Over the past couple of days I’ve been flooded with requests from friends, family, and clients to offer up tips, suggestions, tricks, and perhaps even the latest form of voodoo to help stave off the flu (or colds and URIs) for folks that have been exposed at home, at work, or in the community.
There are a host of good practices to follow, most of which should be considered to be common sense yet now and again we could all use a reminder about; you’ll find a reasonable list below that just about anyone could implement today without much effort or expense.
For the record, I’m a firm believer that the Standard American Diet wreaks havoc on the immune system function of most who follow it, and that following the best nutritional plan you can over the long haul is very likely the most useful tool in your toolbox when it comes to fighting off the seasonal cold and flu onslaught. It’s never too late to get started making the changes you need to.
And of note, I’m deferring coverage of flu vaccines and antiviral agents to a later post; now, let’s talk about things we all can and should do during the flu season…
Sleep, Sleep, Sleep. A common sense point that doesn’t need a lot of explaining; the key point being that sleep deprivation critically impacts the immune response. One of your best preventative tools too.
Mind Your Hands – Wash, Wash, Wash. This one is perhaps the most basic of all common sense approaches to protect yourself, yet is potentially the most overlooked and inconsistently performed. Note you don’t need anything but warm water and standard soap here, and remember to scrub thoroughly for 20 seconds (say the ABCs twice to get a feel for the time). Wash after every encounter where you’re exposed.
Mind Your Hands – Don’t Touch Your Face. There’s no question what while the most common vector pathway for most flu and cold exposures is via aerosol (the guy on the bus or plane beside you sneezing for the last hour), viral transmission via our hands to the membranes of our eyes, nose, and mouth is also a critical pathway. Be intentional about this one…
Clean Surfaces You Touch Routinely. You don’t need to go OCD overboard here, but it’s time to use the handy cleaners for grocery carts for example, and be mindful of cleaning needs when you have a sick loved one at home – think counters, door knobs, etc. And DON’T share towels.
Blow Your Nose. Another common sense, ‘mind what your mother used to tell you’ point. Remember not to overdo it; you don’t have to sound like a trumpeting elephant to get the job done. Be gentle, do it frequently, aiming for one nostril at a time.
Gargle up to four times a day. Lightly salted water, or with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice all at least moisten a sore throat and/or ease a tickle. A client recently insisted that steeped raspberry leaves in 2 cups of hot water (or raspberry tea) have been a useful family recipe for decades.
Hot, Steamy Shower and Sauna. One of my personal favorites, maybe with a drop or two of eucalyptus oil in the shower floor.
Drink Plenty of Hot Liquids. Another classic from the your-mother-told-you-so file; think tea, broth, thin (non-dairy) soups, even warm/hot water. You don’t have to consume just hot/warm liquids; adequate hydration is critical when you’re staving off or battling an infection.
Stay the Course with Your Healthy Eating Plan. There’s a plethora of evidence supporting the fact that a disordered diet can critically impact immune system function (for example, see this paper). Sugars in particular can play an impressive role in stunting your immune response; watch for overly sweetened lozenges and OTC cough/cold medications.
Become a Stress Management Ninja, and That Includes Workouts Too. One of the principle stress hormones, cortisol, when chronically elevated suppresses immune function. Those of us prone to fall back into chronic cardio patterns or crush that weekend-warrior, pack it all into one day workout beware.
There’s no question life is damned stressful these days, I get it. Almost all of us can improve (significantly) our stress management routines – whether that’s committing to some relaxation and chill out time every day, or using prayer, meditation, yoga, self-directed biofeedback, or other approaches. Just do it.
Be Vigilant About Exposure Risks. Granted, some people you encounter every day during flu and cold season are shedding virus and not necessarily clinically ill enough to alert you to change your behavior (avoid them!). I’m talking about interacting closely with people you know to be infected, or getting slimed by a sneezer while commuting, at work, or via your lovely spouse or kids at home. Some go as far as to suggest you don’t fly, bus, or ferry during flu season, but that might be a tough call for daily commuters. Stuck sitting by a cougher/sneezer in tight quarters? Some would even argue a mask might help…
Supplements: Friend or Foe for the Flu? Conventional medical wisdom, for the most part, still appears to frown on the genuine efficacy of many “natural supplements and remedies” for cold and flu syndromes.
That said, there’s been research done covering the flu and cold (viral syndrome) impacts of vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, echinacea, zinc, elderberry extracts, garlic, ginseng, andrographis (Indian echinacea in some circles), and several more commonly recommended supplements and natural aids. This is a big and fascinating topic, deserving of it’s own post(s), and one I’ll address at some point down the road.
That said, my personal approach to supplements, when exposed to a cold or flu, is to up my vitamins C, D, and E, omega-3s (via fish/krill oil), add a standalone zinc supplement, and perhaps some echinacea if that tickle develops in my nasopharynx…
More on this topic to come.
Flu Vaccines. I’m very intentionally going to dodge the somewhat controversial (at least in some circles) topic today, as the focus of this post is what to do at the point you’re exposed to the flu. Running for the vaccine the day (or week) of a significant exposure won’t help you win that impending battle. As with the point above, this one is deserving of a post or two of it’s own.
Finally, I’ll join the chorus of those who argue that when it comes to seasonal colds and flu events, your best defense is very likely a strong offense in this game – that being optimizing your health and wellness approach year round, every single day. And some years, no matter how good your game, and likely due to exposures beyond reasonable control, you’ll get doused in viral particles and contract the flu or the seasonal cold running around your neighborhood. It happens, and the better your overall health status, the less impacted you’ll be, and the more quickly you’ll get back on your functional feet.
Stay healthy out there my friends.
