Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 7: Apply good hygiene
• Method 2 of 7: Stay away from sick people
• Method 3 of 7: Change your eating habits
• Method 4 of 7: Get extra vitamins
• Method 5 of 7: Change your habits and way of life
• Method 6 of 7: Try natural remedies
• Method 7 of 7: Soothe cold symptoms
• Tips
• Warnings

A cold can make you feel terrible for a few days. From the runny nose and irritating cough to the sore throat and fever (or worse). The worst part is that it can all come back up after a month. Have a cold prevention strategy and stay healthy all year round.

To step

Method 1 of 7: Apply good hygiene

1. Wash your hands often. Washing your hands is the best way to avoid catching a cold or the flu. Scrub your hands with soap and water before eating and before and after going to the toilet. Follow these instructions to wash your hands properly:
   • Wet your hands with warm or cold water.
   • Put soap on your hands.
   • Rub your hands to soap them. Rub them all over. Don't forget to rub under your fingernails, between your fingers and the back of your hands.
   • Scrub for at least 20 seconds. A quick way to remember how long that is is to sing "Long Will He Live".
   • Rinse your hands with clean water.
   • Turn off the water with a paper towel so you don't re-contaminate your hands.
   • Use a paper towel to open the door of a public restroom.
2. If you don't have soap, use a hand sanitizer. Washing your hands is the best way to keep them clean. But if you don't have soap and water available, you can use a 60% alcohol disinfectant for your hands.
   • If your hands are visibly dirty, it is still better to use soap and water.
3. Keep your hands away from your face. Do not rub your eyes, your nose, or your ears if your hands are not clean. You can get infections when you spread bacteria from your hands to your face.

Method 2 of 7: Stay away from sick people

1. Keep your distance from other people. Keep a distance of at least two feet between you and other people. A cold can be passed on more easily if you are closer to someone with a cold.
   • A cold virus can be contagious for up to two weeks. If a friend has a fever with cold symptoms, then most likely he is contagious. Even if your friend says he feels better, he can still light you.
   • If someone is on antibiotics for their cold, they can still spread the virus. Antibiotics do not treat the virus infection.
2. Don't share cups, straws, or other personal items. The cold virus can dormant for 24 to 72 hours before symptoms start.
3. Limit your exposure in places such as airports and shopping centers. Places where a lot of people go will also have more cold bacteria. If you are concerned about getting sick, stay away from places like this as much as possible.
4. Remind your kids to wash their hands. You can do everything you can to avoid catching a cold, but you still run the risk of getting infected if your child gets sick. Young children are prone to colds at school or daycare.Reminding your kids to wash their hands can also reduce the risk of them getting sick.

Method 3 of 7: Change your eating habits

1. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. While hygiene is most important, eating healthy foods will do your body a lot of good. Feed your body nutrient-rich foods and cut back on sugar and processed and fried foods.
   • Keep in mind that there is no proven effect that any particular food will keep you healthiest. A healthier diet does provide more nutrients that can help your immune system fight infection. For example, you can't eat a bowl of strawberries, but you can't wash your hands all day and expect to stay healthy. To prevent a cold, it is best to use a combination of many strategies.
2. Eat yogurt to help you grow good bacteria in your gut. Yogurt is part of a healthy diet. Yogurt contains good bacteria called probiotics that help fight infections.
3. Eat foods to boost your immune system. Many foods have certain important vitamins or antioxidants that can help fight infection. Some of these nutrients are:
   • Oranges: These are always listed first when people think of vitamin C. Eat an orange a day or drink a glass of orange juice for a good amount of vitamin C.
   • Apples: These act as an antioxidant.
   • Papayas: This fruit contains a lot of vitamin C.
   • Grapefruit: These fruits are high in vitamin C as well as other beneficial nutrients, such as cancer fighters.
   • Fish: This helps fight inflammation associated with colds. Eat fatty deep-sea fish such as wild salmon, mackerel, and whitefish.
   • Garlic: This works as an antioxidant, which you can use to fight a cold.
   • Red Bell Pepper: This one has even more vitamin C than oranges.
   • Milk: This is a good choice because of the vitamin D it contains.
4. Drink lots of water. Make sure you don't get dehydrated. Men should drink at least 13 glasses (250 ml per glass) of water per day and women should drink 9 glasses. This includes the moisture you get in through your diet.
   • Water can also prevent dryness in your nose or throat, which can also help prevent a cold.
5. Gargle with tap water. Water is generally good for you, and a Japanese study has shown that gargling with plain tap water can prevent a cold. Researchers who participated in this study believe that the chloride in the water prevented the transmission of the common cold.

Method 4 of 7: Get extra vitamins

1. Take a daily multivitamin. Vitamins will help you fight colds by supporting your immune system.
   • Taking extra vitamins has not been proven to prevent colds, but it will likely shorten the duration of a cold if you take them.
   • Do not take separate vitamins. Taking too much of extra vitamins can potentially make you sick.
2. Increase your intake of vitamin C. Vitamin C will help your body fight a cold. Several studies show that vitamin C can also shorten the duration of a cold.
   • Drink diluted orange juice to increase both your vitamin C and water intake. Do not drink too much juice as juice contains sugar.
   • Aim to get about 250 to 500 milligrams of vitamin C per day.
3. Take vitamin D every day. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to a higher risk of infection. Get sunlight to boost your vitamin D levels. We make vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunlight. With just 15 minutes of sun, half the time it takes for your arms and face to turn pink from the sun, you can boost the immune system.
   • If you are going to be out in the sun for more than 15 minutes, make sure to apply sunscreen. Some experts believe you can still make vitamin D from the sun, even if you protect your skin.
   • Researchers have found that in winter, when there is less sunlight, people are more at risk for respiratory infections such as the common cold. This is partly due to low concentrations of vitamin D. In winter, you should therefore take supplements with low concentrations of vitamin D, such as tablets or cod liver oil.
   • Ask your doctor to measure your vitamin D levels with a simple blood test.
4. Increase your zinc intake. A number of studies have shown that zinc can help prevent or shorten a cold. Eat foods high in zinc, such as beef, lamb, seafood, spinach, cashews, and beans.
   • However, don't take too much zinc either. More than 40 milligrams per day can cause headaches, drowsiness, dizziness, and other symptoms.
   • A number of studies show that zinc shortens the duration of a cold in adults, but not in children.

Method 5 of 7: Change your habits and way of life

1. Sleep much more than usual. By taking longer rest than you normally do, your body can get the rest it needs to recover. Your body's daily activities wear down the cells in your immune system. Proper rest helps to restore those cells so that you can function properly every day.
2. Also exercise when you are sick. Believe it or not, exercise can help you avoid a cold. Exercise regularly to stay healthy, reduce stress and improve your body's energy levels. Keep moving even when you are sick. You may need to slow down, especially if your energy level has dropped.
   • If you have not been exercising regularly, talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.
3. Reduce stress. Stress affects you in various ways, including increasing the chance that you will become ill. Stress also makes it take longer for you to recover. Keep your stress level down by finding the cause, learning mechanisms for coping, take yoga class and rest if you can.

Method 6 of 7: Try natural remedies

1. Take herbal remedies. Herbs such as thyme, licorice root, garlic, echinacea and elderberry extract can help prevent colds and reduce duration.
   • Make tea from one or more of these herbs and drink a pot of it.
   • These herbs are also available at health food stores as supplements and online.
   • If you have high blood pressure or a pollen allergy, you should be careful when taking herbal supplements. Consult with a good herbalist before using these types of agents.
2. Eat a teaspoon of raw honey. Honey has antimicrobial properties and is an antioxidant, which can help prevent colds and shorten infection time. Eat one or two teaspoons of honey or dissolve it in a cup of herbal tea.
   • Avoid the honey from supermarkets! This honey has been filtered so that the most benefits have been obtained. Studies have shown that the majority of this honey is not honey. Instead, go for raw honey. You can buy this from health food stores, online and of course directly from the beekeepers. It's relatively expensive, but worth it if you have the money.
3. Try sprinkling some brewer's yeast over your food. Brewer's yeast is a type of yeast that is left over from the brewing of beer. It is available in powder form at health food stores. Brewing yeast can be used to prevent and treat a number of illnesses, including the common cold. Drizzle a teaspoon of brewer's yeast over your food every day.
4. Take ginseng capsules. Ginseng is a root herb used in traditional Chinese medicine to prevent various ailments. Take a 200 milligram ginseng capsule per day to prevent colds from continuing.

Method 7 of 7: Soothe cold symptoms

1. Start drinking plenty of fluids right away. When you feel the symptoms of a cold start, hurry up and get fluids. This will help thin any mucus and soothe a sore throat.
2. Gargle with salt water. If you have a raw throat, gargling with salt water will soothe it. Mix a teaspoon of table salt in a glass of warm water. Take a sip of the water mixture and gargle. Spit it out. Repeat this several times a day.
3. Use a saline nasal spray to combat nasal congestion. If your nose is blocked, try a saline spray to take some of the pressure off. Sprays or drops containing saline solution are readily available at drugstores and supermarkets.
   • If you are taking a saline nasal spray, follow the package instructions.
4. Take over-the-counter medicines for the aches and pains. You can take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to treat minor aches and pains associated with the common cold.
   • You can also take over-the-counter medications such as Kaloba, Nisyleen, or Hot Coldrex to treat the symptoms of your cold.
5. Get plenty of rest. If you feel a cold coming on, go to bed early. Try to get extra rest so your body can fight the cold.
6. Use tissues and sneeze into your elbow. Use tissues to catch coughs and sneezes. This will prevent the germs from spreading. If you don't have a tissue to hand, the best option is to sneeze into your elbow.
7. Stay away from antibiotics. If you feel a cold setting in, don't immediately run to the doctor for a course of antibiotics. If you take antibiotics when not necessary, bacteria can survive the antibiotic treatment. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria will then multiply and increase the chance that other bacteria will survive antibiotic treatments in the future.
   • You can also get diarrhea or vomit from antibiotics, which can cause dehydration symptoms.
   • If you get a fever, it could be more than a cold. Contact your doctor if you have any concerns.

Tips

• Think, stay and be happy. Your inner thoughts can determine your health.

Warnings

• Always consult a doctor if there are any changes in your health. If you are already sick, follow these methods anyway. They are good ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle.