How to prevent a cold
Prevent a cold? Is that even possible? The common cold is the most common ailment in the US and probably the entire world. On average adults get 2 – 4 colds a year, and kids get 6 – 10 colds a year. My daughter and I can attest to that. I get a cold almost every other month and my little girl… she gets it pretty much every month.
Between her colds and seasonal allergies, her nose constantly runs all year long. As you probably agree having a cold can be pretty miserable. Your nose is all stuffed up, you keep on sneezing and coughing all day. You may also get a headache and have trouble sleeping. So you wish you could prevent a cold. But you know what? My little brat actually says she likes having a cold ‘cos she gets to blow her nose all day which is fun. Don’t you just love kids? 
But I kinda agree that blowing your nose can be fun, haha!
But the thing is she doesn’t always blow her nose. Often times she would just sniffle and wipe her runny nose with her hands and go on to touch other things like her toys, books, the phone, etc. and that’s exactly how you spread the cold virus. I’ve taught her not to do that but it goes in one ear and out the other (sigh!).
So how do you prevent a cold? The most obvious thing is to wash your hands often especially during cold season. Another thing you can do to help prevent a cold is to avoid touching your nose and eyes because that’s the most common way the cold virus enters your body (through your nose and eyes).
Another important thing you can do to prevent a cold from spreading is to cover your mouth when you sneeze to reduce the amount of germs floating through the air. I have to admit I’m a bad example for my daughter in this matter since often times I forget to cover my mouth when I sneeze which often gets me in trouble with my dad.
Like one time he yelled at me, “Tanya, how many times do I have to tell you to cover your mouth when you sneeze?! You’re a big girl now, you should know better!” All I could say was, “oops, sorry!” And I saw my daughter giggling from a distance.
What else can you do to prevent a cold? Oh, have you heard of this one? Many mothers would assign each sick person in their home a bag to place their snotty tissues. When the bag is full they can put it in the trash without other people touching it.
Well, I actually have a better idea. I don’t use tissue at all. I just blow my nose in my bare hands and immediately wash them. I know, I know, some of you are screaming “eeww, gross!” But I think it’s actually cleaner than using a tissue and it’s more environmentally friendly Hey, it’s your own snot you’re touching and you wash your hands righ away. When you use tissue you can still get some snot on your hands, and you may not wash them :p
Ok, that’s all for now. Actually I have more to write about how to prevent a cold but it’s late, I’m kinda tired and my nose is running (sniff, sniff!). So maybe I’ll write another post later.
Posted by Tanya