Here's How to Prevent a Cold, Says Science

Soap and water removes dirt and bacteria, while hand-sanitizing gels or wipes kill viruses. Wash your hands as needed throughout the day and before eating, and keep sanitizer at the ready for disinfecting.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Welcome to cold season. Here's how to keep it from besting you.
By Courtney Balestier, Allure

2015-10-27-1445964387-5318949-soap.jpg
(Photo: Romulo A Yanes)

We've hit the time of year when the people around us stop being our friends, neighbors, and colleagues and turn into walking disease vectors. Sitting too close to a sneezing coworker could mean a week of headaches, mouth-breathing, and drowsy Netflix binges. Yep, the lowly common cold is public enemy number one come fall--and it's the source of more superstition and tall tales than a haunted hayride. Here's our prescription: Avoid all the folk wisdom and bad science and instead, follow this advice from E. Neil Schachter, a professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Bill Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

Make like Lady Macbeth and wash your hands. Yep, it's basic. And yes, it works. Soap and water removes dirt and bacteria, while hand-sanitizing gels or wipes kill viruses. Wash your hands as needed throughout the day and before eating, and keep sanitizer at the ready for disinfecting. If you have kids, teach them to wash their hands when they get to day care and get home, Hanage says.

Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean the germs aren't out to get you. Chances are someone sitting in your packed subway car or waiting at your airport gate has a cold: Be alert to nearby sneezing, coughing, or sniffling, and be a little more generous with the hand sanitizer after touching communal objects, like subway poles, door knobs, office keyboards, and pens, says Schachter.

Go to bed. Sleep really does boost your immunity, Hanage says. In fact, one recent study showed that test subjects who got more than seven hours of sleep had less risk of catching cold.

Run away--literally. Exercise can help, as long as you don't overdo it: Intense exercise can actually make you more vulnerable to infection, Hanage says. (Possibly because it irritates airways.) In fact, according to recent research, regular moderate exercise can cut the risk of respiratory infections, like colds, to almost a third.

Take your vitamins. Even though it's our go-to cold remedy, there's no evidence that overloading on vitamin C works, Hanage says. There is, however, good evidence that a moderate dose of vitamin A can make a difference. Take a supplement or load up on sweet potatoes, carrots, and leafy greens. Another popular cold-fighting supplement, zinc, also helps immune function, but don't overdo it, our doctors say. Hanage recommends 12 to 25 milligrams daily.

And if you do get a cold... There are ways to mitigate its effects: Vitamin C has been associated with shortened colds, Schachter says, working as an antihistamine and potentially reducing symptoms (just don't take more than 250 to 500 milligrams daily). Nasal sprays and rinses can help ease congestion and reduce swelling in your nasal passages, he says. But the most important thing--surprise--is to get plenty of sleep and drink lots of fluids. No word yet on whether those Netflix binges actually help.

Also on HuffPost:

Feed A Cold, Starve A Fever

5 Common Myths About The Common Cold

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE