Some Basic Steps To Common Cold Prevention
Early on, we established that common cold prevention is a must, but also that the biggest hindrance to our commitment in keeping the virus at bay was not knowing how to start. Thus, we posed the question: how is the common cold prevented? And this is the second half of our answers.
The biggest advantage these means of common cold prevention have is that they're both easy and effective. Steps like washing our hands frequently and using disinfectant have already been discussed in-depth, but there are plenty of other easy ways to prevent the common cold too. Ways like...
Being selfish.
Not in the conventional sense, of course. But just enough so that you don't wind up sharing anything with anyone who has a cold. Why not? Because, obviously, his or her stuff will be littered with germs primed to infect you the first chance they get.
Share your stuff with an infected person and he or she may wind up sharing something with you too. And always be vigilant. He or she could have borrowed your stuff without you knowing about it! Meaning, by the end of the day, the two of you could have something in “common”.
Keeping to yourself.
Also a good rule to live by is to stay away from other people. Again, let's not get carried away. This doesn't mean that you have to be an introvert to actually stay virus-free, but it would be a good idea to limit the time you spend in places jam-packed with people. A busy marketplace, the subway, and the office elevator come to mind.
Since the cold virus is easily passed from one person to another, the likelihood of you acquiring the virus shoots way up the more time you spend close enough to breathe in the breath of strangers.
Living healthy.
At this point, it's probably best to mention that a study has proven that the chances of infection stay the same for people with all types of immune systems, active or otherwise. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that everybody deals with the common cold the same way. While it is true that exposure to the cold virus will more often than not get you infected, the way you handle that infection differs, depending on how healthy you are.
That said, eating a balanced diet, sleeping right, and generally sticking to a holistic approach to health and well-being can still be considered part and parcel of common cold prevention, if only because it prevents you from experiencing the worst the virus has to offer.
Drinking up.
Our final easy step to common cold prevention? Drinking lots and lots of water. Doing so can flush harmful chemicals and pathogens out of your body, including the cold virus itself. Fluids can help prevent the cold virus if you've only been exposed to a few particles (although it's important to note that it's possible to get infected just from slight exposure), and may even be able to speed up recovery if you're already sick.
Now that all is said and done, we've eliminated the only legitimate excuse to refrain from practicing common cold prevention. But just because we've come up with a few basic steps to go about preventing the common cold, it doesn't mean we should stop asking that all-important question: how is the common cold prevented?