Catching a cold/flu during winter

dayshah

I'm just wondering how sick people get during winter.

I've been commuting by bike for a few years, but this year I've a longer distance (on the way back its 5km mostly uphill).

I haven't cycled that much recently as I'm shaking off a cold. I don't want to breath in cold air.

I'm wondering what you do to prevent getting sick.

Gavin

What do you think cold air will do ?

thepassanger

go to a natural food store and ask for immune boosting remedies, the old clove of garlic a day does more than it says on the tin, it keeps people AND colds away from you! i dont think a shop assisstant is allowed to tell you that "this will work" but they will definitely point you in the right direction and sure what you learn will be invaluable and fun too,

manwithaplan

dayshah wrote: »

I'm wondering what you do to prevent getting sick.

I cycle

biomed32

its winter, we are bound to get sick in some respect, just live with it and CYCLE!!

dayshah

OK, I know I'll get sick sometime. But is there anything in particular I can do to prevent this. Any scarves or balaclavas that help?

Lumen

Eat well, sleep well, and stay away from people, particularly young children and babies.

You're better off wearing the balaclava to go shopping. You might some additional discounts or free gifts if you ask nicely.

ednwireland

Lumen wrote: »

Eat well, sleep well, and stay away from people, particularly young children and babies.

You're better off wearing the balaclava to go shopping. You might some additional discounts or free gifts if you ask nicely.

+1

colds and flu arent caused by cold air they are caused by bugs, usually from people infected from those bugs. schools and offices are particularly good breeding grounds.

DirkVoodoo

I think I managed to steer clear of any bugs last winter bar a small cold, which I think is inevitable if you have any exposure to other people. Cycling certainly helps, but I still ended up getting a chest infection during the summer, right in the middle of the season.

thepassanger

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I still ended up getting a chest infection during the summer, right in the middle of the season.

lots of people believe this is influenced by a change in weather patterns, others believe it is the time of year that you have depleted many of your bodies micro-nutrients and have a weaker immune system, all i know is that i get a cold at end of summer usually but manage to get rid of it within a few days.

seamus

I seem to be more susceptible to sniffles and colds now since I started cycling seriously, but maybe that's just an illusion because I'm more aware of it now. Either way, when I do get sick I shake it off far quicker than I ever have.
I was more disabled by stupid injuries this year than sickness.

I swear by a Rubex boost once a day when I get home off the bike to restore nutrients and give me added Vitamin C and the like. Probably a placebo, but it's tasty too! Expensive bastard though.

Watch out during winter for sudden changes in temperature. For example, we're looking at temps averaging around 8 degrees for the next ten days. Keep an eye on the temperature and watch out for the forecast which predicts a sudden drop in temps (to 1 or 2 degrees) for a few days. By day two of the "cold snap", there will be colds and flus everywhere.
Likewise a sudden jump in temps during winter usually leads to everyone getting sick too. I have no idea why.

DirkVoodoo

seamus wrote: »

I swear by a Rubex boost once a day when I get home off the bike to restore nutrients and give me added Vitamin C and the like. Probably a placebo, but it's tasty too! Expensive bastard though.

I take a Berocca boost. Equally expensive and probably a placebo too, I'm looking at importing some snake oil next.

ednwireland

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I take a Berocca boost. Equally expensive and probably a placebo too, I'm looking at importing some snake oil next.

mmmmmmmmm snake oil

dayshah

ednwireland wrote: »

+1

colds and flu arent caused by cold air they are caused by bugs, usually from people infected from those bugs. schools and offices are particularly good breeding grounds.

Thats true, but being cold lowers the immune system. It also makes it take longer to get better. I suppose by cycling I have less exposure to germs than on the bus, as I'm breathing fresh air.

However, at the moment I've a slight cold, so the germs are in my system, I just don't want it to get worse. All I've really been doing is drinking tea immediately after I cycle to work and back home.

victorcarrera

If cycling is supposed to be 10 times more efficient than walking, your 5Km commute is equivalent to a 500M walk. So its probably not the cycling.
From my own experience, a stop in the middle of a cycle on a cold day, for coffee or a puncture, or not showering immediately after I get home will often give me the chills.
Advice I was given, ignored, and went off and learned the hard way.
If symptoms are above the neck, cycle, below stay at home.

Morrisseeee

If symptoms are above the neck, cycle, below stay at home

.......fcek, I've an itchy.............big..............toe............bummer

WalterMitty

Cold air doesnt cause infections, neither does getting wet in chilly weather.

crashoveroid

Getting Cold and Wet does not cause you to get sick. Flu and cold is a virus that is mainly transmitted from touch.

The olny thing you need to use the weather forecast for is what you are going to wear on the spin.

ednwireland

crashoveroid wrote: »

Getting Cold and Wet does not cause you to get sick. Flu and cold is a virus that is mainly transmitted from touch.

The olny thing you need to use the weather forecast for is what you are going to wear on the spin.

so good he had to say it twice

dayshah

crashoveroid wrote: »

Getting Cold and Wet does not cause you to get sick. Flu and cold is a virus that is mainly transmitted from touch.

True, but if you have germs in your system then the cold reduces your immunity. So though cold doesn't directly cause illness, it can give the germs a helping hand.

WalterMitty

dayshah wrote: »

True, but if you have germs in your system then the cold reduces your immunity. So though cold doesn't directly cause illness, it can give the germs a helping hand.

Not true.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#Risk_factors

cycling would warm you up anyway preventing any such "cold effect"

Beasty

Go slower, and you're less likely to catch one (there's more chance of one catching you if you go too slow though):D

Seriously though, I've probably only had a couple of minor head colds over the past two years. I tend to avoid the serious stuff (don't think I've ever had flu), but I reckon keeping up the cycling maintains my overall level of fitness, and helps me keep some of these bugs at bay (and I've got a house full of young kids who go through the full range every year)

(cue onset of pneumonia...)

joker77

Cycle regularly (or any regular exercise)

Don't smoke

Take Spirulina

Seems to work well for me

dayshah

WalterMitty wrote: »

Not true.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cold#Risk_factors

cycling would warm you up anyway preventing any such "cold effect"

I didn't think of that. But when I cycle home (uphill) I inhale more cold air into my lungs. Wouldn't that have an effect on a cold spreading into a chest infection?

kenmc

dayshah wrote: »

I didn't think of that. But when I cycle home (uphill) I inhale more cold air into my lungs. Wouldn't that have an effect on a cold spreading into a chest infection?

A chest infection does not come from cold air!!!!!! It comes from bacteria and bugs which you breathe in.

In fact, cold air is actually GOOD because bugs can't survive as long in cold as they can in warmer air. I find airconditioning is the worst thing in the winter - it's generally turned up a few degrees to a temp that allows bugs survive, it pulls in air which other sick people have breathed out, sneezed out, coughed out, and redistributes it around the entire office. Same on a plane. Yuch.

joker77

Sick building syndrome - yea I've definitely noticed feeling better not breathing air-con air all day.

Plus cycling more usually means less public transport. Buses during the winter are another breeding ground for germs

Morrisseeee

But when I cycle home (uphill) I inhale more cold air into my lungs.

I'd imagine this ^^ will stretch your immune system to the limit, and if you're system can't recover (ie. vitamin D levels etc) then the buggers will be activated !!

victorcarrera

The difference may be between moderate and excessive intense exercise as explained in this article.
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/injuryprevention/a/Ex_Immunity.htm

There is also evidence that too much intense exercise can reduce immunity. This research is showing that more than 90 minutes of high-intensity endurance exercise can make athletes susceptible to illness for up to 72 hours after the exercise session. This is important information for those who compete in longer events such as marathons or triathlons.

Most competitive and even some recreational cyclists are doing 2 to 3 hour spins at this time of year.

biomed32

dayshah wrote: »

OK, I know I'll get sick sometime. But is there anything in particular I can do to prevent this. Any scarves or balaclavas that help?

unfortunatly no, some people are more lucky then others in the respect of catching or not catching colds or the flu, but if your concerned, the flu jab??:D