5 tips to fight off colds and flu

Colds and flu may not be dangerous, but they can weaken your immune system and put you at risk of getting more serious illnesses. If you do get sick, here are some tips to get better faster.

• Suck on a zinc lozenge until it melts away. Then suck another every two waking hours. Or use a zinc-based nasal spray. Some studies suggest that zinc may help, but the jury is still out.
• Cook up a pot of chicken soup.
• Roast garlic in the oven (drizzle whole cloves with olive oil, wrap in foil, roast for an hour at 200°C/400°F), then spread the soft garlic on toast and eat.

Studies find that all either reduce the length of time you suffer from a cold or help to prevent a full-blown cold from occurring.

• Whoever taught us to cover our mouths when we cough or sneeze got it wrong.
• That just puts the germs right on our hands, where you can spread them to objects – and other people.
• Instead, hold the crook of your elbow over your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough if a tissue isn't handy.
• It's pretty rare for you to shake someone's elbow or scratch your eye with an elbow, after all.

• Colds and flu (along with most common infections) are caused by viruses, so antibiotics – designed to kill bacteria – won't do a thing.
• They can cause harm, however, by killing off the friendly bacteria that are part of our immune defences.
• If you've used antibiotics a lot lately, consider a course of probiotics – the replacement troops for friendly bacteria.

• Your cold won't hang around as long, according to a study.
• It turns out that the force of blowing not only sends the phlegm out of your nose into a tissue, but propels some back into your sinuses. If you need to blow, blow gently, and blow one nostril at a time.

• In October, bulk buy boxes of tissues and place them strategically around the house, your workplace, your car. Don't let aesthetics thwart you.
• You need to have tissues widely available so that anyone who has to cough or sneeze or blow his or her nose will do so in the way that's least likely to spread germs.