Keep getting sore throats/colds - any advice?

brettjmcc

Now to start, I have a doctors appointment on Friday, but thought I'd ask if anyone has been in a similar situation.

Basically, over the past few months whenever I have had a long hard ride, or a hard short TT, or even just got tired with family stuff etc I seem to wake up the next day with a scratchy itchy throat.

Sometimes it goes into full blown cold mode, others I just have a really bad score/scratchy throat for a few days with maybe a headache and at times light diziness.

The thing is it seems to be a repeatable pattern with getting v tired.

I eat heathily and take multi-vitamins supplements and even ehnace with zinc etc to try and prevent. I also ensure that I am have recovery nourishment after rides etc as well.

Anyone have any pointers for me? Thanks

graeme_s-2

I had/have a similar tendency. I once did a sportive and ended up riding with a guy who turned out to be Tom Daley's sports nutritionist. I had a chat with him about it, and he suggested the following:

Making sure I was fuelled correctly for hard workouts (I'm a triathlete and was running some evenings after cycle commuting and swimming at lunch).
Proper hand washing, and using alcogel (I work in a University, and every October hoards of students turn up with their own viruses and bacteria)
Get enough sleep, I was generally getting 6 or 7 hours sleep most nights, he suggested it should be more like 7 or 8 for my training load at the time.

The result of following this advice was a few months later I did a half marathon, which was the first event I'd ever turned up to without some sort of cold symptoms.

Not saying the same will work for you, but it's worth a try!

ut_och_cykla

Sleep, protein (important for immune system as well as muscles), B & C vitamins, and zinc. Some say amino acid glutamine helps immune system. Could also be an underlying allergy problem?
Hope you get it sorted - it took me years of trial & error but I found the above most useful

Slack

Get some of them friendly bacteria tablets from your local pharmacy type shop. Or hoof down a couple of bio yoghurts every day for a couple of weeks.

The bio bacteria stuff is good at restoring and protecting your immune system.

Dougal_bug

May be worth asking GP for a blood test, I started with similar symptons, which landed up being Glandular fever.

If caught early, then easier to recover, and also hard to diagnose as sysmptons are like common cold / flu. Mine started with a almost returning throat infection, then mouth ulcers, and the final nail, just as a I got the diagnosis, a Migraine, like I have never had befoer (and I am a migraine sufferer)

There was a delay in diagnosis for me, but not a massive one, tI was off work for 4 weeks and out of sport for 3 months, with another 2 getting back into full training (different sport back then). When I first started training again, I was probably only doing about 20% of what I considered my full training at that time, and built it up.

If this is what you have, be careful, I know people who think they have recovered and go back to work / exercise too early, and are back at the start process.

The other thing I will say, although not confirmed as a repeat attacks, there are times of high stress, or regular colds, where I have to slow down, and get some extra rest, as otherwise, I start showing signs of it returning.

brettjmcc

I know sleep is a problem for me, I've always been a very light sleeper and regularly find it hard to get to sleep.

As for all the supplement advice above - I already do all of that. Bio-yoghurts, multi-votamins, protein with aminos etc.

The allergy may be something, I know I am allergic to a few things thanks to an allergy test last year. However, even though I am off the Loratadine now, this was still occurring when I was on it during my 'bad' season.

I really hope its not E-B. Looking at the symptoms I don't think so, but will have to see what the doctor says.

My HR is sitting around 52-55 sitting here at my desk at work, and that's me being 'unfit' as I would call it.

vorsprung

When I feel a cold coming on I neck a load of carbs

Drinking a box of orange juice and having triple helpings of pasta seems to do the trick

rdt

brettjmcc wrote:

Basically, over the past few months whenever I have had a long hard ride, or a hard short TT, or even just got tired with family stuff etc I seem to wake up the next day with a scratchy itchy throat.

That's me to a "T" - v hilly 75 miles on Wednesday, fast 100 on Sunday, sore-ish throat Monday and today...

I try to do what everyone else here has said: eat really well (and loads of it!), multivits and high dose Vit C (and often echinacea and andrographis), and most importantly of all plenty of sleep. If I do all that, the initial symptoms usually disappear without turning into a full-on cold.

I've just accepted that I seem to need a fair bit of recovery from intense exercise, and therefore listen to my body (without intense exercise, I hardly ever get sore throats or colds, so the hard exercise seems to be the catalyst).

RowCycle

I found vicks first defence really good, I resisted using it for quite a while after my mates kept going on about it but it really works.

I row, and after hard sessions, particularly in the cold, outside I get a cough and lack of voice. Very common amongst rowers. Something about cold air burning the back of the throat.

redddraggon

It looks like you've had similar symptoms to me. Recently I keep getting like the start of a cold with massive fatigue, but not progressing into a cold, and it lasted for about a week and it just wouldn't go - I'd made sure I was eating right, getting plenty of rest.

I rang up my doctors to book an appointment, apparantly I'd been deleted off their records because they'd not seen me for about 8 years, so I had to go reregister, got an doctors appointment for 48hours later, doctor decided to send me for bloodtest, had to wait 5 days for that, and then told I'd have to wait for 10-14 days for results.

So two weeks later after first going to the doctors I've still not got any firm diagnosis. But it looks like I've glandular fever anyway, so there would have only been supportive treatment anyway.

Garz

Eat plenty of fresh fruits/veg and if necessary top up with vit-C (pure orange glass a day for e.g.). Also learn to back off with the efforts so that you can recover. Going all out all the time or having no rest days will lead to this or over-training.

Ron Stuart

Stop flying Rynair

elmsallmissile

Stop kissin' mucky women

doyler78

Stop breathing :shock:

Pigtail

The hand-washing advice above is good. Although people struggle to see the connection it can really make a huge difference.

I work in a care environment, and as people are in close contact colds / flus tended to go round everyone. A couple of years ago, as a result of the swine flu scare we did a huge amount of work on handwashing / general hygiene. As we all know swine flu didn't come to very much - but the training had a big impact on reduced sickness / infections.

bahzob

RowCycle wrote:

I found vicks first defence really good, I resisted using it for quite a while after my mates kept going on about it but it really works.

I row, and after hard sessions, particularly in the cold, outside I get a cough and lack of voice. Very common amongst rowers. Something about cold air burning the back of the throat.

Bump ^^^^

I started serious training in 2006. I decided prevention was better than cure and have been using First Defence as a preventive measure, taking a couple of snorts first thing in the morning and last thing evening ever since.

Since then I've trained and ridden extremely hard, plus had risk factors of regular train commutes, frequent air travel and sharing a home with bug ridden children, wife and pets.

In all that time I think I have had 1 serious cold. I'm trying hard to recall now the last time I had a cold of any sort and honestly can't remember, it was years ago for sure.

(edit: wrt to post above agree there too. During periods of especial high risk (commutes and the like) I would also use the First Defence hand creme. Just for the record I have nothing to do with Vicks, I just think its a damn fine product that actually works)

Herbsman

Those suggesting high doses of vitamin C might want to read a few studies on the effects of vitamin c supplementation on endurance performance first...

snowley

I get the same. I think rest is a massive part to be honest.

Getting the right amount of sleep will help.

rdt

Herbsman wrote:

Those suggesting high doses of vitamin C might want to read a few studies on the effects of vitamin c supplementation on endurance performance first...

As in this:

http://www.ajcn.org/content/87/1/142.abstract

http://highaltitudesportsrehab.com/2010 ... rformance/

But seems like a blurry area:

http://www.ajcn.org/content/93/6/1373.abstract

http://noitirtun.wordpress.com/2011/06/ ... -training/