At-Choo!! Autumn is Here and Many People Were Caught Off Guard!

Around noon, the day is still nice and warm, but the warm rays of the sun are starting to lose their strength. The days are getting inevitably shorter, and in the morning and evening the weather is only just above zero degrees. On the streets, cyclists are already equipped with their gloves. ATchoo!! Autumn is here and with it comes runny noses, sore throats, coughs and colds. But why do some people seem to be immune to colds?

The secret is to have a strong immune system! For that, you need to do your homework. 

It is very important, for example, to keep your feet and toes warm because once your feet are cold, your whole body feels cold quickly. When you are cold, the unpleasant rhinoviruses which are responsible for most colds find easy access to your mucous membranes. Our immune systems will only work optimally when the body is well supplied with blood, allowing immune cells to quickly come to the rescue to attack colds. Once the feet are cold however, blood flow decreases - especially to the mucous membranes of the nose and pharynx. For the common cold viruses that end up there, it's an easy game: they caught us out in the cold!

It is also important, when possible, wash your hands and apply lotion afterwards! Most viruses are not only transmitted in droplets in the air (sneezing), but also spread through direct contact. For example, when kiddies at the kindergarten touch their runny noses and then touch a toy, or when we shake hands, we can spread viruses.
This is exactly why we should never wash our hands with soap that someone else has touched, nor should we use a towel that someone else has used. 
This said, there is seldom a polite way to rush right to the washroom after shaking hands. Just take care not to touch your face, nose or lips with your hands. Viruses travel easily and would love to get us sick!

Our immune system also loves exercise in the fresh air and - if possible - in the sun. This creates a good atmosphere and gets the necessary blood flowing to fire up our bodies so they are quick to help when there is a cold afoot.

Together with getting sufficient fluids (especially warm ones, like ginger tea), getting restful sheep and avoiding occupational stress, we are quite well armed against the rhinoviruses invasion. If we get additional vitamin C , best paired with zink, then coughing, runny nose etc. have a much smaller chance to catch us off guard. Yes, autumn is here, but this year there will be no sneezing!!