5 Ways to reduce your chances of catching a cold

With the weather acting liking an unruly, unpredictable child, it’s hard to know if we’re going to have sunshine or rain. These days it seems difficult to decide what to wear or take with you on days out during the British summer time; sun cream, wellies, hats, sunglasses or bobble hat and scarf?  At least we Brits always have something to talk about! However, one thing we can be certain about with the damp weather is its ability to cause colds and bugs. Before you know it you’ve caught the latest cold going around and you may have developed a short-term addiction to Lemsips. There are some basic steps you can take to ensure you don’t become one of the cold stricken people!

1.Hygiene

Hygiene is important, everyone knows that, it’s something we are taught as children. When you take into consideration that the common cold is most often spread through direct contact with the contaminated area, this could be an inanimate object or someone’s hand. It’s impossible to tell if someone or something is infected, so the best thing to do is wash your hands regularly.  If you can’t wash your hands, make sure you have some antibacterial gel available.

2.Sharing Containers

This is another classic way those pesky germs manage to invade your body.  There are 500 to 1,000 different types of bacteria in the mouth, as soon as your mouth hits the rim of a glass, you leave your DNA all over it and any nasty colds or infections you may have. Just use your own cup and when finished with it make sure you properly clean it, this helps prevent germs spreading.

3.Healthy Diet & lifestyle

Your immune system is constantly fighting off infection and external bacteria, so the best thing you can do is give it a helping hand right? It is a well-known fact that a healthy diet and regular exercise helps to boost your immune system, along with regular intakes of fruit and vegetables, minerals and vitamin supplements to give your body extra fighting strength. On the flip side, smoking, excess alcohol, too much saturated fat and other unhealthy substances can weaken your ability to fight off infection, likely making any illnesses far worse. The bottom line? You should just eat the good stuff and try and get in at least 30 minutes of activity a day.

4.Sleep

Sleep is important; you don’t need us to tell you that though. Sleeping lets the body rest and recover from the strains and stresses of day to day life, it also gives your immune system the chance to increase the number of white blood cells in your system. White blood cells play a vital part in fighting off infection, without them, we’d constantly be ill and under the weather.

5.Hydration

Human’s recommended amount to drink is at least 2 litres of water a day, it keeps the body hydrated while flushing out any extra toxins. Dehydration leaves your body working extra hard to compensate for the lack of liquids in your body, this means your body is far less capable of fighting off infection.

 Do you have any other tips for avoiding colds? Comment below with your tips!