Galway Advertiser 2007/2007_08_23/GA_2308_E1_020.pdf 

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Galway Advertiser

August 23 2007

NEWS

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FASHION

BEAUTY

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H E A LT H

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LIFE

MARY

O'CONNOR
* Viruses enter the body through the nose mouth and eyes * If you feel very sick, have a high temperature and find it hard to shake off a cold, visit your doctor * Wash your hands often. You will protect yourself by doing this * Stop drying the dishes. Tea towels can carry as many as three billion bacteria, especially if the towel is damp * Get plenty of sleep. It is essential for good health as it helps recharge your batteries. Your body's repair system is in full swing when you are asleep. If you do not get enough sleep your body does not have the opportunity to keep itself healthy * Exercise. Keeping fit can help keep your resistance up and so ward off summer chills. Even half an hour of regular exercise a day will help keep you in shape * If you do pick up a cold it is important to recognise your limitations. As your body deals with the virus you may become tired and worn out more easily so slow down. Avoid stuffy and smoky atmospheres because they may make you feel worse. Drink more fluids than usual and eat a balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables. Drinking hot fluids will also help ease your cough and sore throat

Fighting the cold war
Most people will catch at least one cold this season. Many will catch several and find it hard to shake them off. Colds, which affect the upper respiratory tract, can last anything from three days to a week. The cold virus does not produce any symptoms when it first enters a person's system, the real beginning of a cold therefore passes unnoticed. Cold and flu germs are transmitted mainly by hand-to-hand contact. Sufferers are infectious and are spreading their colds for days before their noses start to run or a cough develops. Although we spend a fortune on remedies for colds, coughs, and sore throats there is little we can do to cure a cold. However, we can strengthen our immune systems which will in turn help us ward off germs. You can build up resistance by eating well, exercising, keeping stress to a minimum and not smoking. Cut out fried foods, white bread and alcohol and increase your intake of wholemeal bread, fruit, vegetables and white meat. Cut down, if not out, Most adults get betweek one and three colds a year. sweets and biscuits and avoid snacks before meals. The role of exercise in the prevention of disease has been the for half an hour wearing wet through the air at 100mph so anyone subject of much discussion over the swimsuits. A second group was within a 30 feet radius can be affected years. Most experts now agree that exposed to the same physical people who exercise regularly have discomfort but not innoculated. A * People usually catch colds in raised levels of infection-fighting cells third group was innoculated but left crowded, humid places such as buses, in their blood. So, a regular exercise dry and cosy. Eventually, the first and schools, churches routine, even a walk around town, third group succumbed to the sniffles may get you through the summer at the same rate while the second group stayed healthy. without a sniffle. The dangers of smoking are well documented. Smokers have a weaker immune system than non smokers. If Facts about colds you cannot bear to put aside the * A cold is a viral infection of the cigarettes try to at least cut down on upper respiratory tract them. The damage to a smoker's immune system is reversible once you * You can be infected and infectious stop smoking. for 24 hours before symptoms appear Stress is frequently talked about today. It also has an adverse effect on * Most adults get between one and the immune system. Traumatic three colds a year experiences, such as a death in the family, moving house or being made * Studies indicate there is no proof redundant can often be a factor in you can catch cold by sitting in a illness. draught or getting wet It is important to learn to relax and take at least 10 minutes each day to * Always feed a cold as any infection unwind. You can do this by closing uses up energy and food restores it your eyes and shutting out all thoughts. Forget the mounting bills, * People get fewer colds as they get the mortgage, screaming children and older. Age seems to confer an demanding bosses and concentrate increasing degree of immunity to solely on relaxing every part of you. common cold viruses. You will find it instantly beneficial. Even if you have done all you can to * A healthy infant gets between six strengthen your immune system there and 12 colds a year. The frequency is still a chance you will fall victim to drops gradually until by the teenage some infection or other. years young people get no more than Many experts argue there is no two to three colds a year direct connection between contracting a cold and getting your feet wet, * The likelihood of catching a cold is walking in the rain or sitting in a nearly double for a person who is draught. British researchers suffering high stress levels conducted an experiment aimed at discovering the effect of chilling on a * A typical person will spend six group of volunteers. They divided the years of his/her life suffering from subjects into three groups and colds innoculated one set with cold viruses and had them stand around in the cold * Sneezing propels cold viruses

How to keep colds at bay
* If you catch a cold, wrap up but keep your windows open because the cold virus breeds in unventilated environments * Build up your immune system with garlic, a natural antibiotic which boosts the body's defences, vitamin C which prevents inflammation and helps the immune system respond with vigour, and zinc, which increases white blood cell activity. So, you can prevent the virus settling in the nose and throat by sucking ionised lozenges * If someone in the family already has a cold try to avoid sharing their food, crockery or cutlery * Drink six to eight glasses of water, juice, herbal teas or weak tea daily. This will replace fluids lost during a cold and help flush out impurities * Avoid people who are coughing or sneezing because cold viruses are quickly transmitted in this way * Eat light meals regularly. Avoid rich, heavy foods