How to beat sneezes: The 10 ingenious ways to fight off Cold and Flu

We spend around five years of our lives sneezing, coughing and feeling generally rather under the weather.

And in the midst of all this spluttering, more of us are also falling prey for the first time to respiratory allergies which trigger annoying cold-like symptoms such as sneezing and watery eyes.

Colds

With more than 200 subtly different types of cold virus variants around, it is hardly surprising that we succumb. The virus is transmitted either by direct inhalation (when someone sneezes, a microscopic droplet finds its way into your mouth or nose), or touch.

A good strong sneeze can send 100,000 virus-containing droplets around 3.5 metres into the air, and just one of those droplets can survive for up to 48 hours on a doorknob, TV remote control or a handrail, to be picked up when you touch it.

If you put your hands close to your nose, eyes or mouth, the virus can swiftly enter your body, using your cells as hosts to make thousands of copies of itself. This rapid replication — or more specifically your body’s reaction to it — is what triggers classic cold symptoms.

‘During the first few days of a cold you are very unlikely to know you’ve been infected,’ says Professor Wendy Barclay, a virologist from Imperial College London — although this is the time that you are most infectious.

‘As the virus replicates it will gradually damage the naturally protective mucus sheet inside the nose. This allows access for irritants which make you start sneezing.’

Next, dead cells (killed by the cold virus) start to collect in the nose and lungs, becoming trapped by mucus, making it thicker, darker and more likely to clog the lungs, which makes it harder for you to breathe. This triggers your immune system to leap into action.

‘Your body is compelled to try to limit the rate at which the virus replicates and so releases immune cells and chemicals to do this,’ explains Professor Barclay.

It’s these chemicals, produced by your own body, that cause many of the worst cold symptoms. They raise your temperature, in a bid to kill the virus (which prefers cold environments), and they also dilate the blood vessels to allow immune cells to travel swiftly to the affected areas — this causes swelling which blocks your nose and congests your lungs. They also trigger intensified sneezing in a bid to clear the virus out of your system.

The intensity of the body’s virus-attacking mechanism varies from one person to the next, so no one will react to the same cold virus in the same way.

The hunt for a cure

Despite decades of research, the cure to the common cold remains tantalisingly beyond medical reach.

‘One of the biggest barriers against finding the cure is that colds are not caused by one virus but seven different families of virus, with sub-strains in each,’ says Professor John Oxford, a virologist at Queen Mary University, London. The cold virus can also mutate, making it even more difficult to pin down and analyse.

Earlier this year, researchers from Oxford, Leeds, Beijing and Innsbruck took a step closer to finding a cure when they identified a compound which binds to certain types of virus — including the cold virus — stopping it releasing genetic material that leads to infection.

This stops the virus, making it unable to infect the person it is using as a ‘host’.

But for a low-tech alternative, try chicken soup. Trials in the U.S have shown it reduces movement of a type of immune cell called neutrophils, which are partly responsible for symptoms.

10 ingenious ways to fight off the sniffles

1.  Warm your nose

One theory why we catch colds and flu more in during cold period is that our nose is colder which lowers its resistance to infection.’ If it’s really cold, place a scarf over your nose to keep it warm.

2. Don’t shake hands 

New research from the University of Aberystwyth has shown shaking hands transmits ten to 20 times more bugs between people than a ‘fist bump’.

‘Shaking lasts longer and involves a larger surface area,’ explains Professor David Whitworth, a lecturer in biochemistry at Aberystwyth. He also found those with the firmest grip transmitted the most bacteria.

3. Wash clothes on a hot cycle

The flu virus can survive a 40c wash, so if someone in the family is affected, wash their clothes and bedding on a hot wash.

4. Cut down on sugar 

Studies at California’s Loma Linda University found that when volunteers consumed 100g of sugar, immune cells called phagocytes consumed fewer bacteria than normal for up to five hours. Therefore, cutting back on sugar could give your immune cells a better chance.

5. Get eight hours’ sleep 

Less than seven hours’ sleep a night makes you three times more likely to catch a cold than someone who gets eight hours, research suggests. Disturbed sleep, or lack of sleep, interferes with the workings of an immunity gene called TLR-9 say experts at Yale University in the U.S.

6. Observe the two-seat rule 

According to researchers at the Australian National University in Canberra, your risk of catching flu dramatically increases if you sit within two seats in any direction of someone infected. If you see anyone sniffing or coughing and can move seats, it might be worth doing it. If you can’t move, open windows. Research found spending 90 minutes in a car with someone who has flu gives a 99.9 per cent chance of catching the virus. But the risk falls to 20 per cent if you open windows.

7. Ditch the sanitiser

Unless it contains 60 to 80 per cent alcohol, hand sanitiser is unlikely to be powerful enough to kill the viruses that cause colds and flu — and it won’t work at all if your hands are dirty.

8. Wash out your nose with salt water

Salt can help reduce the number of colds you catch, according to trials at Pennsylvania State University.

It helps by preventing germs from taking hold in the nasal cavity, says Sunil Kochhar, a pharmacist at Dearpharmacist.info.

To make a solution, boil tap water and add salt to form a solution (let it cool!).

9. Exercise – but only moderately 

Gentle or moderate exercise can stimulate the immune system, however, research from Loughborough University found that about 90 minutes of high-intensity exercise causes the release of stress hormones and anti-inflammatory molecules that can depress immunity, leaving you vulnerable to colds and flu.

10. Take vitamin D supplements 

Research from the University of Colorado found that low levels of vitamin D can interfere with bacteria-fighting molecules called hCAP-18 that stimulate immune cells.