Normally, an adult should not get a cold more than twice a year at the time of a seasonal SARS epidemic. If a cough, runny nose, sore throat, rashes on the lips, fever and other symptoms of a cold occur six times a year, then such an adult is often ill. What are the causes of frequent colds in adults? This is what we will try to find out.
Not all people have good immunity. Residents of cities most often suffer from influenza diseases. According to statistics, an average citizen suffers a cold up to four times a year. Almost a month later in the autumn-winter period, and this is due to several reasons.
Why do very frequent colds occur in an adult? First of all, this is due to a large concentration of people: transport, shops, especially pharmacies, where the rooms are not ventilated, and people with acute respiratory viral infections are waiting in line for medicines along with those who are still healthy. A person with a weakened immune system - and most of them are in cities - is constantly at risk, so he often has a cold and is forced to take medications.
What is immunity
Immunity is a biological barrier that prevents the penetration of a variety of alien harmful agents existing in the environment.
It can be:
- Viruses.
- Bacteria.
- Parasites.
- Harmful substances.
- Foreign biological tissues, for example, donor ones.
- Cells of the body itself, pathologically changed, for example, cancer.
When a foreign agent enters the body (with breathing, food, contact with skin, mucous membranes, blood, etc.), the immune system responds by producing special cells. They kill viruses, bacteria, parasites. These cells are called phagocytes, and the immune process itself is called phagocytosis.
There are other cells, blood proteins, immunoglobulins that neutralize various chemically active molecules.
When, nevertheless, a foreign agent gets inside any cell of the body, then in response the human body begins to resist, producing a specific cellular protein, interferon, to end the threat. At this point, the person rises in temperature. This is an additional protection, because many viruses and bacteria are not able to withstand even a slight increase in the temperature of the environment in which they enter.
The body also has an external protective barrier, the so-called non - specific immunity. This is our primary defense - beneficial bacteria on the skin, mucous membranes and in the intestines, which kill and prevent pathogens from multiplying. Specific substances, enzymes - like a “chemical weapon” that protects human health.
However, these protective forces of the body today for many people do not work well enough, and there are reasons for this. Frequent colds on the lips in adults, colds and other diseases - all this is due to weakened immunity.
Why the body weakens its protective functions
Immunity can be reduced due to many factors, such as adverse environmental conditions, poor lifestyle, congenital or acquired chronic diseases, poor diet, bad habits - alcohol and smoking, physical inactivity, stress.
Bad environmental situation
Car exhaust gases contain up to 200 harmful and even deadly substances for human health. Today, large cities suffer from an overabundance of road transport. Often, far from all cars have new, high-quality engines. Many drivers do not even think about catalysts and catalysts for car emissions. The quality of fuel at ordinary gas stations leaves much to be desired.
If we add here also the emissions of industrial enterprises, then the city air turns into a “cocktail”, which is simply becoming difficult to breathe.
Polluted air irritates the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, so to speak, “preparing the ground” for pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Since the first protective barrier of the human body is largely reduced - nonspecific immunity.
Therefore, diseases such as rhinitis, rashes on the lips, cough, which are not accompanied by temperature, but can last for months, are often manifested.
No less serious environmental factor is electromagnetic pollution. Electronics - computers, smartphones, monitors, televisions, microwave ovens - that constantly surrounds us, and without which modern man can no longer imagine life, negatively affects his body. Naturally, immunity is reduced.
Wrong lifestyle
To the unfavorable environmental situation that prevails in cities, you need to add the wrong lifestyle - bad habits.
For example, smoking greatly aggravates the situation, because tobacco smoke contains more than 4 thousand harmful substances, and not just nicotine. These are deadly poisons, for example, arsenic, hydrogen cyanide, polonium-210. All these chemical reagents penetrate the human body, poison it for years, "diverting" the body's immune forces to fight these substances in the first place. The immune response to the invasion of external foreign agents is weak. This can cause frequent coughing in an adult without signs of a cold.
Hypodynamia
Long sitting at the computer in the workplace and at home affects not only posture and impaired vision. Mostly the immune system suffers. After all, the human body is designed for constant movement. When the muscles are in constant relaxation, they simply begin to atrophy. There is stagnation of blood, lymph, organs cease to work well, and the heart experiences, on the contrary, a stronger load. Respiratory organs are particularly affected. The volume of the lungs is reduced, the bronchi become "flabby." Therefore, slight hypothermia can cause the disease. And if we add here the unfavorable ecological environment and smoking, then the result is obvious.
Malnutrition
The city dweller is always in a hurry somewhere, so he just has no time to eat properly, fully. They use cheap and unhealthy foods from the fast food industry. And this is often fried food, which is usually washed down with sweet drinks, jammed with chocolate bars, etc.
These fatty, refined foods harm the body. They do not contain the necessary vitamins, minerals. The balance of proteins of fats and carbohydrates is upset. Such products are poorly absorbed by the body. He spends too much effort to digest them and deal with the consequences of such a diet. Accordingly, people who consume such foods, especially in large quantities, suffer from chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
In addition, such malnutrition with poor-quality products leads to infection with parasites, giardia.
All this weakens the body so much that the immune defense just can not cope.
Stress, fatigue
It is no secret that life is not easy now, constant stress accompanies a modern person everywhere. It can cause frequent colds in adults. Inability to relax, calm down, chronic lack of sleep, fatigue, exhaustion - the body's forces are spent excessively.
Sometimes a person just needs to get enough good sleep, have a good rest, so as not to injure his health and raise immunity.
Studies by scientists have shown that a positive-minded person is less ill with colds.
How to strengthen immunity and stop getting a cold?
In a situation where a person often suffers from colds, an integrated approach is needed. Powerful immunity is made up of many components, so you need to not only temporarily use immunomodulators, but seriously change your lifestyle.
Daily regime
The causes of frequent colds in adults lie in the wrongly built daily routine. It is necessary to develop a certain regime in order to have a good rest, to take food on time. When a person lives “according to a schedule”, in a certain rhythm, it is easier for him to bear stress. Moreover, he eliminates many stressful situations, is not late, is in no hurry, is not overloaded with work. This way of life forms a favorable positive thinking.
Proper nutrition
The causes of frequent colds in adults also lie in junk food. A healthy diet requires a balanced combination of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the diet. Food should be rich in minerals and vitamins of different groups - A, B, C, D, E, PP.
It is necessary to eat natural products, exclude processed foods from the diet and not buy fast food. If you purchase products in a supermarket, you need to carefully read what is written on the packaging, whether there are artificial components - preservatives, dyes, flavor enhancers, emulsifiers. Do not eat this.
Only under such conditions the immune system works fully, which means that your body will cope well with colds.
Vitamin A is present in vegetables and fruits of bright yellow, orange, red colors - carrots, pumpkins, apricots, tomatoes, bell peppers. This vitamin is also rich in animal products - liver, chicken eggs, butter.
B vitamins are found in nuts, seeds, bran and wholemeal, eggs, liver, meat, dairy products.
Vitamin C can be obtained from a decoction of rose hips, cranberries, sauerkraut, citrus fruits.
Vitamin E is found in abundance in unrefined vegetable oil, wheat and oat seedlings.
Hardening and gymnastics
If adults have frequent colds, what should I do? Need to do hardening and gymnastics.
Tempering procedures are best started with special training. First, in the mornings, pour over the feet with slightly warm water and rub them with a terry towel. Then, after a few weeks, proceed to pouring on the legs and feet, and so gradually move up. In the end - to begin to pour completely cool water at room temperature.
The gymnastic complex should be selected according to age and physical data. Hatha yoga or various complexes of Chinese gymnastics with smooth movements and gradually increasing load are especially suitable for a weakened body.
For those who often suffer from colds, breathing exercises that help to train the lungs, bronchi are very important. For example, the gymnastics complex Strelnikova or pranayama yoga.
Daily jogging, regular visits to the pool, ice rink, skiing and cycling in the fresh air will benefit.
Once a week, you need to travel out of town to breathe clean air, cleanse your lungs.
Immunomodulators
Immunomodulators made from plant material should be taken every three months. These are various preparations from aloe, ginseng (for hypertensive patients it is better not to use it), echinacea, mummy.
You can resort to traditional medicine, make teas, infusions from healthy herbs, make tasty and rich vitamin mixtures from honey with nuts, lemon, cranberries, dried fruits.
Eat onions and garlic.
Treatment of frequent colds in adults with medicines should be carried out exclusively under the supervision of a doctor. Only he can establish a diagnosis and prescribe exactly those drugs that are needed.
Cough recipe
It will take one large onion, which must be finely chopped. Then crush the chopped onion a little with a wooden spoon or pestle to make juice. Pour the resulting slurry with honey and insist for a day. Use a teaspoon 3-5 times a day between meals.
Treatment of frequent colds on the lips in adults
In order for the rashes on the lips to go faster, you need to prepare a decoction of chamomile, mint or celandine.
A tablespoon of dry grass is poured with a glass of boiling water, insisted for an hour in a sealed container. Then neatly moistened with a cotton swab infusion make lotion every 2 hours.
Tea made from chamomile is good to drink inside.