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Am on to my third cold this side of Christmas DD seems to pick them up in crèche then pass them on to me.

Anyone found anything they swear works? I used to use First Defence and found it helped sometimes but never seem to take it early enough now.

Wash your hands lots and don't touch your face. It's the only thing that stop me getting colds - I'm really prone to them and work in a school

Agree with Rainbows: good hygeine is key. My local pharmacist recommends an Echinachea supplement to prevent colds. I'm friendly with him, but not friendly enough to know whether this is because Echinachea genuinely works or because it is subsidised in his pharmacy somehow ...

I have been taking vit c fizzy thing with zinc everyday - since autumn and its my fist winter without a cold - also been obsessive with hand washing, i let slip in last week though and have a nasty cold now!

Manuka honey - a couple of spoonfulls every day.

agree with hygiene.
plus sleep + good nutrition.

What rainbows said. Plus, go back to the First Defence - I think it really does help.

Vicks vaporub and olbas oil / karvol on a hankie by the bed at night - I think big effort to keep breathing clearly through the night makes them pass faster.

vit c & zinc

Thanks for tips! DD is only 5 months and still BFing plus she is too darn kissable so probably in closer contact. But I need to start being more ruthless about the whole handwashing thing I think. Funnily enough I've had colds twice when she's been unsettled at night with her colds - think lack of sleep isn't helping either of us!

Don't have children (ok, too late for that) , don't work in a school, don't use public transport, plus what everyone else said. Especially the hand washing.

a clove of raw garlic every morning - chop into four pieces and swallow like you would pills - no taste and no odour, don't worry! garlic a really powerful natural antiseptic/antibiotic.

NB it thins the blood so not suitable to take so much if pg or any other condition that means you should avoid

I started taking Vit c in september I havnt had a cold at all, you can get the fizzy tablets they can be high in vitamin c and my frien swears by them when she has a cold

Donki

rooty how can that be with the no smell? My friend went through a phase of eating raw garlic and she nearly killed us all! She forced her DH to do it and he gave me a lift one morning - horrendous! Poor guy didn't eat any more as the whole day people were going 'eeuugghhh!!!'

I have Vit C tabs somewhere MrsJay I just never remember to take them. Ditto the First Defence stuff until it's too late or I don't take it often enough. Having a baby has fried my brain

yes a baby will do that I leave mine out on the worktop so I remember to take them this is the first year ive done it well last year and im in my 40s I always give the DDS them though

DD is 20 months and still breastfed - but surprisingly I don't catch that many colds from her any more. I also wash her hands as soon as we get in from anywhere.

Lack of sleep is a killer.

Not sure of the science of this...but DP and I both had the flu jab this winter and have (touch wood) no colds.

But also I am preg so have made more of an effort with hand washing (esp after I have travelled on the tube), have been taking vits, drinking less and sleeping more. So that might be why.

Good quality orange juice daily.
re hygiene. Wash hands after shopping. I found I picked up the most colds after shopping.

Staying warm - i can tell when I am due a sniffle when I get chilled.

Lots of wine - haven't been properly ill once since drinking wine a lot.

Avoiding people if possible. Not one cold this year and missed the noro virus thing. I am a student and hardly go in this year. Had more colds when I worked (but not as many as other people - see wine).

Angelico did she chew it?! I swear, no smell! not from one clove, anyway..... maybe if she was really scoffing the stuff down

Rainbows you are giving me hope I will eventually stop picking up her bugs, especially because I seem to get them worse than her The no sleep thing is especially infuriating because DD wakes, feeds then drops back off instantly whereas it takes me a while to settle again!

rooty she was chewing it. Is that where she went wrong? Is the gulping it down unchewed the secret?

wah! do not chew, lawks! yes, gulping unchewed is the secret - chop up as small as you need and swallow with water, like a pill. One clove. There will be no after effects I promise. My best friend's father took garlic every winter through our teens and he has not been ill once in the 20 years I have known him.

the thought of chewing raw garlic.............!!

Stop touching your face and wash your hands a lot, it really works at cutting down on catching infections.

Brill Rooty I might try that I think she was chopping it up and eating it with honey or something. All the same, might try it when it's a day I've nowhere to go...

Quote I have a really bad habit of pushing my lip with my finger and gnawing at it when I'm working which might explain my current predicament...

And when you say wash hands a lot what is a lot? I basically wash hands after loo / touching bins / doing foodie stuff. Is it worth washing them every hour or so? Don't they start to get a bit dry?