How to fight off constant lurgies?

[littlemisscomper]

This winter has been one long illness, and we're not even half way through yet! Has anyone got any advice for steps that can be taken to prevent catching more bugs? So far I:

Use first defence spray
Take echinechea tablets
Have my 5-a-day
Use antibactreial handwash, and always wash hands when coming in from outside
Drink juice with added vitamins
Keep the house clean (but not in an obsessive/bleachy way
Use handgel before eating if out and about
Avoid crowded indoor places - haven't been in a soft play, museum, library or whatever all winter
Eat lots of garlic
Gargle with antibacterial mouthwash
Use dettol laundry detergent on clothes I suspect to be contaminated

What else can I do?! I'm really getting desperate now!

Probiotics. I used to be constantly ill with catching cold after cold. I haven't had a full blown cold for approx 18 months & I catch public transport daily & I work full time in an office. If you research benefits of probiotics in google you will see information on how having good bacteria in your gut helps fight off common lurgies.

Ok, great, thanks lottie! Where do you get them from? Do you just eat the yoghurts or what?

Following keenly!

Family of 5 and have had at least 2 people ill at a time since the start of December. It's relentless. We've been to out of hours every week for the last 4 weeks - all for genuine reasons. 3 of us have had antibiotics, 2 ear infections, 3 viruses and so on. 2yo has been ill 3 times since start of December with underlying cold and today has developed a temperature.

DH is currently at the chemist so I've just text him probiotics. I totally forgot about these - used to take them all the time! I second them.

I take vitamin c tablets. I was taking floradix but had post partum constipation and I think it was making it worse so stopped that - otherwise I vouch for it and think it's excellent stuff.

Separate handtowels too.
I ended up keeping mine high on the shower rail so the dc's wouldn't use them. We had a dreadful couple of years once.

@littlemisscomper I take these ones. I take them on empty stomach one in the morning & one at night, although from my research one daily is sufficient. These ones aren't cheap but it is a supply for 120 days, and they work out more expensive buying them in boots monthly. The reason I take these ones is because they have a special coating that the stomach acid can't break down ( the probiotics need to survive through to the gut where they will be released) and from looking around these ones are the only ones that specify that technology. My BF now takes these & he too hasn't caught any lurgies yet this winter even though he's been mingling with lurgy ridden people

I have caught the odd sniffle here and there but it's only lasted a day or so and not progressed into a full blown/cold/flu.

www.troohealthcare.com/p-1000-probio-cult-20-complete-20-billion-cfu-120-capsules.aspx

And the higher the amount of probiotic strains the better. This site also does less amounts ( billion probiotics ) which are cheaper but I was so so fed up of getting constant colds I went for the most expensive..... and so far so good.... haven't looked back since & I'm wallowing in the compliments of ' you never get ill ' in my office

We don't do any of that stuff and I can't remember the last time anyone was ill - apart from me, and that was July 2016.

It may be luck. I swear by sleeping with an open window though.

EdWinchester me too! I always sleep with the window open, no matter what time of year, and air the room thoroughly for a good few hours every morning even in the coldest part of the winter.

I also think wearing more layers of clothing in a cool room is better than turning the heating up high.

I am a great believer in handwashing & do it scrupulously and always before eating anything.

I rarely get ill.

Elderberry syrup has been a game changer for me!

Also I eat loads of fruit & vegetables but take no supplements.

@Meltedicicle Tell me more?!

I would do the open-window thing, but how on earth do you guys get up in the mornings when it's single figure temps in the bedroom?! Also it seems perverse to heat the house in the evenings (only to about 18 or 19 degrees, not super warm) and then open the window and let it all out! I do get out in the fresh country air every day though.

Thanks for the link lottie, am ordering right now!

Well I used to get loads of colds, as in all the time and they’d last for weeks. I’m in a choir and if anyone sitting near me had a cold, I would always get it. Same with work and if the kids had one etc. I started taking elderberry syrup in September 2017 and have only had one cold since. I heard about it via a parenting email forum I’m on and a lady on there mentioned it several times and eventually I gave it a go a wish I had started years ago!

I only open the window when I'm going to bed, when all the heating has gone off for the night

I have also ordered some - thanks @lottielottielottie

I seem to constantly struggle with my immune system and pick up every cold going, and then it takes forever for them to go. Hope these help!

I eat a lot of veg, and some fruit but I have a stressful job so that is definitely a contributing factor I think. I train hard in the gym (which also stresses my body) but I make sure I get outside and walk for an hour or more every day. I have always been a dreadful sleeper and I strongly suspect this is a big factor in having a weak immune system. Or perhaps I am just comparing myself to a friend who sleeps like the dead and never gets ill. [smile}

I'm surprised no one has mentioned vitamin d - low levels are linked to low immune system.

Unfortunately every few years we go through an onslaught as the viruses have evolved and we aren't immune to them.

There's also some evidence to show that cold water swimming (sea) or cold showers can boost the immune system. Many who do it regularly swear they have fewer colds.

Too much exercise does affect immunity, somewhere I read that over an hour of exercise has a significant effect on your immunity.

Raw garlic, I put it in yogurt or mash potatoes. Garlic is known for being beneficial for the immune system