by MAD

Created on: September 13, 2009   Last Updated: September 15, 2009

I have allergic rhinitis so I'm easily susceptible to catching colds. Days or weeks without a cold is such a delight for me. It's nasty every time I catch a cold. One of the not-so-pleasing effects in having a cold is my being unsociable. I avoid being exposed to many people as I get embarrassed every time I heave out loud sneezes with my achoos!

So what can I do about having cold? It's difficult to totally prevent having a cold. But I can take some measures to minimize my exposure to it.

Over the years, I've learned to do the following as my anti-cold prevention:

1. Be well rested. Especially after a long day of being exposed to elements of pollution, dirty surroundings, I plop myself down to bed. I get my much needed 6 to 9 hours of sleep. Anything less than 6 hours of sleep is a no-no for me and it automatically triggers a bad cold the next day. I've observed that it's a natural guarantee for me to be sneezing away if I don't get enough sleep.

2. Drink lots of fluid. I'm a water drinker. I get my sufficient liquid intake for the day. It keeps me hydrated.

3. Avoid touching face. My brother has noticed that I really have a tendency to keep on touching my face. This has exposed me to more germs and also triggers cold. When I came to a realization about this germs-causing habit, I've tried to minimize it. Especially since I've developed this habit since I was a kid, it's been a struggle for me to avoid bringing up my hands to my face. But I needed to keep reminding myself that to avoid a bad bout of cold, I have to avoid touching my face.

4. Washing hands. I'm a natural hand washer. This comes easily for me. After coming from the toilet or after handling money, I regularly wash my hands. It is a good anti-germs habit.

5. Vitamin C. For the past year, I started regularly having my Vitamin C intake. It can come in Vitamin C supplements or through fruits loaded with Vitamin C or drinking juices.

6. Be kind to your nose. Having allergic rhinitis, my nose is a sensitive one. I try to be kind to it. Strong scents can easily trigger nasty sneezing away. I avoid exposure to inhaling hair spraynets, heavily perfume pampering, dust, smoke, etc.

At the end of the day, when I can go through it without sneezing away, I feel better about myself. I hate having colds. To avoid it, I take preventive measures.

Learn more about this author, MAD.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.