Tips to stop getting so many colds?

[PennyNotWise]

I always used to have a great immune system!
Maybe it’s inevitable with a child in school, me working in a school etc but I swear we get more colds than we used to… I only had one the other week and feel like crap again already!

Take a good probiotic. Everyone’s gut is messed up with UPF and antibiotics, and most of your immune reaction comes from the gut.

Echinacea and zinc. Increase your intake of fruit and vegetables. From my experience my friends who are fussy eaters and hardly eat f&v, they get more colds and are longer than those who eat more.

Get an air purifier for bedroom

Vitamin D. As we spend less time outside and longer nights our vitamin D intake is suppressed.

Vitamin D and K

Be extra vigilant about hand washing. It makes a real difference

Only thing I would say, encourage hand washing, ensure you are all having a healthy diet & exercise (top up with a multivitamin if needed). I believe primary age kids will be offered a flu vaccine this autumn (don't quote me)!!

My apologies for the long response. 🙈🤗 There will be spelling errors.

These are my staples and I rarely ever get sick. From what I remember, I had a bad cold in 2017, I was in bed for 4 days. And I finally caught covid (unvaccinated) in 2023 and had sweats and fever for 2 days and then it was done. Never been reinfected or sick. This is in 5 decades, I'm in my 50s. I'm a natural health advocate. You help your body to help itself. It knows how to heal if you give it the right building blocks. Research Barbara O'Neil. She is an encyclopedia of healing and natural health. I take everything separately, as not to interact. Not necessarily everyday, which is fine.

These are my staples.

Kefir - take a tablespoon before bed.
Kefir is a fermented milk drink that is considered a healthy probiotic and may have several health benefits, including:
Gut health:
Kefir contains probiotic strains that can help keep harmful bacteria in check and support gut health. One study suggests that regular kefir consumption can help reduce symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.
Immune system.
Kefir may help improve the immune system by reducing the production of proinflammatory cytokines. It may also help suppress viral activity by modulating immune responses.
Antibacterial and antifungal properties
Kefir has antibacterial and antifungal properties that can help fight off pathogens.
Anti-inflammatory effects
Kefir may help reduce inflammation, which can lead to long-term health conditions like arthritis, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Tumor suppression
Kefir may help reduce tumor burden and suppress tumor growth.
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Vitamin D3 with K2. Do not take D2 without K2.
Bone health
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, while vitamin K2 activates the protein that integrates calcium into bones. This combination may help prevent bone loss.
Cardiovascular health
Vitamin D and K2 work together to produce Matrix GLA Protein (MGP), which helps protect against calcium crystal formation in the arteries. This may help slow the progression of arterial calcification, which is linked to heart disease.
Skin health
Vitamin K2 helps maintain skin elasticity, while vitamin D has anti-inflammatory properties.
Immune health
Vitamin D and K2 both play a role in supporting the immune system.
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Garlic
Garlic has been used as an antiseptic, antibacterial, and antifungal agent. It may help the body resist or destroy viruses and other microorganisms. It does this by boosting the immune system.
Garlic has an antiparasitic action, which helps fight major intestinal parasites, including Giardia. Other studies have also shown that allicin can help inhibit the growth of the bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Many studies have found that garlic can reduce the chances that blood clots will form.
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Vitamin C

Vitamin C helps support the immune system.
Wound healing: Vitamin C helps the body produce collagen, which is a key component of connective tissue.
Cardiovascular health: Vitamin C may help widen blood vessels, improve nitric oxide production, and reduce plaque instability in atherosclerosis.
Cataracts and age-related macular degeneration: Vitamin C may help lower the risk of these conditions.
Iron absorption: Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, which is especially important for vegetarians and vegans.
Gum and teeth health: Research suggests that vitamin C can support healthy gums.
Antioxidants: Vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects against damage caused by free radicals, toxic chemicals, and pollutants.
Blood pressure: Vitamin C may help lower blood pressure.
Gout attacks: Vitamin C may help protect against gout attacks.
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Organic Omega 3

Most people are omega 6 dominant. We promote seed oild as healthy when they are anything but. This causes many avoidable health issues.

"Excessive amounts of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and a very high omega-6/omega-3 ratio, as is found in today's Western diets, promote the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, whereas increased levels of omega-3 PUFA (a low omega-6/omega-3 ratio) exert suppressive effects. In the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, a ratio of 4/1 was associated with a 70% decrease in total mortality. A ratio of 2.5/1 reduced rectal cell proliferation in patients with colorectal cancer, whereas a ratio of 4/1 with the same amount of omega-3 PUFA had no effect. The lower omega-6/omega-3 ratio in women with breast cancer was associated with decreased risk. A ratio of 2-3/1 suppressed inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and a ratio of 5/1 had a beneficial effect on patients with asthma, whereas a ratio of 10/1 had adverse consequences. These studies indicate that the optimal ratio may vary with the disease under consideration. This is consistent with the fact that chronic diseases are multigenic and multifactorial. Therefore, it is quite possible that the therapeutic dose of omega-3 fatty acids will depend on the degree of severity of disease resulting from the genetic predisposition. A lower ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids is more desirable in reducing the risk of many of the chronic diseases of high prevalence in Western societies, as well as in the developing countries, that are being exported to the rest of the world." ~ PubMed Omega 3s
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10ppm Acrive Colloidal Silver

Having used others and found them to be inferior. I always use a fantastic British brand Active Silver

I buy a big 250ml bottle and a nasal spray bottle to top up. While it has many many benefits, I used it through the pandemic and for travel. Especially in winter. The nasal spray I used in the height of thw pandemic, before I went into ANY busy area and after. 2 squirts up each nostril. Same for travelling. 2 squirts before I board the confines of the airplane and 2 squirts on landing.

It must be good. My ex-huaband travels a lot. Every time he travelled he would be sick after. After getting rather fed up with being sick all the time, he actually asked my advice. 😱 I bought him a nasal spray and he always uses it now. He never gets sick from travel now unless he forgets to take it. Result! 🤣

I hope this helps. I'm ND so I tend to waffle. Please forgive me. 😳

Organic sugarfree Elderberry syrup!

Perimenopause

I think handwashing makes a big difference for all kinds of illness. Wash your hands throughout the day, before you eat anything and first job every time you get in the front door.

This is fascinating, thank you for taking the time.
i often take all my supplements at the same time and think “how do I know if these are ok together?” Or “am I just going to pee these all out?” Feels like a minefield sometimes. But I am very interested in K2 now!
I also forgot about garlic, I used to eat a lot more of that.
thank you 🙏

Thank you all, I need to make this a priority x

Elderberry tincture or syrup.

Garlic Ginger Tumeric regularly

Hi VIt C either cordials or tablets but eaten I always think is better

I have anti virals for something else but only tkae a 50% maintenance dose.

I have not had COvid as far as I am aware, had 2 or 3 colds in last probably 8 years

I am clinically vulnerable, I nursed 2 people during covid of none covid stuff but lots of health worker contact

My other tips are keep your distance from people still, regularly thoroughly wash hands, don't put your hands all over stuff when out and about - clean off trolleys, don't handle stuff in supermarket any more than getting it in the trolley, sanitise hands back at car when packed up. Wash hands and face when been out on public transport or in public (again try not to touch stuff like buttons etc - let someone else or use cloth to protect you). If you work in school have your own anti bac wipes and use them regularly. Teach your child to wash frequently and use anti bac stuff and also have a change of clothes and a wash when in from school.

When they are ill increase cleaning at home and teach them not to spread their germs by touching lots of surfaces, food in fridge/fruitbowl etc.

@PennyNotWise if you need to thank a poster just do @ and a list of posters on the thread comes up,

Then you can say @TheWorldisGoingMad thank you , rather than quite the whole post. Which was very long.

Agreed, it was fascinating!

Vitamin c and keep the windows open all year round!

I used to be plagued by every cold going, with weeks of post nasal drip coughs long after close contact with schoolchildren was over.

Someone recommended a clove of raw garlic crushed between spoons first thing in the morning with a full glass of water chaser. It's not the most pleasant thing but totally worth while. I can literally feel my sinuses drying up.

I did it for a good few weeks until I finally (sic)) noticed that all trace of mucus was gone. Reinstate it at the first trace of a sore throat or stuffiness which might indicate a cold coming.

Also eat as many fresh raw leafy green vegetables as I can cram down my throat but really feel it's the garlic that makes the difference.

handwashing, elderberry syrup, foods that are good for your gut health. don't overheat your home, have the windows open. Get outside in all weathers.

Use a saline nasal spray every morning and evening. It flushes out the germs before they take hold. Works brilliantly for us.

Are there any damp issues in your house? DH used to get loads of colds when we lived in a damp rented house - moved out into a drier one and suddenly the colds vanished.

To the poster eating raw garlic every morning, wouldn’t your cold naturally have gone away in a few weeks, without the garlic?

@TooExtraImmatureCheddar

Appreciate that the garlic isn't proven to have helped clear up the cold, which would have gone away on its own after a few days. What I think the garlic helped with was to dry up the quantities of micas which used to hang around for weeks, even months.

In a mechanism called post nasal drip, it would literally drip down my throat and very often land in the cough reflex making me cough and cough, esp at night which kept me awake and was otherwise debilitating.

With that mucus dried up, I stopped coughing and could again have blessed rest.

Immediately after swallowing the raw garlic I could genuinely feel the sinus passages drying out. If it was psychosomatic, it really is my favourite way of healing.

Given the properties of garlic, I do think it is plausible that the drying up of my sinus was indeed caused by the raw garlic.

If you have a cold. Get rid of it quickly by using a saline nasal rinse using this https://amzn.eu/d/2Xs53jG as gets rid of colds faster.

Need to perform this over a basin or sink. Sometimes the cattarh goes down your throat and tastes vile

I keep window vents open

Don't have small children and a teacher for a husband.

Oregano oil - it's like magic. Kills a cold dead if you take it twice a day the minute you feel that scratchy throat. I use one drop in water. Tastes vile but you can buy capsules. If you get the oil just make sure it's not essential oil but the one you can take internally.

Drink more water, it will make you wee more so you wash your hands more often.