Cold / Flu - experiences and advice

bsharp77

Morning everyone,

Just wanted to ask how you have been affected by colds and flus during this winter.
I'm just getting over my 3rd cold in 3 months - this one has been the most vicious of the lot and I'm just fed up with it.

I commute every day (8 miles each way), along with a weekend ride of usually 40-60 miles.
Not massive mileage, but I do tend to push pretty hard all the time - i'm now wondering if a couple of commutes need to be done at a much more reasonable speed to give the body a chance, or is it just par for the course that if you are out in the cold and wet 6 days a week that you are going to pick up these things?

Any advice and experiences welcomed!

bahzob

First Defence works, both the nose spray and hand wipe (many colds are picked up via the hands)

I used to suffer from regular colds which didn't bother me much until I started serious training around 10 years ago. Then they started to be a real pain so I tried First Defence and it seemed to help clear them up. So reasoning prevention was better than cure since then I used it daily. Touch wood I have not suffered a single major cold since, at worst just a slight tingle in the nose which clears up in a couple of days and doesn't hinder training.

This is despite usual risk factors of commuting , frequent air travel and wife/children catching a cold.

mamba80

^this

First Defence is brilliant.

bsharp77

Thanks guys - thats really interesting.
I seen first defence in the shops, but put it down as an overpriced gimmick....good to hear some experience of it actually working.
Looks like ill be taking a trip down to Boots this evening to give it a go!

bikes`n`guns

4 weeks of solid colds. Started with a three week cold that ended in bloody sinus`s then out to work and caught an evil chest infection that now needs antibiotics.

Before this I don`t think I had a cold in almost 4 years.

Whats first defence ?

keef66

Completely healthy all year then spent most of the Christmas break feeling like I was fighting off some kind of lower respiratory tract infection. Went out on the bike only 3 times and each time quickly gave up because my lungs were not cooperating.

First half decent ride on Sunday; managed a couple of hours and felt OK afterwards, so I think I'm over it. Spoken to several friends / colleagues who were pretty ill with proper nasty chest infections, so I think I've had a narrow escape.

diy

Haven't had a cold for nearly 3 years - had two during December. Golden rule is don't train hard when ill - hard exercise lowers your immune system's ability to fight and can lead to more serious things illnesses. Even though you'll get a short term high and feel better, it will be short lived.

cougie

I had a bit of a cold in November - but managed to avoid the worst bugs at Xmas. I make a point of washing my hands or antibaccing them as much as I need to - and I'll go to the extent of avoiding door handles out of the loo too. The number of people that go to the loo and then dont wash their hands - yuk !

Avoid ill people if you can, and if you think you are coming down with some bug then err on the side of caution and rest up. One session isnt going to make a difference to you - but avoiding getting ill will.

Maybe dont push hard all of the time ?

BSRU

No problems so far this winter, normally November is bad for me.
It could be down to having no contractors at work any more, (nothing wrong with contractors), as they are not paid sick pay they still come in even when very sick.
And/or, this winter only riding in the garage on a turbo.

Tjgoodhew

My office seems to be a breeding ground for colds mainly due to the amount of people that spend the majority of their lives drinking to excess amongst other things meaning their immune systems seem to be non existent.

Im just starting my second bout of cold this winter as of this morning. I was really looking forward to a long ride tomorrow which i might need to shorten depending on how im feeling.

I was always under the impression that with a cold you can get over it much quicker with simple bed rest. A couple of days real rest can knock a cold on the head pretty quickly. Too many people try to soldier on and drag it out for days/weeks.

Oh and first defence is excellent. Best £7 you can spend at the start of the winter

kajjal

If you are recovering from a cold best to take it easy or you will impact your recovery. At worst you can end up being ill for longer if you over do it.

Zingzang

Kajjal wrote:

If you are recovering from a cold best to take it easy or you will impact your recovery. At worst you can end up being ill for longer if you over do it.

You can end up being ill for literally years, as I have been, and receive no effective treatment.
The illness concerned is called M.E., and is one of the worst illnesses you can get. In approximately 80% of cases it starts with a viral infection.

flycop2000

I can state from experience " don't train hard whilst having a chest infection" A number of years ago I took ill with what appeared to be a chest infection but turned out to be a pulmonary embolism in each lung. Spent a week in hospital, 2 months off work. The first two days on oxygen, intravenous antibiotics, anticoagulants and morphine for the pain. The docs could only come up with reason for my illness as training hard whilst having a chest infection?

john1967

At age 47 I havnt had any colds or flus for a good number of years and then WHAM from last November I have had 4 bugs on the trot.I had a cold followed by a sickness bug then flu and then a nice cold in the new year.Hopefully that should be it and I get on with my training for the upcoming TT season.Im going to look into any immunity system boosting foods and supplyments for the future and try to take more care with washing hands etc if possible.

jjsh

Spent most of November with a sucsession of colds, all of slightly differing types. Just as one was disapearing, your nose would tingle, or throat croak, you know the usual signs of a fresh cold. I felt utterly, utterly fed up after about 4 weeks. Not ill enough to be off work, but feeling constantly under the weather and unable to cycle / run / gym.

Was OK for December and the festive period, got a virus like 3 day wham bam thankyou maam 'like flu but not flu' stinker early Jan, but that had the good grace to be full on for 3 days then p155 off.

Hoping that's it now, because I feel I've had a seasons worth. :evil:

cerv50

This topic makes for interesting reading... I have built my fitness back up after a fortnight stuffing my face in Florida in November and am now back to where I was before I went. Its been hard work losing a stone in weight but that's my own fault. No colds to speak of till 1 is coming on now. I have bought some "first defence" which seems to be holding it back but the headaches persist. I was meant to do a TR 90 minute session on Friday but put it off till Saturday, no joy as still didn't feel right so my question is should I go on the turbo today for a gentle 30 minutes or so to loosen the legs up or wait till later in the week?. I don't really want to lose everything I have gained as 2015 ToS is coming up in a weeks time and want to be ready and fit for it.

frisbee

If the cold symptoms are just in your head i.e. headache, blocked nose/sinuses etc. then training and riding won't do any harm. If its in your chest or if you have a temperature or fluey aches and pains then don't.

I commuted at the end of the cold I had a week ago and I actually felt a lot better on the bike than I was off it.

Just bought some of the First Defence stuff to try the next time I feel a cold is starting.

cerv50

frisbee wrote:

If the cold symptoms are just in your head i.e. headache, blocked nose/sinuses etc. then training and riding won't do any harm. If its in your chest or if you have a temperature or fluey aches and pains then don't.

I commuted at the end of the cold I had a week ago and I actually felt a lot better on the bike than I was off it.

Just bought some of the First Defence stuff to try the next time I feel a cold is starting.

Thanks, decided to rest up till Tuesday when I will need to start warming the ol' legs back up ready for the ToS

pastryboy

I've always had a tendency to pick up colds, used to almost always pick one up in the day or so after intense exercise.

Decided to massively up my fruit intake recently and I've managed to get through winter with no cold for the first time ever.

I would be careful with First Defence. I started using it liberally a while back and ended up with a horrendous sinus infection. Not touched it since.

steelem

I used to suffer all the time with FLU & colds but havent had one in 7-8 years - i put it down to poor diet and not enuff vitamins

this is what i take every morning & will deffo help..
multivitam
B-Vitamin complex
1 fish oil
1 vitamin D

by the way i also work in an office - so you can imagine what goes round - either ive been very lucky for 8 yrs or its the meds above. by the way i use MY PROTEIN for vitamin as they are not only cheap but they seem to be the best

briantrumpet

Kajjal wrote:

If you are recovering from a cold best to take it easy or you will impact your recovery. At worst you can end up being ill for longer if you over do it.

Indeed. I ignored my body, struggled on, and ended up with rattly lungs and what the doctor labelled "community acquired pneumonia". Antibiotics helped the recovery, but it was slow - that was a rough winter.

Flu, on the other hand, is a killer. Don't be under any misapprehensions, if you've got it, you won't even want (or have the energy) to turn on a computer to ask for sympathy, let alone ride a bike. I honestly had to convince myself that people don't die from flu when I had it. Good job I lied to myself.

Anyway, back to colds. Just ease off, if you have one. And don't go giving your cold to me, while you're at it, thanks.