My sister lives a long way away and was going to make the big trip to visit me tomorrow for a few days but got a cold four days ago. If I catch new bugs I get slammed. I've always gone by the rule that people are no longer infectious five days after their symptoms first appear; I'm now wondering where I got this idea and if it's true. Does anyone know? Is there any evidence on this?
That is the rule I heard as well as if they no longer have a fever they are not infectious anymore. I think it is a bunch of crap (just so you know I think just about everything today is a bunch of crap, not a good state of mind). That said, people at work come to work sick, I catch it, usually ends up in sinus infection diagnosis or flu. Last fall it took me 3.5 months to get over the 'sinus infection' and three or four rounds of antibiotics and steroids.
Can she wait until she is well? I would not go for a visit if I was sick with a cold. For one thing, I would be ill and want to stay home! I think people need to be careful about spreading illness. I hope this works out for you.
Argh, thanks, Adreno - my sister says she has started to get a cough now so she may still be infectious if she's still got that tomorrow. Sorry to hear about your infection, roxie - people turning up at work sick seem to think it's heroic. They obviously haven't read Agatha Christie's The Mirro Crack'd from Side to Side!
Hi Sally - normally we'd do this but her daughter lives in a town near me and she's planning to visit her too and she's bringing our mother and they're booked into a show here so it makes sense for them to come anyway. She's trying to find one of those facemasks (not sure how effective they are in containing infection) but she won't be offended if I don't see her - she understands how things are with ME. It will be a pity, though! I've really been looking forward to the visit.
A face mask is pretty good. But hands are also imporant. Make sure you wipe all doorknobs, etc. Then do not touch your face... Eyes and nose since that is how it enters your body. I have been through this. Hopefully she will not sneeze or cough, ha. I understand your fear completely!!!
I usually got sick from my boyfriend or friend even when we tried to be careful. I didn't even go within 4 feet of the person. One problem was I might touch their cat or them touch mine, or if I touched the remote control, fridge handle, or countless other items. Even if I never touched an item they touched, I think I would catch it anyway. I am prone to catching bugs.
1-4 weeeks in avarage. Depends on the nature of the cold. It is not always virus and not always exogenic(Nevertheless it is contagious in 99% bc of huge inoculum from the nidus) Except mask, you might use some mouth\throat antiseptic tablets to provide more safety to people what are surrounding you.
The usual claim I hear for infectivity is about seven days after symptoms appear. This is probably wrong. I just caught a flu (ok, not a cold exactly) from someone who became sick two weeks earlie. As a rule of thumb, I presume someone is most infectious if they are sneezing, hava a runny nose or a pronounced caugh. A mild caugh may persist for a long time - I do not know if this is infectious though I doubt it is, I think that is just the immune system in overdrive. A trick I have read but never seen validated from another source (this was Israeli medical research on mice, not humans) is to gargle glutathione in water. It boosts nose and throat immunity. In mice this prevents then from catching a flu, though in mice the glutathione is simply added to the drinking water. This does not work if you are already sick though - its a preventative measure. Bye, Alex
Yes roxie60, but its more important (and cheaper) to do it if you know if you are about to be exposed, like someone near you comes down with it first, or you are going out in public. I have a flu right now, and I couldnt try this trick as I had run out of glutathione (its really expensive locally). Bye, Alex
I use things daily like Proboost Thymic A, and Maitake D drops, antioxidents, glutathione... Then if I get near someone ill, I make sure I take AHCC and others.
I asked the GP this when I was nursing my dad with terminal cancer, because I was worried vistors would give him colds. I dont know where he got his info from but he said people could be more infectious in the prodromal phase prior to obvious symptoms, and would stay infectious at least until the symtoms disppeared, maybe longer. Given the cold virus loves to breed in the upper respiratory tract, I also do nasal washes with collodial silver when exposed. I have no idea if this works, but it certainly makes me feel like I'm doing something. Doc Myhill has a page or two in her free downloadable book on this - she is of the paranoid, dont see them, dose with vit C school of thought. I think it depends on how important it is to you. Sometimes you are prepared to pay the price, sometimes it aint worth the risk.
With colds.. I always thought one was infectious while one had symptoms and maybe a bit before. ......... Seeing she is coming.. dose yourself up in advance and keep up taking it until you are sure there is no longer any active germs about your house of Vitamin C. I very rarely get colds but when I do I can usually stop them in their tracks if I immediately start taking large vitamin C with bioflavonoids (to help absorption) doses. On top of what others have suggested.. if you have an oil burner and some essential oils of the kind which kill germs (many of them do)... have that going the whole time she is there too.. that way you will be killing anything which gets into the air.
Thanks - they arrived last night by which time she had had zero symptoms all day so I'm taking the risk. I take 2g Vit C with bioflavonoids daily so I hope I'll be OK.
If you only take that once a day.. I suggest to take it twice a day while she is there are there as Vitamin C dont stay in the system long at all and is just straight peed out.
