You can often hear from people: "I often get colds, what should I do?" Indeed, statistics confirm that there are more and more people with such complaints. If a person catches a cold no more than six times a year, then this can be considered the norm. If this happens more often, then it is necessary to find out the reason.
The constant state of a cold can occur against the background of uncontrolled use of antibacterial agents, self-medication and neglect of one's he alth.
Terminology
To understand why you often get sick with colds, you should understand the terms. The most common diagnosis is ARI. The word "respiratory" in the abbreviation means that the inflammatory process occurs in the respiratory organs. And this is not only the throat, but also the nose, throat, larynx, bronchi and alveoli of the lungs.
Diagnosis of SARSis just a subset of the OR. In both cases, the cause of the inflammatory process are viruses that entered the body through airborne droplets or other household routes.
The most common diagnosis of SARS is when (in addition to a runny nose and sore throat) a dry cough appears, but without any abnormalities (wheezing) in the pulmonary system.
Influenza is a separate category of acute respiratory infections. The disease is more severe, and there is a high risk of complications. Influenza is also characterized by a slightly different development of pathology. Initially, there is a strong intoxication of the body with an increase in body temperature, and only then do catarrhal symptoms appear: inflammation of the mucous membranes.
Formally, pneumonia is also a type of acute respiratory disease, but still it is a separate type of disease, which is most often a complication of respiratory.
The common term "cold" is just a popular name for ARI.
But the most important thing that unites all these diseases is two ways of infection. Either the infection enters the body by airborne droplets, or under the influence of cold, immunity is reduced and the viruses that are in the body are activated.
The first step to he alth
If you are concerned about why you often get sick with colds, it is recommended to make an immunogram. This procedure allows you to determine whether the virus is really the cause of everything or whether another pathological process that is not associated with acute respiratory infections develops in the body.
What else to hand overtests?
The standard set of examinations includes:
- analysis of urine and blood (clinical general and biochemical);
- analysis for immune and interferon status;
- analysis for infections: streptococci, mycoplasmas and staphylococci;
- You should also get tested for allergens.
All these examinations will help to find out the reason why people often get colds.
It would not be superfluous to conduct an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, examine the liver, because it contains enzymes and proteins that stimulate the formation of cells of the immune system. It is also recommended to examine the gallbladder and ducts, there should not be constrictions.
The most common reasons
If a cold comes 2 or 3 times a year, then this is not a cause for concern. If ARI happens more than six times a year, then this is a cause for concern.
In most cases, complaints that they often get colds can be heard from urban residents. This is due to the fact that people in cities are socially active, and poor ecology weakens immune forces.
Against the background of pregnancy, a cold often appears. This is due to the same weakening of the immune system.
Psychosomatics
Recently, doctors have been sounding the alarm: acute respiratory infections in many people appear against the background of psychosomatic problems. Constant fatigue, dissatisfaction with life, you just want to turn off the phone and lie in bed. Chances are that everyone has experienced this condition. BUTthere is still a cold, but you still have to go to work or school.
It may seem that there is no connection between fatigue and the seasonality of ARI activation. In fact, the connection is direct. In autumn, the body is weakened after holidays and vacations, there is a constant lack of vitamins, and even a periodic cold snap. Almost the same thing happens in spring: after a long and cold winter.
It is also believed that the activation of colds is associated with a decrease in daylight hours. It is in autumn that depression and melancholy begin, the body becomes more susceptible to viral infections.
Although not all doctors support these statements, it is impossible to deny the fact that with a stable emotional state a person gets sick less.
Other psychological problems
Founder of the self-help movement Hay L. explains in his own way the reasons why people often get sick with colds. He believes that everything is to blame for the negative attitude towards the world around him. A person who is in a state of hidden aggression, in fear, becomes too susceptible to viruses due to the fact that the body is in constant stress.
And there are people who tell themselves that they have weak immunity and must definitely get sick during the season of exacerbation of seasonal epidemics.
How to prevent a cold?
If a person often suffers from colds, then the first thing he should do at the first symptoms of acute respiratory infections is to go to bed and drink more warm liquid. Drafts must be avoided andhypothermia.
It should be understood that there is no medicine that would allow you to recover. The process of recovery depends entirely on the conditions that a sick person creates for his body. The more comfortable and favorable they are, the faster the fight against infections will occur and the risk of complications will decrease.
During the seasonal epidemic of colds, it is better to avoid crowded places, these are cinemas and concert halls. It is best to stay away from persons who do not cover when they sneeze or cough.
Vaccination doesn't work. First, the vaccine only provides protection against the influenza virus. Secondly, the influenza virus is constantly mutating, and it is quite difficult to guess which one it will be in a particular season. Although people who do not neglect vaccination still get less acute respiratory infections, no one is safe from a cold.
One more recommendation - avoid places where people with colds have previously been. In light of this, it is recommended to visit medical institutions less in the autumn and spring season.
People who have problems with the heart muscle and pulmonary system should be especially careful. It is they who most often experience serious complications after a cold.
What to do if you often get colds? Try not to touch your eyes and nose, or your face in general, when your hands are dirty. You can not even wash your hands with soap, but simply rinse them under water, viruses do not die in such a situation, but they are washed off well. Do I need to use disinfectants? Someexperts say that such funds allow you not to get sick, others say that they are ineffective. It should be understood that no remedy is completely capable of killing all bacteria.
A rather controversial statement is that if you breathe through your mouth near a sick person, then rotovirus infections will not penetrate into a he althy body. No studies have been conducted on this subject, so this statement is only an assumption, although it is reliably known that it is in the nose that there are membranes that prevent the penetration of bacteria into the body.
Other risks
To recover faster and not infect others, it is recommended to use paper napkins. Bacteria remain on the fabric for a long time, that is, a cloth scarf is a source of infection.
If you get sick with colds very often, the reason may be a kiss. He plays, one might say, the last role in the development of the common cold. Rotavirus infections that enter through the mouth are likely to be swallowed and die in the stomach. However, adenoviruses can enter the body through a kiss, but there have been no studies on this either, so there is no reliable data on this.
What better to give up?
If you often get sick with colds, it is better to reconsider your lifestyle. Some daily habits can greatly weaken the immune system. Tobacco smoke strongly irritates the cilia of the nasal cavity, which are a natural barrier to viruses.
ARI is a diseasetransmitted in a household way, in light of this, the habit of biting nails is a direct path to the appearance of a cold.
Don't go to work with a cold. It is difficult to adhere to this rule, but few people know that a person is contagious even before the first manifestations of cold symptoms for 24-48 hours. After the disease manifests itself, a person is still a carrier of the virus for another 7 days.
Self-treatment is the scourge of modern man. Especially when it comes to antibacterial agents. If once a doctor prescribed a medicine, this does not mean at all that you should drink it at the first symptoms of a cold. You should know that antibiotics reduce immunity.
Do you often get colds? And remember how you dress in winter, whether you wear a hat. It is clear that a cold does not appear due to hypothermia, but cold is a provoking factor for the development of viruses, so the likelihood of getting an acute respiratory disease increases by more than 50%.
Parents should not make a “hothouse creature” out of a child, wrap it up tightly and be afraid to open windows. With age, the baby's immune system will be unable to resist a cold.
Often the appearance of acute respiratory infections becomes more frequent if a person is malnourished. This applies to everyone who is on a diet. The same can be said about lack of sleep, sleeping less than seven hours a night seriously increases the risk of frequent colds.
Prevention measures
If an adult often suffers from colds, then startfollows with accustoming yourself to regular hand washing. If an epidemic has come, then you can use a mask, but on the condition that it changes every 2 hours.
The following drugs can be distinguished from immunomodulators:
- Ascorbic acid. Despite much debate about the relationship between colds and vitamin C, it is still recommended to consume 500 mg daily.
- Echinacea tincture, quite popular all over the world.
- Interferons. The drugs of this group prevent the reproduction of viruses more, they are a preventive measure, therefore they are also used to treat acute respiratory infections.
Vitamins and minerals
Studies have proven that vitamin A can reduce the risk of developing viruses in the body. Vitamin B2 also helps to increase the body's resistance to infectious diseases. In moderate doses, vitamin B6 can increase the ability of lymphocytes to resist infections. Zinc can be isolated from mineral supplements, which normalizes the functions of immune cells.
In closing
You can understand that there are problems with the immune system by the simplest signs: if fatigue and drowsiness appear, irritability and nervousness are constantly observed. Problems with the skin and gastrointestinal tract, exacerbation of chronic pathologies are all symptoms of reduced immunity.
Try to give up bad habits, smoking and alcohol. Don't be nervous all the time and watch your diet.
