I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to for generously sharing your invaluable knowledge and insightful advice on healthcare via social media. Your contributions are immensely appreciated, and your dedication to helping others navigate health-related matters is truly commendable. Your expertise serves as a guiding light for many, and your willingness to share information contributes positively to our collective well-being. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of so many individuals through your thoughtful contributions.
Just had 4 weeks off the bike after lovely grandchildren shared coughs and cold, first week barely did anything managed walking then some floor exercises. Week 5 got 3 rides in but much slower than I would like its so hard being patient but I agree with you if you push or rush it never works
I know someone who had a lung removed by training with a cold that got itself into a case of pneumonia as he would not take the time to recover properly. After he recovered from the operation and he was 20 yrs older than me he was still fitter and faster. However one lung less isn’t the ideal. Some healing cannot happen in two places at The same time the critters in your blood and immune system often can not cope with multiple problems. GREAT VIDEO it’s true.
Approaching 60 soon, as a healthcare professional now and former military diver & competitive triathlete and active dirt bike rider the last 12 yrs, I can so relate to this video. Short & sweet message. Thanks. 😊
Sorry to hear about the leurgy. I've just shifted my first cold in three years (Im 61). Fortunately it only lasted 5 days. So I should be back on the bike fairly soon. You too, no doubt. Meantime, keep taking the tablets! Cheers
So timely. I’ve been on holiday (2 National Express trips to and from LHR and 6 flights in 3 weeks. So I was 3 1/2 weeks without normal exercise/training levels anyway just snorkelling and yoga and v gentle cycling on sand.. Got back Thursday, spin Friday was 20w down, utility cycling Sat and in the space of 10 mins after getting home I went from fine to horrendous, voice had gone, aching…. 48 hrs after last flight/bus. Now watching all the you tubes whilst knitting 😂 with a milky decaf and having to accept that I’ll be starting training all over again in a couple of weeks, hopefully! The hard cough has set in… My sympathies to you, just grateful this has happened after holiday!
I'm a 62 year old woman and have trained EVERY DAY since I was 17 years old. I rarely get ill but when I do I train anyway - just take it slightly easier. My last major sickness was a bad chesty cough that lasted 8 weeks - I managed just fine by easing off the intensity A LITTLE. If I didn't train my mental health would suffer greatly. I'll take my chances and keep training.
Good advice, especially remaining warm & well hydrated to help the body deal with the illness. I’ve seen too many healthy older cyclists & runners crushed by training hard through a cold. They end up with months of niggly illnesses and susceptibility to any respiratory disease knocking around. Some don’t seem to ever fully recover. Inactivity, unless enforced by the illness, is equally harmful. I call it “living gently”, stay active on a low heart rate, keep warm (even a little hot) and be ready to go home. The toughest aspect I have found to living gently and letting my body do its job combatting a cold, is confidence. Holding to the truth that you won’t be unfit and overweight in four to six weeks of living gently takes nerve. Yes, the polish of performance may have tarnished but it soon returns. If you compete or take part in challenges, think long term and not just about the next event. Skip one to do many.
The early comment of tracking Heart Rate Variability is so true. I finally had Covid in early December and my HRV scores plummeted taking 3-4 weeks to return to normal. I took my comeback slowly and easy, and my scores are now back to normal. My fitness is still lagging behind where I was in late November but at least I haven’t been sidelined for months, as other runners have. Great film as always.
As always stellar advice. Just got over a much less severe cold myself - I also use my HR monitor and HRV to help know how ready I am for some training.
Thank you so much for these videos. I always find your content helpful, engaging, and beautifully produced. This video was no exception. I am so grateful for you sharing these with us. 🙏
Just had to take 4 weeks off - never had anything close to that before - due to a virus which became bacterial sinusitus. That, and the side-effects of the antibiotics when I finally got them has just been awful...but I think I am ready for a light spin today (indoors). It's been so difficult to just back right off to nothing for so long but I managed to reach acceptance given your perspective that pushing it just risks even longer-term health impacts. Missing a training session vs missing the whole summer - no brainer really, especially as the years advance.
You’re not losing anything by falling back and starting all over again. I never feel that I’ve completed training, I’m training at variable levels all the time anyway. Flying or contact with someone who’s has recently got off an airplane is a sure way to get sick. Thanks for this!
@@alwaysanotheradventure you’re doing all the right things, I think it goes away when you sleep. Sleep often and for extended periods. Cover up warmly and sleep that crud away.
Very useful video and good timing. I'm a 4 x a week runner early 50's, rarely ill but this recent cough has kept me off running for 6 weeks so far. I'm convinced it's the pertussis virus and am now back off sick with a sinus infection. Was walking daily until yesterday. Am definitely getting some first defence in to fight off anything else that tries to get me. Hope you are better by now!
It's bloo8y awful isn't it! And frustrating too. My GP dosed me with antibiotics, corticosteroids and even an asthma inhaler. Ten weeks on and I still have the damn productive cough - but thankfully, it isn't effecting my breathing too much. I've started riding and running again, keeping my HR down as much as I can. It's now more of a nuisance than anything else, although I feel I'm working at 80% and getting more tired afterward. A local nurse told me there's something "covid-ish" going around, and it's like a 10-week thing. You probably don't want to hear that!
Thanks again for this sound advice. Much appreciated for us "oldies". There's just loads of that "3 week cough" going round. Mine's just shifted but we had the fist big group club bike ride out the other weekend ("Pie Ride" :-) ) and there were a lot of people calling it off with coughs and colds. One of the worst winters we've had for a long time I reckon. As regular commute cyclist I can't remember so much rain for so long, ever.
@@alwaysanotheradventure Yeah. Have you have a dose of this round of Covid? I picked it up in September (annoyingly on a trip to the Dolomites for my 60th....) and I don't think I've been the same since. Heard a few people (the kind of people who closely monitor such things for endurance events...) say that this strain is affecting blood sugar levels and heart rates.
@@andygolborne5747 I have never tested positive for Covid, and neither has Liz. We can't work out why, given I've flown a few times, use public transport and not isolated myself. True we're out of the way here in the highlands, but it has visited our village. I can't work out whether we're lucky, or whether we're going to be blasted to hell when eventually it finds us!
@@alwaysanotheradventure That's excellent you guys have not picked it up. I think each strain is different. City boy here (Leeds) and I work in offices, so 3rd lot for me. The other two I didn't really notice. This one though has been different. Being fit and otherwise healthy definitely helps.
Simon, thumbs-up and thanks for formalising my hypochondria instinct, I'll try your unsponsored suggestion of dual-defence in response to early HRV symptoms and as a pre-flight prevention.
Very interesting. The advice I was given as a young man (I admit not yesterday!) was, run with a cold, but not a fever. I do believe in resting up, keeping warm and drinking lots when under the weather. I have never taken a cold to the GP, nor taken drugs to help shift one, so you have given me lots to think about. I enjoy your videos and I am working my way back through this series on diet, health and fitness and finding them very interesting, not to mention motivating. Thanks.
If it works for you, it works for you Norman. My wife would never dream of going to the GP for a cold, and frankly neighter would I in normal circumstances. I've not had a cold that didn't clear in 3 weeks. Mine wasn't that though, it was a cough that didn't change - it came and it stayed. If that becomes a chest infection it can - especially in older folk - become pneumonia. Hence the GP trip. I was surprised to be given that steroid but it seems to have dried up the cough.
Thanks for sharing this! I have been down for almost three weeks 😢every time that I start basic stretching exercises, I am out of breath and knackered🫤
Excellent upload, some useful tips I can use - thank you. One observation I have made though - during lockdown, I was not exposed to viruses of any kind, and when I went back to normal, my immune system was rekt, I caught everything going, badly. What I learnt was by being around people, it's a kind of workout for your immune system if that makes sense. I don't like to avoid being around bugs, I welcome it - it keep my defenses alert, not had a bug for 15 months since 😀
I am 76 years old and do a fitness workout twice a week, total time about 3 hours. No heavy training, but enough to stay in shape and don't lose strength. Besides that I mountainbike twice a week. I take exta vitamine B12 and D and that's it. Never in my whole life I used ibruprofen or another kind of relatively heavy painkillers and I only take one or two paracetamols once or twice a year. I don't think it is necessay to take all that stuff you mention when you only are coughing or think that you maybe will catch a cold or actually caught a cold. Your body can cure itself from these minor 'diseases', even when you are old. Training it little less then usual is a good advice.
I'm delighted that's what works for you, although I realise we're all different. As are the infections we get. I'm not advocating any medical course of action - I'm not Doctor - I'm passing on the best evidence as given by UK's health and sporting authorities. And they don't advocate using analgesic to alleviate a cold - it's to help painful symptoms of a cold, with the added benefits of reducing temperature. Some people can tough it out, and it sounds like you're one of them. I didn't take any painkillers during my current bout of sickness - which is 'just coughing'. But turns out it's not a cold, it's something else, which my Dr advises requires a corticosteroid to prevent it becoming pneumonia. I have to go back for further examination tomorrow because I'm not convinced it's working.
Thanks for your reply. It was not clear to me what your doctor had prescibed and what you decided from literature to be good. I hope you do not get pneumonia and get well soon.@@alwaysanotheradventure
I made the mistake this week by going out on Wednesday on a bike ride, which was quite cold. I had been slightly chesty for a few days, by Friday my muscles were aching and had a terrible nights sleep. Probably the bike ride gave me a chill, so I haven't been outside bar one trip to the supermarket by car since. The heating has been whacked up so fingers crossed it doesn't go full blown flu. Thankfully I learned about big doses of vit d "after" long covid so feeling ok for now. Best advice is to keep hydrated, in the warm and get plenty of rest.
@@alwaysanotheradventuremine lasted 4 weeks from Christmas Day and had to go for antibiotics in the end to clear a chest infection. Still coughing occasionally now. Back to gym training very gently a couple of weeks ago and still not back to where I was before Christmas with cardio and weights are down by a third. Only had one short cycle ride because just too tired and too wet or cold. I would say it will take another month to get back to where I was. Wish I had known about first defence - will give it a try next time.
@@ianfutcher1518 That's awful Ian, but I keep hearing similar stories about these coughs that just don't shift. Folk have suggested steroids and antibiotics, plus inhalers. I'm heading for a chest x-ray Friday.
@@alwaysanotheradventure all but two in the family caught it. How & why they escaped I don’t know. Although COVID tests were all negative my theory is that it was probably a new variant that is not picked up by the tests. These “coughs” have been suffered by lots of people and all around the world before and after Christmas. Hope your X-ray is ok and you get well soon.
Thankyou for this video! I've learnt a few things I didn't know, (or chose to ignore). I decided to go against my usual rules and do a 75 mile event on the bike , as i was looking forward to it for some time ,and it was in a beautiful area . I made myself ease back a bit as HR was higher than usual, but got fed up with that when i hit the hills. I also didn't want to stop to get water, so ended up super dehydrated ,and crawling up the last climb. I had a constantly running nose, and sneezing. I assume this is why we get more dehydrated with a cold? You did mention this, but not sure what causes it.
A few days off at the beginning of a cold, and in winter staying inside for a few days can stop it going on to be a cough that lingers for weeks and weeks.
Hi Simon I unfortunately went out for a bike ride the day after a covid injection not a good idea, I suffered for that decision for about 3 weeks I think I had a bit of a cold before the injection, but I'm back on the bike. I was in TV back in the 60s... 2 channels black and white and Ena Sharles was in Coronation Street I was a TV engineer 😊
More great advice! Well, right up until you mentioned decaff! 😬 Seriously though, good stuff here that we can all pay attention to. Yes, sometimes we can train with a cold but unless we are a serious competitive athlete willing to make calculated risks I don't think it is worth it for most of us. That said, I woke up with a sore throat today & still got on the turbo. But I thought about it first & put myself under no pressure to train. Walking is always good for gauging fitness. I can feel really drained of energy on a walk & that is a good sign I shouldn't be hitting the training hard. Sure we lose VO2Max quickly but we regain it quickly too, providing we don't let ourselves develop a serious health condition by returning to training hard too soon. But a pal of mine - a pretty serious time-trialist - got a cold then COVID last November & had to take a full 10 days off the bike, something he's not done in years. Two weeks back into training & he beat his times from just prior to getting ill. Never underestimate the performance gains from enough rest.
There is something going around Hugh, and I wonder if there's a link to the lockdowns, even after this time, where we've been less exposed to viruses and more? Just speculation my end. On the decaf - grinding the beans seems to add to taste and I make them 50/50 with real coffee.
@@alwaysanotheradventure my wife is on her third cold this year. 😐 Decaff is ok but I'm fortunate that I have to be really, really ill before foregoing the real stuff & that only happens about once a decade.
I just ran for the first time since Jan 20th when i went down with flu ,fully agree, you need to rake it steady and build back up, i alsk walked instead of running, tough at parkrun as all the runners whizzed past...😂😂
We started taking Vit D3 during the late summer to spring some 10 to 15 years ago, neither of us have had a cold since, despite coming into contact with lots of people who had…
could be coincidence or luck but ever since using honey on a daily basis ive not had a common cold.(around 5 years) must be something in the natural antiseptic properties 👍
BTW. The corticosteroids such as Prednisolone that you showed. Banned in competition under any WADA / UK Anti-Doping covered sport (= cycling, athletics, swimming, triathlon etc etc) but ok (in tablet form) 'out of competition' - which I think means a month or more before the event. (Unless you're an elite cyclist or triathlete and can get some dodgy retrospective TUE after winning a medal at the Olympics or a Grand Tour 🤔).
I am close to 48 and currently have a cough - I know what I can run in 30 mins, and I know my average HR during that period. I just listen to my body and if I feel anything in chest etc, I don't even bother going on run. Today I did my normal 30-40 min run and it was pretty normal - HR average 144. But man I hate getting ill and it messing up my routines.
I feel for you. Six weeks, corticosteroids, antibiotics and now an inhaler- finally shifting. Dr thinks there is a Covid-like virus around. I hope that’s not what you have. Frustrating as anything.
You know, I've been very fortunate to have not had Covid at all - I put that in part down to nutrition and exercise and the other part just plain old luck. I only eat whole natural food and make sure I eat a wide variety - would highly recommend book by Tim Spector - Food For Life...he was a Hospital Dr and specialised some years back into Nutrition, also has a channel here called Zoe@@alwaysanotheradventure
A good vitamin d3,zinc and magnesium works for me(wife works in a primary school). The worst thing for me was having general anesthetic for minor operation it took months before I felt right!
Prednisalone! Oh boy, this is a drug I've spent two years trying to get off. It's so bad for your bones and effects your adrenal glands. For me at 69 sleep and chicken soup are the best answer for colds and no more than a walk until it's gone. I hope you don't take the pred for more than a day or two Simon.
Yeah it's a hell of a drug and not to be taken for more than 7 days unless absolutely necessary, as I assume it was for you Graham. I read the leaflet in the pack with growing apprehension. It does seem to have almost sorted my cough and tomorrow is the last dose. Mucks up the microbiome too.
@@alwaysanotheradventure I unfortunately got prescribed them for Polymyalgia in 2021. 20mg. My issue came about do to covid and not seeing a doctor for advice, by the time I'd seen a doctor with proper knowledge, I'd been on them for months, then it was a case of coming off, 1mg every 4 weeks, I made it to 1mg and my Polymyalgia came back, so back up to 20 and the journey to come off restarted. I'm now on 6 and have a GP monitoring things. Hopefully this will see me off the damn things haha. Sorry for the life story. I just see the word prednisalone and it rings lots of alarm bells. Never heard of them being used for coughs. Hope you are up and firing on all cylinders Simon. Days are precious as you age.
I'm always in two minds about this. The advice here is sound, but when I have a cold I always seem to feel better for doing some exercise - obviously not flat out, but some. A few weeks ago I had a persistent cough and running nose which only abated while in the gym. Very odd. This was strength training rather than cardio or endurance though. Maybe that's the key - don't put stress on the cv system?
Possibly - I was wondering this too. I have done a little strength and loads of walking but it seems I have something a bit weird and it’s hanging around. I now suspect Covid even though I tested negative.
I am always horrified by how many of my cycling buddies will come on rides when they are clearly unwell and try and "fight" through it. Insanity. Rest and recover is the only way.
"from Covid days". Currently several weeks into "recovering" from a dose of Covid. It's still a thing. Totally laid up. (Probably a perk of my bus pass).
You are 100% right. I was fine until I had to work until after midnight one night last week, which rogered my system. I woke up with sore throat, and that was all she wrote. Early to bed, that's the ticket.
After a particular persistent upper respiratory tract infection, with added rhinitis and sinusitis - and not a believer in antibiotics - the best thing I have done is buy a nebuliser - a simple sea salt solution reduces both nasal mucous and throat phlegm and in my case has stopped the infection going chesty, which it usually has done. It is a very simple and effective way to palliate all the symptoms, including the dry cough. I have also used magnesium chloride and eucalyptus to good effect. Certainly worth buying and a non pharmaceutical alternative. Great content for us geriatics by the way.
I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to for generously sharing your invaluable knowledge and insightful advice on healthcare via social media. Your contributions are immensely appreciated, and your dedication to helping others navigate health-related matters is truly commendable. Your expertise serves as a guiding light for many, and your willingness to share information contributes positively to our collective well-being. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of so many individuals through your thoughtful contributions.
Just had 4 weeks off the bike after lovely grandchildren shared coughs and cold, first week barely did anything managed walking then some floor exercises. Week 5 got 3 rides in but much slower than I would like its so hard being patient but I agree with you if you push or rush it never works
Exactly where I am now. Impatient patient.
I know someone who had a lung removed by training with a cold that got itself into a case of pneumonia as he would not take the time to recover properly.
After he recovered from the operation and he was 20 yrs older than me he was still fitter and faster.
However one lung less isn’t the ideal.
Some healing cannot happen in two places at The same time the critters in your blood and immune system often can not cope with multiple problems.
GREAT VIDEO it’s true.
Wow! Hell of a story.
@@alwaysanotheradventure allegedly …… your critters in a crisis can’t do two big issues at the same time. Not seen the research in this but.
Approaching 60 soon, as a healthcare professional now and former military diver & competitive triathlete and active dirt bike rider the last 12 yrs, I can so relate to this video. Short & sweet message. Thanks. 😊
Cheers Sean
Sorry to hear about the leurgy. I've just shifted my first cold in three years (Im 61). Fortunately it only lasted 5 days. So I should be back on the bike fairly soon.
You too, no doubt.
Meantime, keep taking the tablets!
Cheers
So timely. I’ve been on holiday (2 National Express trips to and from LHR and 6 flights in 3 weeks. So I was 3 1/2 weeks without normal exercise/training levels anyway just snorkelling and yoga and v gentle cycling on sand.. Got back Thursday, spin Friday was 20w down, utility cycling Sat and in the space of 10 mins after getting home I went from fine to horrendous, voice had gone, aching…. 48 hrs after last flight/bus. Now watching all the you tubes whilst knitting 😂 with a milky decaf and having to accept that I’ll be starting training all over again in a couple of weeks, hopefully! The hard cough has set in… My sympathies to you, just grateful this has happened after holiday!
Brilliant! I'll go for that walk tomorrow. What a great awful piece. Thanks
I hate going, but you've convinced me that it's time to throw in the towel and make that GP appointment!
Yeah me too. Those corticosteroids are not great for the microbiome but they seem to be sorting me out.
I'm a 62 year old woman and have trained EVERY DAY since I was 17 years old. I rarely get ill but when I do I train anyway - just take it slightly easier. My last major sickness was a bad chesty cough that lasted 8 weeks - I managed just fine by easing off the intensity A LITTLE. If I didn't train my mental health would suffer greatly. I'll take my chances and keep training.
Good advice, especially remaining warm & well hydrated to help the body deal with the illness. I’ve seen too many healthy older cyclists & runners crushed by training hard through a cold. They end up with months of niggly illnesses and susceptibility to any respiratory disease knocking around. Some don’t seem to ever fully recover. Inactivity, unless enforced by the illness, is equally harmful. I call it “living gently”, stay active on a low heart rate, keep warm (even a little hot) and be ready to go home.
The toughest aspect I have found to living gently and letting my body do its job combatting a cold, is confidence. Holding to the truth that you won’t be unfit and overweight in four to six weeks of living gently takes nerve. Yes, the polish of performance may have tarnished but it soon returns. If you compete or take part in challenges, think long term and not just about the next event. Skip one to do many.
The early comment of tracking Heart Rate Variability is so true. I finally had Covid in early December and my HRV scores plummeted taking 3-4 weeks to return to normal. I took my comeback slowly and easy, and my scores are now back to normal. My fitness is still lagging behind where I was in late November but at least I haven’t been sidelined for months, as other runners have. Great film as always.
Simon, could you perhaps do a video on monitoring heart rate & HRV?
As always stellar advice. Just got over a much less severe cold myself - I also use my HR monitor and HRV to help know how ready I am for some training.
Definitely keep off the Stella ;-)
Thank you so much for these videos. I always find your content helpful, engaging, and beautifully produced. This video was no exception. I am so grateful for you sharing these with us. 🙏
Just had to take 4 weeks off - never had anything close to that before - due to a virus which became bacterial sinusitus. That, and the side-effects of the antibiotics when I finally got them has just been awful...but I think I am ready for a light spin today (indoors). It's been so difficult to just back right off to nothing for so long but I managed to reach acceptance given your perspective that pushing it just risks even longer-term health impacts. Missing a training session vs missing the whole summer - no brainer really, especially as the years advance.
You’re taking the right approach. I nearly rushed my recovery but I’m glad I didn’t, even thought I’m ‘behind’ where I should be.
You’re not losing anything by falling back and starting all over again. I never feel that I’ve completed training, I’m training at variable levels all the time anyway. Flying or contact with someone who’s has recently got off an airplane is a sure way to get sick. Thanks for this!
I got this on the Isle of Eigg. And it won’t shift.
@@alwaysanotheradventure you’re doing all the right things, I think it goes away when you sleep. Sleep often and for extended periods. Cover up warmly and sleep that crud away.
Hope your are feeling better, thanks for sharing good advice Simon.
Very useful video and good timing. I'm a 4 x a week runner early 50's, rarely ill but this recent cough has kept me off running for 6 weeks so far. I'm convinced it's the pertussis virus and am now back off sick with a sinus infection. Was walking daily until yesterday. Am definitely getting some first defence in to fight off anything else that tries to get me. Hope you are better by now!
It's bloo8y awful isn't it! And frustrating too. My GP dosed me with antibiotics, corticosteroids and even an asthma inhaler. Ten weeks on and I still have the damn productive cough - but thankfully, it isn't effecting my breathing too much.
I've started riding and running again, keeping my HR down as much as I can. It's now more of a nuisance than anything else, although I feel I'm working at 80% and getting more tired afterward.
A local nurse told me there's something "covid-ish" going around, and it's like a 10-week thing. You probably don't want to hear that!
Thanks again for this sound advice. Much appreciated for us "oldies". There's just loads of that "3 week cough" going round. Mine's just shifted but we had the fist big group club bike ride out the other weekend ("Pie Ride" :-) ) and there were a lot of people calling it off with coughs and colds. One of the worst winters we've had for a long time I reckon. As regular commute cyclist I can't remember so much rain for so long, ever.
I wonder if it’s still a post Covid thing? More viruses circulating?
@@alwaysanotheradventure Yeah. Have you have a dose of this round of Covid? I picked it up in September (annoyingly on a trip to the Dolomites for my 60th....) and I don't think I've been the same since. Heard a few people (the kind of people who closely monitor such things for endurance events...) say that this strain is affecting blood sugar levels and heart rates.
@@andygolborne5747 I have never tested positive for Covid, and neither has Liz. We can't work out why, given I've flown a few times, use public transport and not isolated myself. True we're out of the way here in the highlands, but it has visited our village. I can't work out whether we're lucky, or whether we're going to be blasted to hell when eventually it finds us!
@@alwaysanotheradventure That's excellent you guys have not picked it up. I think each strain is different. City boy here (Leeds) and I work in offices, so 3rd lot for me. The other two I didn't really notice. This one though has been different. Being fit and otherwise healthy definitely helps.
Simon, thumbs-up and thanks for formalising my hypochondria instinct, I'll try your unsponsored suggestion of dual-defence in response to early HRV symptoms and as a pre-flight prevention.
Wait until you see this Sunday’s video!
Great video!!! Get Well soon
Another great video, feel better and keep them coming👍🏻
Excellent video. Lots of good advice in there.
Very interesting. The advice I was given as a young man (I admit not yesterday!) was, run with a cold, but not a fever. I do believe in resting up, keeping warm and drinking lots when under the weather. I have never taken a cold to the GP, nor taken drugs to help shift one, so you have given me lots to think about. I enjoy your videos and I am working my way back through this series on diet, health and fitness and finding them very interesting, not to mention motivating. Thanks.
If it works for you, it works for you Norman. My wife would never dream of going to the GP for a cold, and frankly neighter would I in normal circumstances. I've not had a cold that didn't clear in 3 weeks. Mine wasn't that though, it was a cough that didn't change - it came and it stayed. If that becomes a chest infection it can - especially in older folk - become pneumonia. Hence the GP trip. I was surprised to be given that steroid but it seems to have dried up the cough.
Excellent video. Thank you. 👍
Thanks for sharing this! I have been down for almost three weeks 😢every time that I start basic stretching exercises, I am out of breath and knackered🫤
Great info!
Excellent upload, some useful tips I can use - thank you.
One observation I have made though - during lockdown, I was not exposed to viruses of any kind, and when I went back to normal, my immune system was rekt, I caught everything going, badly. What I learnt was by being around people, it's a kind of workout for your immune system if that makes sense. I don't like to avoid being around bugs, I welcome it - it keep my defenses alert, not had a bug for 15 months since 😀
I think that's still happening - especially here in the highlands where there's less population mixing than in cities.
I am 76 years old and do a fitness workout twice a week, total time about 3 hours. No heavy training, but enough to stay in shape and don't lose strength. Besides that I mountainbike twice a week. I take exta vitamine B12 and D and that's it. Never in my whole life I used ibruprofen or another kind of relatively heavy painkillers and I only take one or two paracetamols once or twice a year. I don't think it is necessay to take all that stuff you mention when you only are coughing or think that you maybe will catch a cold or actually caught a cold. Your body can cure itself from these minor 'diseases', even when you are old. Training it little less then usual is a good advice.
I'm delighted that's what works for you, although I realise we're all different. As are the infections we get.
I'm not advocating any medical course of action - I'm not Doctor - I'm passing on the best evidence as given by UK's health and sporting authorities. And they don't advocate using analgesic to alleviate a cold - it's to help painful symptoms of a cold, with the added benefits of reducing temperature. Some people can tough it out, and it sounds like you're one of them.
I didn't take any painkillers during my current bout of sickness - which is 'just coughing'. But turns out it's not a cold, it's something else, which my Dr advises requires a corticosteroid to prevent it becoming pneumonia. I have to go back for further examination tomorrow because I'm not convinced it's working.
Thanks for your reply. It was not clear to me what your doctor had prescibed and what you decided from literature to be good. I hope you do not get pneumonia and get well soon.@@alwaysanotheradventure
I made the mistake this week by going out on Wednesday on a bike ride, which was quite cold. I had been slightly chesty for a few days, by Friday my muscles were aching and had a terrible nights sleep.
Probably the bike ride gave me a chill, so I haven't been outside bar one trip to the supermarket by car since. The heating has been whacked up so fingers crossed it doesn't go full blown flu.
Thankfully I learned about big doses of vit d "after" long covid so feeling ok for now.
Best advice is to keep hydrated, in the warm and get plenty of rest.
This was perfect timing as I'm in the not sure if it's over stage.
Me too!
@@alwaysanotheradventuremine lasted 4 weeks from Christmas Day and had to go for antibiotics in the end to clear a chest infection. Still coughing occasionally now. Back to gym training very gently a couple of weeks ago and still not back to where I was before Christmas with cardio and weights are down by a third. Only had one short cycle ride because just too tired and too wet or cold. I would say it will take another month to get back to where I was. Wish I had known about first defence - will give it a try next time.
@@ianfutcher1518 That's awful Ian, but I keep hearing similar stories about these coughs that just don't shift. Folk have suggested steroids and antibiotics, plus inhalers. I'm heading for a chest x-ray Friday.
@@alwaysanotheradventure all but two in the family caught it. How & why they escaped I don’t know. Although COVID tests were all negative my theory is that it was probably a new variant that is not picked up by the tests. These “coughs” have been suffered by lots of people and all around the world before and after Christmas. Hope your X-ray is ok and you get well soon.
Thankyou for this video! I've learnt a few things I didn't know, (or chose to ignore). I decided to go against my usual rules and do a 75 mile event on the bike , as i was looking forward to it for some time ,and it was in a beautiful area .
I made myself ease back a bit as HR was higher than usual, but got fed up with that when i hit the hills.
I also didn't want to stop to get water, so ended up super dehydrated ,and crawling up the last climb.
I had a constantly running nose, and sneezing. I assume this is why we get more dehydrated with a cold?
You did mention this, but not sure what causes it.
A few days off at the beginning of a cold, and in winter staying inside for a few days can stop it going on to be a cough that lingers for weeks and weeks.
Very good video. I hadn’t had a cold for many years, one journey on a plane & bingo!
Hi Simon I unfortunately went out for a bike ride the day after a covid injection not a good idea, I suffered for that decision for about 3 weeks I think I had a bit of a cold before the injection, but I'm back on the bike. I was in TV back in the 60s... 2 channels black and white and Ena Sharles was in Coronation Street I was a TV engineer 😊
Ah that's rough, but glad you're back riding. 2 channels - things were so much easier
More great advice! Well, right up until you mentioned decaff! 😬 Seriously though, good stuff here that we can all pay attention to. Yes, sometimes we can train with a cold but unless we are a serious competitive athlete willing to make calculated risks I don't think it is worth it for most of us. That said, I woke up with a sore throat today & still got on the turbo. But I thought about it first & put myself under no pressure to train. Walking is always good for gauging fitness. I can feel really drained of energy on a walk & that is a good sign I shouldn't be hitting the training hard. Sure we lose VO2Max quickly but we regain it quickly too, providing we don't let ourselves develop a serious health condition by returning to training hard too soon. But a pal of mine - a pretty serious time-trialist - got a cold then COVID last November & had to take a full 10 days off the bike, something he's not done in years. Two weeks back into training & he beat his times from just prior to getting ill. Never underestimate the performance gains from enough rest.
There is something going around Hugh, and I wonder if there's a link to the lockdowns, even after this time, where we've been less exposed to viruses and more? Just speculation my end.
On the decaf - grinding the beans seems to add to taste and I make them 50/50 with real coffee.
@@alwaysanotheradventure my wife is on her third cold this year. 😐 Decaff is ok but I'm fortunate that I have to be really, really ill before foregoing the real stuff & that only happens about once a decade.
My wife swears by the First Defence stuff, she's convinced me as well.
I just ran for the first time since Jan 20th when i went down with flu ,fully agree, you need to rake it steady and build back up, i alsk walked instead of running, tough at parkrun as all the runners whizzed past...😂😂
We started taking Vit D3 during the late summer to spring some 10 to 15 years ago, neither of us have had a cold since, despite coming into contact with lots of people who had…
could be coincidence or luck but ever since using honey on a daily basis ive not had a common cold.(around 5 years) must be something in the natural antiseptic properties 👍
v gd...goin thru this now..!
Sorry for you
BTW. The corticosteroids such as Prednisolone that you showed. Banned in competition under any WADA / UK Anti-Doping covered sport (= cycling, athletics, swimming, triathlon etc etc) but ok (in tablet form) 'out of competition' - which I think means a month or more before the event.
(Unless you're an elite cyclist or triathlete and can get some dodgy retrospective TUE after winning a medal at the Olympics or a Grand Tour 🤔).
That's how I understood it Peter, thank you. These videos hang around a long time on TH-cam and who knows if this might change in the future.
I am close to 48 and currently have a cough - I know what I can run in 30 mins, and I know my average HR during that period. I just listen to my body and if I feel anything in chest etc, I don't even bother going on run. Today I did my normal 30-40 min run and it was pretty normal - HR average 144. But man I hate getting ill and it messing up my routines.
I feel for you. Six weeks, corticosteroids, antibiotics and now an inhaler- finally shifting. Dr thinks there is a Covid-like virus around. I hope that’s not what you have. Frustrating as anything.
You know, I've been very fortunate to have not had Covid at all - I put that in part down to nutrition and exercise and the other part just plain old luck. I only eat whole natural food and make sure I eat a wide variety - would highly recommend book by Tim Spector - Food For Life...he was a Hospital Dr and specialised some years back into Nutrition, also has a channel here called Zoe@@alwaysanotheradventure
A good vitamin d3,zinc and magnesium works for me(wife works in a primary school). The worst thing for me was having general anesthetic for minor operation it took months before I felt right!
Prednisalone! Oh boy, this is a drug I've spent two years trying to get off. It's so bad for your bones and effects your adrenal glands. For me at 69 sleep and chicken soup are the best answer for colds and no more than a walk until it's gone. I hope you don't take the pred for more than a day or two Simon.
Yeah it's a hell of a drug and not to be taken for more than 7 days unless absolutely necessary, as I assume it was for you Graham. I read the leaflet in the pack with growing apprehension. It does seem to have almost sorted my cough and tomorrow is the last dose. Mucks up the microbiome too.
@@alwaysanotheradventure I unfortunately got prescribed them for Polymyalgia in 2021. 20mg. My issue came about do to covid and not seeing a doctor for advice, by the time I'd seen a doctor with proper knowledge, I'd been on them for months, then it was a case of coming off, 1mg every 4 weeks, I made it to 1mg and my Polymyalgia came back, so back up to 20 and the journey to come off restarted. I'm now on 6 and have a GP monitoring things. Hopefully this will see me off the damn things haha.
Sorry for the life story. I just see the word prednisalone and it rings lots of alarm bells.
Never heard of them being used for coughs. Hope you are up and firing on all cylinders Simon. Days are precious as you age.
I'm always in two minds about this. The advice here is sound, but when I have a cold I always seem to feel better for doing some exercise - obviously not flat out, but some. A few weeks ago I had a persistent cough and running nose which only abated while in the gym. Very odd. This was strength training rather than cardio or endurance though. Maybe that's the key - don't put stress on the cv system?
Possibly - I was wondering this too. I have done a little strength and loads of walking but it seems I have something a bit weird and it’s hanging around. I now suspect Covid even though I tested negative.
Interesting what is the cortisol for and how do you frame this with doctors
I don’t know - I’m not a Doctor. She gave it to me and it was a surprise! Sorry if that didn’t come across Stephen
I just had a very severe case of RSV, and the steroids were a life saver... maybe literally. I haven't googled or asked why though...
I am always horrified by how many of my cycling buddies will come on rides when they are clearly unwell and try and "fight" through it. Insanity. Rest and recover is the only way.
And coughing! Near others!!
"from Covid days". Currently several weeks into "recovering" from a dose of Covid. It's still a thing. Totally laid up. (Probably a perk of my bus pass).
Ugh. Feel for you.
@@alwaysanotheradventure Thx! Your comments about public transport rang true.
And one other thing to go with all this good stuff (this has taken me 50+ years to properly realise)... A proper amount of SLEEP.
Agreed Peter, and sleep is covered in the Healthy Habits video - me in my Jim-Jams 😁
You are 100% right. I was fine until I had to work until after midnight one night last week, which rogered my system.
I woke up with sore throat, and that was all she wrote.
Early to bed, that's the ticket.
After a particular persistent upper respiratory tract infection, with added rhinitis and sinusitis - and not a believer in antibiotics - the best thing I have done is buy a nebuliser - a simple sea salt solution reduces both nasal mucous and throat phlegm and in my case has stopped the infection going chesty, which it usually has done.
It is a very simple and effective way to palliate all the symptoms, including the dry cough. I have also used magnesium chloride and eucalyptus to good effect.
Certainly worth buying and a non pharmaceutical alternative. Great content for us geriatics by the way.
Interesting - I can see that clearing the tubes.