How to get well soon(er) this New Year
It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but for many the festive and New Year period can be stressful, and we often find ourselves burning the candle at both ends. You may not be surprised to hear that stress can have a profound impact on your physical, as well as your mental, health.
Couple this with disruption to your regular sleep patterns, too much alcohol and a lack of healthy exercise and nutritious food – both of which can help you stave off infections – it’s hardly surprising so many of us succumb to coughs, colds and other infections this winter.
How to get rid of a cold
If you do find yourself laid low, here’s how to feel better faster.
Mediterranean diet or fasting
If you’re feeling under the weather, there’s a good chance your appetite will be affected. But eating nutritious food can boost your immune system, speeding your journey back to health.
A Mediterranean diet (plenty of vegetables, fruits, pulses and wholegrains; swapping out meat for fish; using olive oil instead of butter and other dairy fats; and low intake of junk food) has ample evidence of benefits for your heart. But there’s also good evidence that it can help you avoid recurrent colds, as eating this way helps strengthen your immune system. Sticking to this eating plan when you’re ill is important, too.
Intermittent fasting can lead your body to break down fat stores, producing ketones, some of which may boost your immune system and reduce inflammation. However, we don’t know enough about the pros and cons to recommend it if you’re ill. Just be sure to eat nutritious meals and don’t resort to junk food.
Many of us have been fed grandma’s chicken soup to help us get over illness in childhood. Of course, knowing it was made with love and spooned into your mouth with care was almost certainly comforting. But there may be more to it than that – chicken soup improves the activity of white blood cells called neutrophils, which are key to battling invaders. It may also help calm down inflammation in the body, which can lead to many of the symptoms of illness.
Sleep more or try a sleeping aid
If you feel exhausted when you’re poorly, it’s probably in part your body telling you that you need to rest to recover. This ‘sickness behaviour’ lets you conserve the energy you need to get better. Sleep boosts several aspects of your immune system, from T cells to cytokines, as well as lowering your cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
Some of my patients who find it hard to fall asleep swear by sleeping aids containing natural ingredients, such as valerian or lavender, which may help you sleep better in theshort term. Magnesium supplements are also popular among my patients, although research shows no consistent positive effect on sleep quality. One thing I never recommend is sleeping tablets – they’ve been linked to an increased risk of infections as well as falls, accidents, addiction and even death.
For a drug-free alternative, Sleepio is an NHS app approved by NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence). It offers weekly 10-minute sessions, when you’ll learn different techniques to help you fall asleep faster, spend less time awake at night and function better the next day. It’s already available free on the NHS in Scotland and parts of England, and it’s hoped it will soon be rolled out across the whole of England. Visit sleepio.com to see if you can access it in your area.
Stay hydrated - yes, tea and coffee count
Getting enough fluid is important for kidney health even when you’re not unwell. Dehydration can lead to tiredness, dizziness, headaches, weakness and confusion. It can make mucus thicker and harder to shift, and slow down your lymphatic system, which carries immune cells to where they’re needed. If you have a fever, more fluid is lost from sweating and even more if you have diarrhoea or vomiting, too. Most people need at least six to eight cups (2-2.5ltr) of fluid a day. If your urine is pale-straw-coloured, then you’re drinking enough.
Water is ideal, but tea and coffee are fine as long as you don’t exceed 400mg of caffeine (about four cups of coffee or eight cups of tea) in a day. If you’re pregnant, you should stick to a maximum of 200mg a day.
If you have diarrhoea and/ or vomiting, fruit juice or fizzy drinks may make it worse. Ideally, you should drink at least one cup (250ml) of fluid after every loose bowel movement. If you’re vomiting, stick to frequent small sips. Any amount of alcohol can dehydrate you and may interact with medications you’re taking, so steer clear of it completely if you’re unwell.
Use medication
Colds are caused by a range of viruses, so antibiotics are useless. But various other medications, available from your pharmacist, can relieve your symptoms.
PARACETAMOL may relieve a runny or blocked nose, but doesn’t seem to improve sore throat, cough, sneezing or feeling generally unwell.
NON-STEROIDAL ANTI- INFLAMMATORY MEDICINES (such as ibuprofen) can help cold-related pain, such as headaches, and can reduce fever, but don’t improve any other symptoms.
ANTIHISTAMINES don’t improve sneezing or a runny or blocked nose caused by a cold (rather than hayfever). But for the first couple of days of a cold, they may make you feel generally better.
NASAL DECONGESTANTS relieve a blocked nose but have no other benefit.
COMBINATION ANTIHISTAMINE- DECONGESTANT PAINKILLERS – there’s a surprising lack of evidence for these combinations, given how often they’re sold. They may help you feel generally less ghastly, but they do carry side-effects, so always read the patient information leaflet.
SALINE (salt water) nasal spray. In one study, adults with colds who used it six times a day speeded up their recovery by 20%, with a 20-30% reduction in time off work. Vicks First Defence gel-based nasal spray provided similar results. A new study in September 2024 also showed giving children 2.6% saline nose drops (three drops, at least four times a day) speeded recovery from colds by two days.
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