Hello, how do you protect yourself against colds, coughs and flu? I currently have a sore throat, am at 6.9 pred
Protection colds, flu: Hello, how do you protect... - PMRGCAuk
Protection colds, flu
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Swizzly
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Hi Swizzly,
Others with more knowledge will be along, but firstly, I'd say its a good idea to have the flu vaccination each autumn to help prevent against contracting flu!
As far as general cold & throat viruses are concerned, there's probably not a lot you can do to stop yourself catching them from others, but I personally have a few strategies I put in place to minimise the potential for this happening:-
- I'll try and stay clear of friends or family for a few days if I know they've a sore throat, cough or cold.
- I eat a healthy diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables to help support my immune system.
- I take a daily Vit.D supplement to help support my immune system
- I don't take myself into crowded areas, particularly where the space is likely to be confined.
- I allow for some sensible ventilation in my home, so I always keep a small window open so the air can circulate better.
If I do catch a cold type virus, then:-
- I take paracetamol every 4hrs to help keep any temperature down and ease discomfort from symptoms.
- maybe a simple steam inhalation to ease a blocked nose if required.
- Keep myself well hydrated with lots of clear fluids.
- Rest, rest, rest.
I wouldn't normally take extra prednisolone whilst unwell with a cold type virus, but we're all individuals and that would be a decision only you could make yourself, after careful consideration.
Hope that's helped a bit.
Dear Kendrew
Many thanks for the helpful tips. For example, I didn't realise that echinacea is contraindicated.
Just a comment - mainland Europe is fanatical about airing the house but the Germans have done studies and the most effective way is to switch the heating off and open the windows/doors wide for 5-10 minutes max, and then shut them and turn the heating back on. Do it 2 or 3 times a day. Just tilting a window doesn't result in effective air exchange and increases your heating bills unnecessarily - and lord knows, they are horrendous in the UK anyway!! We used to open the bedroom door to the balcony for 10 mins first thing when we woke up and put the kettle on for morning tea. By the time the kettle had boiled, it was time to shut it and the heating was coming on to take the chill off again - because there is one when it is minus 10C and below outside ...
I really like that idea and I know my husband will if it's more economical!! He's a Yorkshireman!! 😄 Definitely going to do that.
Thanks.
I ventilate crosswise, open 2 windows opposite each other, only takes one to two minutes
PMRproAmbassador
Can't say I have ever needed to worry about it - I still get the same single humdinger once a year or less that I had before pred and it isn't any worse! And I'm on both pred and Actemra as immunosuppressants. I wouldn't dream of not having my flu and Covid jabs but no supplements or the like, waste of money, better spent on a high quality and healthy diet. NO UPFs - well, the odd high quality icecream, or a piece of chocolate 
And to be honest - if I were worried about picking something up, I would just go back to wearing an FFP2 mask when out and about, I live alone so not going to get infected there. After all, at this time of year most people are wearing scarves - or are the Swiss hardier than the northern Italians? - so you can camouflage the mask if you feel too obvious. It's hovering around freezing here - masks have multiple benefits. And there is some evidence that keeping your nose warm improves the job it can do in filtering viruses in the air you breathe! Vasoconstriction in the cold reduces efficiency.
You are taking pred to suppress your immune system to some extent - echinacea claims to stimulate it - what's the point?
Handwashibg or alcohol gel. Avoiding crowds and other sickies..
👍
Once you have the dreaded lurgi then I use 3 drops of iodine in a salt pipe and inhale regularly as well as all the things that Kendrew sensibly puts into place.
Inhaling iodine a chemical burning substance? Dr Mayhew was suspended from practice for promoting this. Plus the iodine can affect the thyroid gland and irritate the lungs.
Suggest looking up iodine’s affects on the lungs from reputable agencies.
There are physicians who are incompetent; we’ve met some. It’s a shame they’re on YouTube making money from their sponsor, promoting garbage and damaging bodies.
(Retired nurse anesthetist. US.)
There is a world of difference between using iodine topically or taking it as tablets under medical supervision and inhaling it. I think that inhaling it it is rather risky - many things are suggested on the internet by rather dodgy practitioners that aren't a good idea!
webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingre...
I have found it useful and I use common sense when using it - if I felt a burning sensation then I would stop. It is each to their own, I am sure - I shall refrain from suggesting in future.
Are you sure there is no damage to your lungs that you don’t yet feel? It could be microscopic. What about your thyroid gland?
If the Medical establishment sanctions a Dr I always pay attention.
No, I am fine, thank you. I don't know your Dr Mayhew but I have no problem.
She is the proponent of iodine in a salt pipe on YouTube.( Salt, by itself is antibacterial. Salt damages the bacteria cell wall killing it.)
Here is some info.
Sanction is a very interesting word in this context. It is one of those words which can mean its own opposite.
I had to go back and reread the earlier part of the thread (having forgotten it over the past few days) to make sure which sense you mean!
Screenshot of definitions of "sanction."
I agree this is a crazy word. I should’ve used something that doesn’t have two Meanings. Comes to my mind strong rebuke. Thanks for pointing this out.
I have seen a list of words which mean their opposite, English must drive foreign speakers nuts sometimes! 😂
Wear a mask (whatever your country calls what North Americans call N95 respirator, in UK FFP2) in public indoor spaces. A well-fitted mask protects against any respiratory infection.
I do not remember the last time I caught a cold or anything else which presents with cold symptoms! Have been masking (along with avoiding risky situations) since masks became available to the general public during the early years of our ongoing pandemic.
I have never stopped wearing a mask. Do avoid crowded places and keep your distance from everyone including visitors (who must be healthy before coming) and keep windows open slightly so there is a cross draught. I still meet people outside. Get vaccinated (flu and covid...separately so you know if you get a reaction to either)
I live alone, no one to make me a cuppa if I am ill. I work (online) every day and am totally dependent on my income. So even getting just a cold is a nightmare scenario (prePMR they wiped me out)
Try a ginger infusion (slices of fresh ginger in boiling water) for your sore throat.
Hi Swizzly, a cold can give me an asthma attack, a chest infection and hospital admission so I always use Vicks First Defence in public places such as a supermarket or aeroplane or where I’ve been near someone with a cold. I also use a re usable Cambridge mask although I gather other makes are also good. So far it’s worked for me and I’ve not had a cold in several years now. Also the usual frequent hand washing and hand gel where necessary of course. Best wishes and hope this works for you.
I use First Defence at first sign of cold (sore throat for me)
Hi Swizzly, before leaving the house, I use First Defence which purports to help trap cold viruses in your nose and I recently discovered Coldzyme which you spray towards your throat to form a "protective barrier against common cold viruses". I also wear an FFP2 mask in crowded indoor places. It could just be the luck of the gods but I haven't had a cold since the emergence of Covid.
I use hand sanitiser every time I come out of a shop, as soon as I get in the car, before I eat in a restaurant etc and when I get home I wash my hands immediately. I don’t touch my face when I’m out and about. Also, I’m a great believer in that most colds and viruses are transferred from touching things that infected people have touched especially in supermarkets.
I use sanitiser without even thinking about it these days, it’s just become a habit since Covid. Also, I make sure I have a travel bottle in my handbag at all times and a spare in the car.
Hope you feel better soon 😀
Actually, I suppose the disposable glove habit was a good one that developed.
Thanks a lot for all these helpful tips. You are all right.
Take care 🌸
We are currently shielding, & have to do so each winter! If I catch a cold it lasts 6 - 8 weeks…nothing to do with PMR! After spending 4 months of each year in bed & very sick 4 years ago, the specialist said I’d need to avoid them!! Christmas is a bit hard as we can’t go to the pub, restaurants, parties etc. We wear masks if we go to surgery or hospital (I should add my hubby was inhospital with pneumonia twice this year, & we are both asthmatic!) At all times of year we wear FFP2 masks for travel, from entering airport door to fresh air at the other end! We get everything possible delivered. It’s hard, mentally, & not a great way to live. The main problem is that other people go out with every bug imaginable & spare no thought about sharing it with others! I thought people may wear masks if they had colds, flu, or Covid, but nobody does! The specialist (of a large lung unit in hospital) told me that the handles of supermarket trolleys are responsible for passing on more germs than anywhere else!! Disposable gloves, hand sanitiser!! We do go to outside markets & occasionally eat outside, remember how they kept on & on about washing your hands during the pandemic!!
The incidence of colds and flu fell to almost nothing during Covid - it's an ill wind that blows no good!!
The best thing about winter living here is that it isn't impossible to have a meal or drinks with friends because of not going inside - If you choose the right place on a sunny day so you are in the sun and out of any wind - lunch is very doable. I even ate outside in the evening one night on Lake Garda the first week of November, the restaurant had radiant heaters for their pavement tables but were full inside. Last Thursday I sat at a cafe table for 4 hours with a friend for coffee/chocolate/Aperol and talk - 3C when I arrived, 7C when I left, But the chairs had blankets and fleeces and we had winter coats - only possible while the sun was on it though.
My daughter wondered why the blankets aren't a feature in the UK as they are in most northern countries - you get them in August in Sweden! But I pointed out they would just disappear ...
In some cities you find them. Two years ago we hadn’t been anywhere for years, so went to the outside Christmas market in Bath. Our apartment was right in centre, so we said we’d go back each day & have lunch there, but there were quite a few cafes with patio heaters & blankets (which had not been nicked)! Oh, when we went skiing we always ate outside & found the inside far too hot & steamy! I missed a rely from you about your trip to Garda & didn’t get to reply, which is sad! In October we are out there every day, but a little earlier than Italian time! If the pandemic had really taught us lessons people would wear masks if they have germs to protect others, & use hand sanitiser & stuff..& everybody would wear ffp2 masks, not the naff ones!! S xx
The trip to Garda was great - just annoyed I hadn't pushed myself there sooner! It wasn't cold overnight and it was roasty in the sun from mid morning to it disappearing in the late afternoon. Once the sun had gone you needed a fleece but could still sit on the benches until late evening - no wind. It was busy - a long holiday weekend for Italians and the site was full right up to Sunday, they closed on the Monday. I suppose it was still like late summer in the north of England on a sunny day
I’m so glad you went, I wasn’t sure you were going to make it, tbh! We usually spent first night in Desenzano, some days eg 5, in Limone (coinciding with their superb lakeside fireworks), then 5 nights in Garda. We are going to sell our motorhome. I’m not really well enough to use it, I love driving it, but we still like to go abroad a lot, too, (but I get so bored driving long haul), so it’s not getting the usage it used to. We may buy a smaller one (though when new the command the same price these days). Due to go & look at some soon. We are finding we end up taking the car as well (not towing it, it’s too long), & it’s just not the perfect fit now! Very glad for you, you really deserve a lovely holiday! S xx
We kept our caravan on a storage site in Cola, drove this far and then picked the caravan up for wherever we wanted to head for. Only needed one night on the way down. I could have had a mid-size camper for half what my VW cost - but it is my car too. You could fly to Verona or Venice, store a camper there.
Wow, that’s a tempting idea…thanks, never thought of that one! I think it’s fair that many small camper vans should be same price as mid size or larger…but not dearer!! That stinks!! We used to take part in 12 big public kite flying events each year & the motorhome has been superb for that…mostly grass field sites without showers etc, so it’s done its job superbly….now the councils have no money, we have one festival (though there are more in Italy!) We were paid to go fly a kite in Eire, Canada, & other places, but it’s much harder for me now…running around for 8 hours is tougher now!! Time will tell…but that idea is interesting, thanks! S x
The VW base has always had a reputation for being pricey and it is about the only one that fits in a normal garage - no extra storage to find and pay for. I have a loo in a cupboard for emergencies which is nice for travelling - takes away the worry of finding somewhere! - but no shower, But I don't shower every day anyway so a night not on a site isn't a problem. I only want a basic site - they are fewer and fewer which is why I like Lasize, nit totally basic but no pool, bar, restaurant blah blah.
Sorry about the too much information, but the dreadful head to feet steroid induced sweats, like a tap has been turned on…that’s what causes my shower wish!! Yes, we prefer the quieter sites, too. A lot round here only take 5 or 6 .vans, they have electric,but not much else! S x
No such thing here in our region - all posh and costalotto. There are loads of places you can park up in Italy as opposed to here but they don't always have electric or loos. Lots of very simple Austrian sites though
I belong to a forum for the make of motorhome we have…a lot of them ‘disappear’ for 3 months at a time & roam Europe! They try hard not to use any camp sites at all…but a lot of the time end up staying in car parks (allowable ones)…for a small fee. Not my idea of a lovely holiday, though, & in many cases, so close to your neighbour, too close for fire safety, for sure! Chaque a son gout!!
We have a lot of those - and many are actually free in more remote regions. The Italians often just sleep there, moving early next morning and parking up somewhere nice during the day - because you aren't allowed to CAMP there. And Italians travel in packs - form a circle like cowboys and set up enormous tables for the evening meal. They LIKE being close together.
But surely you have camped on a CL - max 5 outfits allowed in a massive field. You were alone when you went for a walk but came back to someone right next to you?
Hello. Are you eligible for the pneumaccocal jab? I had one before starting Tocilizumab last year and for the first time several years ago. Its efficacy wanes after 5 years. I was told it helps to prevent viruses taking hold, even coughs and colds, and it has certainly been true in my case. I believe that my GCA was partly triggered each time by a virus causing a hacking cough. So, if for some reason I'm refused a further jab in 4 years time, I shall enquire about getting it privately.
It depends on the vaccine you get - the one for children needs renewal but the one for over 65s is different and usually lasts for life though it does depend a bit on what form of immunosufficiency you have. If you had not had one as a child, you get both, PCV13 first and the other, PPSV23, a year later. If you had already had the PPSV23 at 65, you can get the PCV13 a year later.
Quite a complex scheme!!!
Hi Swizzly. For 6 years I baby sat my granddaughters weekly and would regularly come down with a cold a few days later. I decided I couldn't keep putting up with that so tried using the nose spray First Defence. This was over 7 years ago and I've hardly had a cold or sore throat since. At the first sign of a tickle or sniff, or if I've been near anyone with a cold, I'll take a dose or two and it's worked wonderfully for me.
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