Colds 'n stuff

[Chris S]

My body is being assailed by microbes. The family S have the snot thing going, and I'm resisting.

Yesterday, I could not get warm. I fired up the heating, and I lit a fire. Still I was cold. In the end I went for a hard, quite hilly 30km ride, wearing lots of layers. I got home dripping in sweat and feeling brilliant.

Today I have a sore throat. I'm taking lots of Vit C and have lit another fire (conventionally, in the lounge, in the woodburner - hey, I'm no arsonist).

What do you good folk do to avoid the microbiological onslaught?

[hellymedic]

If you have a sore throat today, you'll probably have a snotty nose tomorrow.
YOU ARE DOOMED for now anyway.

I don't get worried by getting colds, while my partner is always scared of these things. I don't get many colds now; I've probably built up wonderful immunity in two decades of treating Britain's snot.

[Chris S]

Drat and double drat.

This weekend is #1's 21st Birthday Gathering at the family S mansion hovel. I simply cannot be snotty - these events don't happen that often... 

[Hot Flatus]

Had cold last week.  Sore throat wednesday nigh, felt shit next morning.  Dribbly snot fest friday morning, but up for gentle spin with Jaded friday evening.  Right as rain on saturday.  Gobbled some echinacea and had some berocca things too

[Sergeant Pluck]

A few times over the last year or two I've felt that way - the initial stages of a cold - and after a day or so it resolved and didn't progress beyond the preliminary stages. The last time, it did progress.

There is bugger all you can do apart from drinking plenty of fluids, eating lots of healthy stuff, and not going for hard, quite hilly bike rides.

Echinacea might be worth a try. I'm not totally convinced personally although I do take it if I have a cold. At best it reduces the duration of the illness.

I find the old-style Beechams powders (the ones that come in oversized speed wraps and contain aspirin) marginally the least useless of the cold remedies.

Personally I find that avoidance of changes in temperature and extremes of temperature helps to avoid the cold becoming a chest infection when your defences are down. This may be total rubbish.

[andygates]

Multivit, extra zinc, bee poo (propolis) if I can afford it, and gallons of orange juice, and an early night.

[Regulator]

Soberano 5 year old Spanish brandy.  It's matured in sherry casks and something leeches into it.  As soon as I get the beginning of a cold I start dosing myself.

Also very good if you already have a cold - it helps you sleep and kills the bugs (honest)...

[Tiger]

To clear your nasal passages you may wish to use the Indian rubber band method. This is normal practice for cleaning out the congested nose in India and can be seen preacticed daily by nose-wallahs on the streets for not many rupees.
Take a long rubber band- or two joined. Feed it into one nostril (gently) and allow it to ascend to the nasal cavity itself, keeping hold of the other end. Sniff it back down into the throat and hawk it up into the mouth. You can now pull it back and forth to remove any acculumulated snotty deposits including those that have hardened and dried out.
Very effective.
Best not doner at oines desk though asit may offend co-workers.

[bobajobrob]

I got a cold two weeks ago. Woke up with a sore throat on the Friday and rode a century on the Saturday. Have had a chest infection for the last two weeks. It's just about cleared up now.

Moral of the story - don't ride with a cold.

[numbnuts]

I've just had a flu jab

[Maffie]

Been battling my sore throat well over a week now, although seems to be going to my chest. Makes the asthma play up too  hmmm must get flu jab soon

[clarion]

Feeling grotty - cold & such creeping up on me for days, and my riding has been slowing down reflecting the fact.  I'm just so pigged off that it's started in September, when I know that I have to get to flippin March before I'm out of the danger zone.  I don't want any sick leave this winter.

And yeah - flu jab.  Everybody who has an LTC or is over 65, go get it.  Not only will you be reasonably well protected, your GP will be happier

[onb]

Lots of people on here seem to be riding whilst either starting or suffering with a cold I always thought this was not a good plan.Its not good for the ego either I seem to recall once going out with a chest infection and having to get off and push up a very minor gradient only to meet the local ctc club run coming in the opposite direction.

[Ian H]

I just never seem to get them any more. In a strange way this is worrying.

[clarion]

If I didn't ride when I was short of breath, I'd never get on the bike!

Maybe it isn't a great idea to ride with an infection, but getting to work & back is kinda important, and the bike is better than the damn tube!

[Chris S]

In the end, I've been OK so far - after 24 hours of feeling like I was getting a cold.

Sadly, Mrs S on the other hand had to miss our family festivities on Saturday eve; having instead to take to her bed with an attack of the vapours (shivering, blowing hot/cold, feeling sick, sore throat etc).

She has battled into work today - but I wouldn't have.

Oh, and yes - I've carried on with the Gym and other training. As has been surmised hereabouts before; just maybe, if one is under attack but haven't yet succumbed to the bugs, the cold icy blast of air gasped into ones lungs when riding a bike might actually kill the buggers off.

[geraldc]

 Massive doses of Vit C, hot curry, hot bath, early night.

Someone told me how to tell what sort of illness you have by looking at snot colour, yellow, green, white etc. I think one is bacterial, one is viral etc. It was very interesting, but not interesting enough for me to remember...

[Ian H]

Maybe it isn't a great idea to ride with an infection, but getting to work & back is kinda important, and the bike is better than the damn tube!

I imagine that if you ride gently it's going to be no worse than walking. A buff or something to cover the mouth and nose will alleviate the problems of cold air.

[Noodley]

I have been down with 'something' since Thursday, which went a bit like this:
Thursday - sore throat, sore head, sore everything.
Friday - continued sore everything, only sorer.
Sunday - nose bleeds, popping ears, yellow/green stuff.
Monday (today) - sore head, dizzy, and large scabs inside my nose...but moving towards pretty much almost feeling human again.

What about Saturday I hear you ask....yes, what about it?  I can't remember much at all. 

I have approached it by taking lots of medicinal stuff, eating loads (no idea if that works or not but I ain't feeling like shit and feeling hungry at the same time!!), not doing anything and alcohol. 

Tonight is my final chance to get myself sorted before I have to get back to work so I am opting for the 'hot curry to clear me out' option.

The option of riding did not even enter my head as I could barely make it to the kitchen without feeling faint...

[clarion]

Maybe it isn't a great idea to ride with an infection, but getting to work & back is kinda important, and the bike is better than the damn tube!

I imagine that if you ride gently it's going to be no worse than walking. A buff or something to cover the mouth and nose will alleviate the problems of cold air.

I'm not good at riding gently.  Slowly, yes, but not gently - I'm giving it loads trying to get to the low speeds I achieve

And I've found that having something over my mouth/nose causes me too many problems with breathing - lack of oxygen being a permanent thing.  Not that I haven't ridden with scarves etc over my mouth - once rode out & bivvied in the Pennines at Christmas looking like Yasser Arafat's paler (and dodgier looking) cousin.  But it got too constricting after a while.