Colds - Ride or Rest?

[subaqua]

If you have 'flu you will be in bed shivering then sweating fit to bust and will certainly not feel like exercising.

We have a regime of washing hands as soon as we enter our house and we get very few colds. When you are out in pubic you pick up viruses from door handles etc, which you will transfer to surfaces in your home. You then rub your eyes or pick your nose and the viruses are in and multiplying in the damp warm environment of your mucous membranes. If someone sneezes over you the best advice is to breathe through your mouth because saliva is geared up to dealing with foreign viruses and bacteria.

The worst cold I've had in years was kindly given to me by an optician fitting me for contact lenses; he didn't wash his hands, just swished them under the tap then stuck them in my eyes. Bingo.

Fitness probably does help; they say you get around ten colds a year but don't notice most of them because your immune system deals with the virus. Losing the habit of rubbing eyes and picking noses is the best way to avoid colds though.

what a typo to make

I agree with the general points but have to disagree with the breathing through mouth bit. the nose is designed to catch stuff, hence its hairs .

and this year I have had fewer colds, sore throats blocked noses. I have also been cycling regularly since september. a coincidence- probably not . I also woke up this morning with a sore throat, the ride in to work shifted it very quickly.

 

[yello]

Im not sure where this riding when you have a cold comes from. a trip to the shops or a gentle poodle may be, but it would be far more benefical staying off the bike and getting back at 100% sooner.

I'm inclined to agree with that. Certainly, I personally would never risk it - but then I don't ever have to. IF the choice was ride with a cold or bus/tube with a cold then I'd probably opt for the bike.

 

[Globalti]

what a typo to make

I agree with the general points but have to disagree with the breathing through mouth bit. the nose is designed to catch stuff, hence its hairs .

and this year I have had fewer colds, sore throats blocked noses. I have also been cycling regularly since september. a coincidence- probably not . I also woke up this morning with a sore throat, the ride in to work shifted it very quickly.

I dunno; nasal hairs will certainly trap tiny particles of spray if somebody sneezes in your face but that means the virus is in your nose. Saliva on the other hand will kill viruses and any that you swallow with spit will be finished off by your stomach acid.

 

[Fiona N]

A factor no one's mentioned re: the rate of infections is where you live/work.

If you live and, especially, commute (i.e. by public transport) in a large population centre you'll be exposed to everything going and your immune system will strengthen accordingly (assuming you've got a healthy immune system). Conversely, if you live in a small population centre like I do, what you're exposed to is quite limited and contact with strangers from outside the area often result in a spat of infections. For me this is noticeable - after the weekend of the Kendal Mountain Film Festival when I spent a lot of time in cinemas with strangers I came down with a cold and after travelling I often get something too, although whether the source is Manchester airport or Helsinki is a moot point - it's all those strange bugs

Moral of the story is clearly to stay at home and avoid strangers



P.S> the emoticons seem to be acting up too - a virus?

 

[Globalti]

Can't remember where it was but I read in Jared Diamond's book Collapse that a small Carribbean island had a population of 300,000 that was wiped out by viruses within a year of Christopher Columbus and his merry men arriving.