More tips on how to reduce severity of a cold
Following on from last weeks blog article on the benefits of garlic in fighting colds and flu, I wanted to share more tips on how to reduce the severity of a cold.
- Take a zinc supplement: Take zinc lozenges or syrup within 24 hours of the start of a cold, as this may reduce the duration of the cold. The important thing is to take the zinc within 24 hours.
- Rest. You body needs rest to heal.
- Soothe a sore throat. I personally like to gargle with sea salt water – 1/2 tea spoon of sea salt dissolved in a large glass of room temperature water.
Note: This is in appropriate for children as they may not be able to gargle properly. - Sip warm liquids. This could be chicken soup, team or warm apple juice. Personally I like a wedge of lemon in hot water with a little chunk of ginger sweetened with manuka honey.
- Vitamin C. The scientific jutry is still out on Vitamin C. Personally I dose up with 1000mg of vitamin C throughout my cold. Taking vitamin C before the onset of cold symptoms may shorten the duration of the symptoms. Vitamin C may provide benefit for people at high risk of colds due the the frequency of exposure.
- Echineacea. Study results on whether echinacea prevents or shortens colds are mixed. Some studies show no benefit. Others show some reduction in the severity and duration of cold symptoms when taken in the early stages of a cold. Different types of echinacea used in different studies may have contributed to the differing results.Echinacea seems to be most effective if you take it when you notice cold symptoms and continue it for seven to 10 days. It appears to be safe for healthy adults, but it can interact with many drugs. Check with your doctor before taking echinacea or any other supplement.
Remember that antibiotics attack bacteria but they are no help against cold viruses.
References
Related Posts
What is the difference between sports and deep tissue massage?
Deep tissue is a very descriptive name and is self-explanatory. The confusion comes when it is compared to sports massage. The big difference is the focus. Sports massage is dedicated to
- improving sports performance
- prevention of and treating sports injuries
- You work out religiously, but aren't as relgious about stretching
- You cycle or run to work and don't think to stretch
- You play sports but don't cross train so have specific trouble spots
- Your performance (in a particular sport) has dropped
- You have a history of injuries and want to reduce the likely hood of further injuries
- You work at a computer all day and your neck, shoulders & back are chronically sore
- You are so tense your back feels like concrete
- You have tired achy legs
- You are in pain
- You are stiff (or are unable to move your neck/arm/leg freely)
- You are stressed or anxious
- You have a knot or a muscle spasm
How to stay healthy at your desk
This week the daily mail reported that three in four office workers blame desk for sickness: badly set up desks and chairs cost companies 7bn each year. Rather than sitting in silence or popping pain killers to ease headaches or back pain, here are my top 7 tips for staying healthy while working at your desk.
- Sit up straight. As you read this post, if you’re not running to an appointment or standing, how are you sitting? Really take notice of how you are sitting and poised. Are you legs crossed? Is your back hunched over as you read this? Or are you sitting up straight? If you are sitting ensure that you are sitting up straight, not slouched, with your head directly over your torso and your feet on the ground, using a foot rest if necessary.
- User a wrist support. Repeatedly bending your wrists up and down (extension and flexion) compresses structures inside the carpal tunnel in the wrist. This can cause pain and lead to injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. Place the heel of your palm on a wrists pad to minimise wrist pain.
- Use a headset. If you spend a lot of time on the phone user a head set rather to avoid holding the phone to your ear by raising your shoulder which may cause neck & shoulder pain.
- Don't bang the keyboard instead use a light touch. Try to use the minimum amount of force necessary to depress the keys. The tendons from your fingers connect near your elbow, so striking the keys too hard can lead to problems you might not associate with your keyboard-for example, pain and inflammation in your elbows (Epicondylitis).
- Look straight ahead. Maintaining proper eye level with your computer monitor is essential. This helps you avoid straining your back, neck, shoulders, and arms. In addition, proper eye level reduces unnecessary eye strain. To accomplish this sit in your office chair and stare straight ahead. You should be looking directly at the center of your monitor. If you are not looking at the center of the screen adjust the monitor until you have the correct measurement and use a monitor riser where necessary.
- Save your work, save your shoulders. Working as a massage therapist who specialise in Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage withing an office environment, I know muscular tension in shoulders causing neck and shoulder pain is a common problem. To minimise the build up of muscular tension in your shoulders, every time your save your work or send an email simply circle your shoulder three times clockwise and then three times anti-clockwise.
- Book a massage. If you are feeling the stain and pain for working long hours at your desk then book a massage which are highly effective at relieving neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain and tension headaches.
If you suffer from headaches, you need to read this…
I am sure everyone knows that everyone needs to reduce their salt intake. This message from the government has been the cornerstone of their public health campaign for a number of years. It has resulted in food manufacturers producing "reduced salt" ranges of goods and reducing the amount of salt in our favorite brands. We all know that too much salt in our diet raises our blood pressure which in turn can lead to heart disease, stokes and heart attacks. New research has shown that when people reduce their salt intake, their is a 31% reduction in the number of them suffering headaches. Interesting researches noted, that the differences between healthy and unhealthy diets had no significant effect on headaches. Importantly the reduction in headaches was the same in people with high blood pressure as normal blood pressure. (see full article http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/12/e006671.full) It is estimated that just under half off all adults suffer from regular headaches, if you are one of them, maybe its time to consider the levels of salt in your diet. Anyone looking for more information on the impact of salt in their diet should visit http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/index.html a government backed website.
