Summer’s finally here. You’ve been patient, made plans and are gearing to go. Suddenly, out of nowhere you’ve got a cold. It’s just unfair. It’s like a hair on your dinner or furniture that can’t fit into your new place. The worst thing about a summer cold is that it lingers. It feels worse than a winter cold and its tough to get rid of. Don’t despair though, there’s hope for you yet.
Below we’re going to talk all about summer colds. We’ll give you some pointers on what you can do to prevent and fight them.
Tora! Tora! Tora!
The summer cold is the ultimate guerilla soldier of viruses. There you are, trying to enjoy the heat when out of nowhere the enemy has materialized and left you crippled.
What most don’t realize is that this is usually a different virus from the winter kind. Over 200 viruses cause the common cold during the cold & flu season but in the summer there’s often a different culprit.
Enterovirus is to blame. Having symptoms common among other ‘winter viruses’, Enterovirus has a bit more bite behind its bark.
Along with the usual sneezing and congestion, it can cause diarrhea, sore throat, achy muscles and even rashes!
Besides spreading by coughing or contaminated surfaces, enterovirus can spread through feces. It makes perfect sense something this insidious would live in our toilets.
False Flag
So how do you know when you have a summer cold? The bug you’re fighting feels like others but we can rule them out by looking at a likely suspect: allergies.
You’ll know you’ve got them if you feel the following:
- Cold-like symptoms – runny nose, congestion, fatigue and headaches.
- Itching – Irritations, especially around eyes.
- Swelling/Puffiness – Again, around the eyes.
- Location based – Your environment. If symptoms suddenly vanish when moving around – blame allergies.
Conversely, enterovirus has a much more physical component as discussed above.
We’ve ruled out allergies so we should talk about what increases your risk of losing weeks of your summer to being bed-ridden.
Behind Enemy Lines
The smallest things could be putting you at risk for getting sick this summer. Heat, for example can weaken you enough for infection.
What do you mean heat?! Air conditioning uses re-circulated air. This dries out nostrils and makes it easy for viruses to attack. Moving to a cool indoor environment from the sweltering heat also shocks our body.
Increased chances of contamination mean there’s a greater chance of getting sick. Washrooms in particular are bad because the virus can transmit from fecal matter.
Preemptive Strike
The name of the game when planning to stay out of bed this summer is prevention. A priority is adopting good habits:
• Wash your hands
• Keep hand sanitizer for travel
• Keep hydrated!
• Ease into working out. Shocking the nervous system without gradual progression will weaken it to infection.
• Eat your fruits and veggies! These nutrients will help you stay strong.
The Best Defense Is A Good Offense
Even being abundantly cautious, we get sick. This is when its time to bring out the big guns. Antibiotics don’t work and zinc lozenges aren’t that great against Enterovirus. Luckily, there’s plenty of over the counter remedies that help.
In the end, we’re not all doctors. This is why its important to see a doctor or sinus specialist to make sure that your summer cold isn’t something worse.
It may feel hopeless but we’re sure that by being vigilant, you could have summer without a side of winter.