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Butcher's Dog! Regular
outdoor fitness tips from the canine on creatine. Cold wet
nose and glossy coat guaranteed.
Colds, Bloody Colds!
It's okay for me to have a cold wet nose,
I'm a dog, but what about you? In case you hadn't noticed
there's a cold epidemic about and sniffs and sneezes seem to
be everywhere, so how can you avoid the dreaded sniffles and
if you do get them, is it safe to carry on up the
outdoors?
• Okay, first - colds are caused by
viruses and most are spread by contact with tiny droplets of
watery snot (sorry, discharge) on infected surfaces or even
- horror - people. You can do yourself a big favour by
trying not to stick your hands in your eyes, nose or mouth.
If you simply must, then wash them first.
• If someone you live with has a
cold, give them their own 'DISEASE TOWEL' so you don't share
their virus by drying your hands. It will make them feel
very special too.
• Colds are communal so, do yourself
a favour, stay away from people who have colds. Sneezing
ejects a powerful vapour laced with viruses. If someone
sneezes over you kill them immediately and hide the
body.
• Avoid kiddies if you can, ditto
nurses, doctors or teachers or anyone else exposed to large
numbers of people on a regular basis - riot police? - the
law of averages says they are more likely to catch colds and
transmit them. Use contraceptives.
• Generally being fit strengthens
your immune system, but for around 30 minutes after intense
exercise, your immune system is actually weaker, so, if
you're worried about it, hide in the bathroom when you've
finished your run.
• Drink lots of water - you'll keep
the infected lining of your mouth and nose moist and happy.
Avoid diuretics like tea, coffe and alcohol. Cold reliefs
will diminish symptoms but won't 'cure' the cold.
• Colds are viral so anti-biotics
are useless against them. All the stuff about munching
garlic might make you feel psychologically better, but it
won't kill the virus. Some evidence suggests that taking
garlic may help to prevent you catching a cold in the first
place, but it won't shorten the duration.
• There are lots of anecdotal
advocates of stuff like zinc, vitamin C and echinacea as
means of combating colds, but the scientific evidence is
limited. By all means take them if you like, but even though
there seems to be some evidence that echinacea can shorten
the duration of a cold by boosting the immune system and
zinc nasal sprays may also help, it's far from
conclusive.
Training
First, most colds last about a week -
fitness losses over a week, even if you don't train at all,
are relatively small, so don't panic. If you don't feel like
getting out there, don't worry, the rest will do you good.
Otherwise:
• If your symptoms are above the
neck with no swollen glands, fever, infected mucus etc then
you can take moderate exercise, but don't overdo it and
avoid intense training till you feel 100 per-cent
again
• If your symptoms are below the
neck then back off and don't train till you are well again
and then, take it easy to start with.
• Ironically the more intensely you
train, the more likely you are to get a cold in the first
place, but hey, chill, relax and wait it out. The rest, like
I said before, will do you good.
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