruses, it is because we spend much more time in enclosed places.

After you run through the 14 days or 2 weeks of tis cold I would strongly suggest a house cleaning, all touching surfaces should not only be wiped clean with soap and water but should also be sprayed with Lysol or similar germ killing product.

I'm not too insane on washing my hands a zillion times a day, nor too insane for spraying knobs, faucet handles, etc every day with a disinfectant. These are common vectors for cold/flu and around here we take such things seriously.

Including (but not limited too) Counter tops, door knobs, toilet seat, handle (anywhere you may touch the toilet) sink faucets, steering wheel of the car, etc. Actually one should spray those areas every day to reduce the spread of other illnesses.

Washing your hands frequently during "cold season" and not wiping your face with unwashed hands will reduce the potential of picking up the cold (and flus). IF you smoke, then washing your hands before and after you smoke is a "good idea". Smokers tend to bring their hands close to their mouth when smoking - opening up the chance for infection.

Edit- Addendum- don't forget the keyboard on your computer - if you spend time there every day you could set up a case of reinfection from that. When spraying spray from a distance of 9 inches to a foot away, a light "mist" will spread out over the keys and kill 99% of the germs.

Generally speaking, when you get over a cold it's because you developed antibodies to that particular virus; so it can't make you sick again. But there are zillions out there. When you get another, even a week or two later, it's not the same cold.

sid1114: It could have fooled me . . . sure looked like the cold before it. Actually, I inquired, because I do not remember going through such a similar thing soon after. Is there a low percentage of colds which just seem to have gone away but come out again in full force too soon? I think so.

David: Three whacks with a wet noodle for even suggesting "a house cleaning"? Are you crazy, man? That would take two years, what with all the paperwork around here yet unread. (One stand full of paperwork is collapsing and currently being propped up with a full suitcase!) That's one reason why I frequently do wash my hands, the other reason being the cat liking so many treats and meals.

Tsaeb,

Many colds look and behave the exact same way because all they sometimes are, are variants (mutations) of similar virus'. Bacteria and virus' change and alter all the time. They adapt to new hostile (read "Resistant") envirnoments. These organisms have as much vested interest in surviving as WE do, so THEY change and adapt like WE do.

Humans learn to do new things to survive, these organisms alter themselves to accomplish the same thing.

In the end, though, what this means is that these variands make the body react the same way, make the same illness-appearing symptoms and we feel the same (crappy) way while fighting off the infection.

The only way to truely know which the 'bug' is would be to plate, culture and examine through a microscope WHICH infectious organism it is.

WIth bacteria, antibiotics are used to fight off pernicious infections that do not go away with normal body-defenses and time. With virus infections, we can only wait them out for the most part.

Also, another thing to realize is this. Your body gets worn down in its defenses. It needs time to regroup, rebuild and get strong again. Ok, you DID fight off an infection. Well, ANOTHER one decided that with your low resistance and resouces that this was the IDEAL time to move in and strike while the iron was hot. AND it was RIGHT!

Think of it like this. In war-fare in the centuries gone by, two countries/castles/whatever would fight until one of them won. Then when they BOTH were worn down, bloodied and beaten, ANOTHER competitor would move in and take over the spoils.

This is often what happens when you get sick. Many times there are two or three OR more different infections in a row that testing the defenses and trying to overwhelm the battlements.

THAT is why it is so important to take care of yourself, eat well, rest and give your body the BEST chance at a fast recovery.



I hope that helps.

End of lecture.

Sherasi: Seriously, I was going to ask whose side you are on until I saw the emoticon! Now, be quiet, because I feel good today.

Also work on building up your vitamins and minerals in your body. We have all heard about Vitamin C used to reduce our risks of catching the cold, other useful vitamins range from A to zinc.

On your Weight Loss thread we covered food and exercise - even the "healthiest" diet will need a prop of a good multivitamin 'one per day' variety.

In the fall/winter around here we up the ante with lots of juices (like orange juice) and "chew able" vitamin C tabs "taste like orange".

IF you are planning on dosing with different vitamins I would suggest going to a "health-food store" and ask about which vitamins help and hinder other vitamins. There are so many books on the subject I can't just refer you to one.

I discovered my boo-boo: I had replaced a few of my usual fruit lunches with bowls of soup, and upon reading their labels, most of my soups have a lot of vitamin A and less of vitamin C.

Well there you have it. Get yourself the chewable C tabs (taste like orange, citrisy yum, yum).