How do you manage to keep away from colds and what do you do if you get one

[Seren18]

[Onge23]

I'm taking echinacea drops, which my oncologist has said is fine for me - apparently lots of cancer patients use it.

You'd obviously need to check if it's ok, but I swear by it. My hubby and I have used the tea for years and hardly get a sniffle - I've upgraded to the drops as they're the strongest form available.

I also pretty much avoid mixing in crowds as much as possible - so my social life is seriously diminished at the moment! I'm on the Icon 8 trial with weekly chemo, so I have my blood test the day before at my doctors' surgery. They're absolutely brilliant and put my to wait in a side room so that I don't sit with all the cough and cold sufferers.

Hope that helps.

Love Andree x

[Hidden]

You can't!

Try and avoid crowded places and make sure friends avoid you if they think they're brewing one. A friend swears by Vick's First Defence at the first sign of one. Worked for me too. Probably wise to check it out with a member of the team just in case it might interfere with treatment. Otherwise lots of liquids and steam and cursing!

[francescahannah]

I have had a lot of chemo over the years and been scared of catching things but up to now and with fingers tightly crossed I've never caught much. Unless you go into solitary confinement it's impossible to avoid people. Obviously we can avoid people who are coughing and sneezing and I ask people to stay away if they think they have anything infectious. I also wash my hands after contact with people and toilet or other doors that are public. I take a lot of vitamins including vitamin c and echinacea and wrap up warm. Things like onions garlic and ginger are meant to be helpful too. Good luck

Francesca x

[ANDE-Wales-UK]

I have a cold at the moment, on my last cycle of chemo, I told my onc and she said colds are fine, its if your temperature starts raising that they would be concerned, I just keep checking, so far so good I do try and avoid snuffly people but when the whole family have had its been unavoidable, I have noticed its taking a long time to go though

Take care

Andrea x

[Whippit]

I'm on my second line of chemotherapy. Generally I am naturally resistant to coughs and colds and I've never experienced flu so I I know I'm lucky and I don't have to take as many precautions as some people.

I don't take any steps at all to avoid people or crowded places and sometimes I've had to travel to hospital on the tube in the rush hour with no ill-effect. The air we breathe is full of germs. I was advised by a friend, who is a professor of rhinology and runs the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University, to wash my hands in soap and water at least 10 times a day and to avoid rubbing the inside corner of my eyes which is where the nasolacrimal ducts exit from the nose. He tells me this is the most likely route for developing a cold because they can very easily become blocked by the oils that occur naturally on your skin and on your fingertips. I don't argue with him because he's been studying the common cold for 30 years.

How many of us avoid people but then don't think about handling money? Another fact I was told at the Common Cold Centre is that there are enough germs on a £1 coin to infect every person in India with the common cold. Do you notice food vendors handling food and taking money with bare hands? I do. I no longer buy where I see this going on and if I do handle money I make sure I wash my hands as soon as possible afterwards and keep them well away from my face. Another place with a big build-up of germs was mentioned: handles of doors leading out of public loos and this is due to the number of people who don't wash their hands after going to the toilet. I take a scrap of toilet tissue as I leave and use it as a cloth to avoid touching the handle as I leave the lavatory.

Hopefully this is helpful advice but it is really bad luck that some people just are prone to coughs and colds. I can't imagine anything worse than having to deal with chemotherapy AND a cold on top of that. I really hope Ron's advice helps. It might be worth my calling to see him and asking if he'd offer some guidance for us on chemotherapy and how to avoid coughs and colds. I'd happily post in here for you.

xx Annie

[cloverh in reply to Whippit]

Excellent information AND advice. Thank you Annie

[Seren18 in reply to Whippit]

Thank you for advice I quite agree with regard to toilet doors and money. Just have to keep up the hand washing

[Di16]

It's not always possible to keep away from colds. I've been on chemo since November, & my husband had a heavy cold over Christmas. I fortunately had only a very mild cold around new year, though I did have a raised temperature at the same time due to a urine infection, which needed to be treated. But my son in law & granddaughter have had flu, & I was able to deliberately stay away from them till they were well. (My daughter thoughtfully ordered me to stay away!)

[Whippit in reply to Di16]

I think if flu is involved we should all stay right away. There's a huge notice at every entrance of my hospital telling people if they have flu-like symptoms not to enter.

Hopefully everyone on chemotherapy has had a flu jab to reduce the risk of that. I had mine the week I started chemo and checked with the GP that it wouldn't do me any harm. He reassured me that it would do no harm to have the jab before or during chemo.

xxx Annie

[Di16 in reply to Whippit]

I had my flu jab a week before starting chemo, also pneumonia jab, suggested by my diabetic nurse, & agreed to by onc.

Di

[Whippit in reply to Di16]

That sounds good advice to me. Sods law, having posted up my comment about rarely having coughs and colds I developed a sore throat last night. Took some hot water, lemon and honey and it seems to have gone away this morning. It's a nightmare isn't it just trying to avoid getting stuff like this. xx