The nose runs, the neck scratches and the head hurts: a cold caught almost everyone in the cold season. There are many home remedies that help you get rid of them quickly – but also some things that do the opposite.
You almost can’t avoid a cold in winter – there are correspondingly many home remedies and tips against it: drinking a hot lemon, sweating out the cold in bed or resorting to antibiotics. But what helps if a cold does not go away and what doesn’t? In order to get rid of the disease quickly, you should avoid the following eight errors in a cold.
Important: If the cold lasts longer, you should look for medical advice. A simple cold is relatively harmless, if you are reckless or do not treat it properly, but risk spending a runny nose all autumn or winter or having the disease.
1. Use the nasal spray wrong
Your cold does not go away? Nasal spray gives you quick relief in the event of a clogged nose – but you should be careful and do not use the spray too often and for a long time. Once your mucous membranes have got used to the active ingredients, it can happen that the nasal mucous membranes swell out excessively as soon as you leave out the nasal spray.
If you continue to use nasal spray, you risk a chronic runny nose. The irritated nasal mucous membranes can dry out and no longer fulfill their defense function – which in turn clears the way for germs. You should therefore use nasal sprays at most for a week. Even better: Use natural homemade nasal spray to get rid of colds quickly.
2. Errors in colds: Pull vigorously and pull up nasal mucus
A running nose is uncomfortable, constantly sniffing and pulling up nose. Somehow you have to get rid of the nasal mucus. However, it is not helpful to roll violently, because this can lead to mucus to get into the sinuses. In the worst case, the common germs cause sinusitis.
Instead of pulling up the nasal mucus and swallowing over the throat, it happens again and again because the secretion also flows into the throat, of course, but conscious swallowing is not optimal. Because: The infectious secretion can possibly trigger a throat or sore throat. Better: dab the nasal secretion or clean the nose with little pressure.
3. Stay in bed to get rid of the cold quickly
Anyone who is cold often feels limp and tired – and therefore prefers to crawl in bed. This only helps the body to a limited extent with a simple cold.
It is better to pack yourself warm and go for a walk in between. This is good for the circulation and the irritated nasal mucous membranes. But it is important: This does not apply to fever – bed rest is necessary and appropriate.
4. Error in the event of a cold: suppress sneezing
Niesen is loud, unappetizing – and therefore we are uncomfortable in public. However, we are not equipped with the Nies reflex for fun. It ensures that foreign bodies such as dust, viruses and bacteria. Anyone who suppresses the sneezing focuses on the pressure that the foreign body should actually throw out of the body.
This can lead to an overpressure in the ear that is uncomfortable. What you should still pay attention to with the sneezing: do not sneeze into the palms, but into the crazy. So you spare your fellow human beings in front of the viruses and bacteria flying around or a contaminated handshake. This is particularly important during the cold season.
5. sweat out the cold? Put out in sports not too early
If your cold gets better and then worse again, this can be because you have done exhausting sport again. Because if you are cold, you should go for a walk, but do not exercise excessively.
Above all, exhausting endurance sports also puts a strain on the body in the event of a viral infection: In a cold, the immune system works harder than usual to combat the pathogens. The effort in sports is another stress factor. If our immune system needs its reserves for this, it can do less against the pathogens. The same applies to bacterial infections.
Note: When it comes to the question that B Sport is to be avoided in the event of an infection, the opinions also diverge under doctors: on the inside. There are currently no reliable evidence -based research on the subject. If you want to be sure, you can hear the assessment of some experts: inside. This is: In the case of a flu infection, sport can cause the pathogens to attack the heart and cause heart muscle inflammation – and this can sometimes even be life -threatening.
Important: Sport at Fiever is an absolute taboo. In any case, calm is required here.
With a slight cold you can do sports again as soon as the symptoms subside. After feverish infections, you should pause for at least a week. Listen to your body, slowly get in again and only do as much sport as you are doing well. Also read: Sport in the event of a cold – you should know that
People with a chronic illness or an immune deficit should be particularly careful. Medical advice should urgently be obtained here when it is advisable to start the sport – and to what extent. We also recommend consulting your family doctor.
6. Treat the cold with antibiotics
Antibiotics only work against bacterial infections, but colds are virus infections in most cases. You do not bring anything here, but even harm: The more often antibiotics are used, the greater the risk of bacteria against the medication. Natural antibiotics in the form of medicinal plants are better.
7. Error: sweat out the cold
If you want to get rid of a cold quickly, put yourself in a hot bathtub, then pack yourself warm and put yourself in bed with a hot water bottle. However, it is not a good idea to sweat the cold in the sauna.
The hot air also contains the already weak circulation. A visit to the sauna also favors that germs multiply better. If you are cold, you should rather avoid the sauna. Once the cold symptoms have subsided, you can go back to the sauna.
Also interesting: Does freeze sick or do you harden with it?
8. Error in the event of a cold: go to work
A cold usually does not captivate you to the bed. Nevertheless, it makes sense to stay at home for the first two to three days of an infection – during this time the risk of infection is greatest in the event of a cold.
If the symptoms sound off, you can go back to work. However, it is advisable to keep some distance from college: inside, friend: to keep inside and family members until all the complaints are over.
Also keep in mind that you should take care of a cold. For example, if you work despite coughing and runny nose in the home office, this can overwhelm your body and lead to the fact that the cold does not go away so quickly.
By the way: drink hot lemon …
… does not worsen your cold, because lemons contain a lot of vitamin C and your regular consumption can strengthen the immune system and shorten the duration of the cold. A hot lemon is therefore often praised as a proven home remedy – the effect as a home remedy is more likely to attribute the fluid intake (a lot of drinking!). You should also note that vitamin C is sensitive to heat. It is lost in hot water. Instead of mixing lemon juice with boiling water, you should use lukewarm water. A temperature of 40 degrees Celsius is optimal.
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- 6 vegetable home remedies for a cold
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