Although you can obviously reduce physical risk of catching a cold or flu by staying away from other people, it may not be advisable to do so entirely if it causes you to experience loneliness. Feeling lonely is a type of depression that works swiftly to suppress immunocompetence.
If you commonly experience feelings of loneliness you may actually reduce risk of catching an upper respiratory tract infection by actively seeking out social contact. This might mean spending more time in the company of friends or family members or attending church or joining clubs or classes where you can meet and mix with other people. Several major studies have documented a clear and unmistakable link between feeling lonely and suppression of the immune system.
Smoking, and drinking alcohol also lower your defenses against viral infections. So does emotional stress, thinking negative thoughts, and feeling depressed or tense and uptight.
Next to avoiding physical contact with a cold sufferer, practicing Positivism and staying relaxed can probably do more to prevent a cold or flu than any other single step. That means staying calm and relaxed, and thinking only positive thoughts.
Among things that will not give you a cold are exposure to chills or drafts or walking outdoors in rain or cold. Nor, unless you have a fever, will these factors worsen a cold you already have.
However, cold outdoor air could possibly cause nasal membranes to dry out, and it may also reduce interferon production by nasal cells. Nonetheless, the benefits of exercising outdoors in cold weather almost always outweigh such potential drawbacks. And since there are few, if any, viruses in outdoor air, your risk of catching a cold or flu while exercising outdoors in winter is almost zero.
Maintain these simple precautions during the winter cold and flu season and chances are good that you will come through the entire winter unscathed.
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