Fighting Off Colds, Flu and Sinus Infections in Winter

Winter is a time when many people come down with colds and sinus infections. If you practice a few good habits you can make it through an entire winter without having to put up with a cold or with sinusitis. These actions should be started now, when you feel well. If that tickle in the throat has already begun, it may be too late, and the problem is certainly much harder to fight at that point.

The single most effective way to prevent colds and sinus infection is to irrigate your nasal passages daily. Some people use just a saline nasal spray, and others use a neti pot. I have tried both, but what works best for me and many others by far is to use a pulsating nasal irrigator.

These machines normally retail for about $79US and they send jets of warm saline solution into one nostril which circulates through the nasal passages and comes out the other nostril. It takes a little getting used to, but the saline cleans out the dry and moist mucus that can hold bacteria, airborne fungus or pollen.

Dr. Grossan, a well-known ENT and author, in addition to nasal irrigation suggests drinking lots of hot tea with lemon. He says the tea will get the cilia in the nose working which improves drainage.

Monitor the humidity in your home. Heating air in winter will dry it out. Most furnaces these days include a humidifier. I forgot to turn ours on early this winter season, and I could certainly feel the difference. You might also want to use a small single room humidifier as well. Humidity of about 50% works well for me.

Stay warm in winter. Don’t just run out into the freezing cold air to get the mail or newspaper, take a moment and put on a scarf, gloves and a proper coat.

Two other things to do are to get a flu shot and wash your hands frequently. It is true that a flu shot does not provide complete protection. On the other hand, some protection is better than none. And washing hands just is common sense.

Following the above tips will go a long way to helping you stay away from colds and sinus problems in the winter months. I used to have several bouts of sinus infections each winter, but now I rarely have a problem. This is especially true since I started using a nasal irrigator once or twice a day about ten years ago.