That's Fit

There's a cold season. And a flu season. But these pesky sicknesses linger year-round really, which means we must consistently fight them off and work at staying healthy. Here's how.

1. Wash your hands often, like at least five times a day.

2. Wash your hands twice when you wash them -- if you're serious about fending off colds, anyway.

3. Use your knuckle to rub your eyes. The eye is the perfect entry point for germs and knuckles are less likely to be contaminated with viruses than fingertips.

4. Run your toothbrush through the microwave on high for 10 seconds to sterilize it. And replace it every month when you change the page on your calendar and after you've had a cold.

5. Leave the windows in your house open a crack in winter. Fresh air does wonders for chasing out germs.

6. Lower the heat in your house five degrees. Lowering the temperature and using a room humidifier helps maintain a healthier level of humidity in the winter.

7. Scrub under your fingernails every night. They're a great hiding place for germs.

8. Sneeze and cough into your arm or a tissue. Coughing and sneezing into a hand puts germs right where you can spread them to objects and other people. Switch to the crook of your elbow instead.

For an extra helping of sickness-fighting strategies, take a look at this Reader's Digest article.

When I get stressed or anxious, my mood is quickly reflected in my son's behavior. He's more likely to be disrespectful and to break rules when I'm stressed. Of course, if I don't break the cycle it creates an awfully vicious circle, because his behavior can make me more stressed. But I just try to remind myself (sometimes more successfully than others) that I am the parent and therefore should be at least a tad more emotionally mature than my 10-year-old.

But it turns out that our stress levels can do more than set off a temper tantrum... it can actually lead to our kids getting sick. A recent study found kids with anxious or depressed parents also had higher sickness levels. The parents' stress can actually lower the child's immunities and lead to significantly higher instances of illness.

Gyms are a great place to get fit, but they're also a great place to get sick. Because intense exercise may temporarily lower immunity, you may be somewhat susceptible to catching a cold or flu.

An article in the International Journal of Sports Medicine reports that people who work out tend to have fewer germ-fighting resistance molecules in their saliva after working out than before they start. So, to help stave off sickness, always wash down machines and equipment before using it, assuming that the person who used it before you didn't. Also, try to keep your hands away from your face if possible, and wash them with soap and water before leaving the gym for the day.

As for immune-boosting foods, try to consume a diet rich in vitamin C, zinc, and garlic, as all have been shown to have some semblance of affect on preventing and/or reducing the duration of a cold.

At some point, most people have tried, or at least considered, a cure they thought unorthodox. I have a friend who swears you can stop hiccupping if you say, "One!" after the first hiccup. Go ahead, try it -- it doesn't work for me, but you never know.

Men's Health has come up with six seemingly crazy cures that they swear are effective. Suffer from sleep apnea? Trying to quit smoking? Click through the gallery and see if there's a cure for your ailment -- what do you have to lose?

Did you get a chance to see the hit movie Cloverfield on opening weekend? The home camera look really made the film stand out from other monster flicks. But if you're like some people with uneasy stomachs, then motion sickness might have followed the jerky camera movements.

In fact, a manager at WebMD admits to having left the movie theater to escape the nausea. Personally, I had to look away several times or down at my feet. The reason people like us felt so icky was because our brain and eyes were transmitting mixed up messages.

The erratic camerawork tricked our eyes into sending messages that we were moving around. But the inner ear told our brain otherwise, since sitting in a theater chair is obviously stationary. This is also what happens in cars or planes. There are lots of medications one can take to prevent motion sickness (but most result in drowsiness, like Benadryl). I'm just glad to know I'm not the only person who felt the side-effects of Cloverfield!

If you're a workaholic or someone who likes a routine or schedule, taking a vacation may actually make you sick. An expert cited in this article calls it "leisure sickness" -- a phenomenon characterized by taking a break from a busy schedule only to acquire aches, pains, and cold and flu-like symptoms.

One possible explanation for such sickness goes like this: When you are busy, your body is activated. When you are not busy and have nothing to do, your body is relaxed. For some people, this can be pathogenic. Some say "gimme a break" to this perspective; others say it's serious stuff, perhaps tied to stress and the challenge of transitioning from work to non-work.

While the science of leisure sickness remains unproven, the topic is not a new one. An inability to relax on vacations and holidays has long been a characteristic of Type A behavior. When Type As are not in control, headaches, nausea, and fatigue often result. It may be a hormonal thing. Or it could have nothing to do with personality at all. It could be that vacations involve greater exposure to germs that make us sick. Or holidays may simply allow us to acknowledge the symptoms of sickness we may ignore when we're busy with work.

Regardless of the reason behind leisure sickness, it seems regular exercise may be the cure.

"If you're under such chronic stress that you're impairing your immune system, you need to pace yourself," says Esther Sternberg, researcher of neuroendocrine immunology at the National Institutes of Health. "You can't expect to push your body to the breaking point and not have it break."

Ugh, the flu season is fast approaching and the first lucky ducks are already starting to come down with it. For the most part dealing with the flu is really just a "get as comfortable as you can and wait it out" kinda game, but in some cases it can get so severe that it's necessary to see a doctor. So how can you tell when a simple winter cold turns into a serious flu that needs medical attention? Call your doctor whenever you're unsure, but especially if you're experiencing these symptoms:

• Fever
• Headache
• Extreme tiredness/fatigue
• Cough/sore throat
• Runny or stuff nose
• Muscle aches
• Nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea

Also call if you've been sick for a few days already and then your symptoms suddenly start to get worse, or anytime you're unsure or have concerns. Better safe than sorry, especially when it comes to the very young and the elderly.

The flu has been around since the beginning of time, and in all those years and centuries more than a few misconceptions and myths have come to be believed as truth. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that for all our technology we still can't cure it, or that it can manifest itself in so many ways, or simply because there's just too much room for people's imagination to run wild with the symptoms. Even many people who should know better, like health care workers, often believe incorrect facts about the flu. Do you think you're in the know? Or are you a victim of myth and old-wives tales? Find out the 12 most common flu myths and share your thoughts in the comments!

If you're sick and not feeling well, the best thing to do is stay at home and get rest (among many other things like get plenty of fluids). But, in the hustle and bustle of today's business world, taking even a single day off can lead to feelings of guilt and regret. Why this is I don't know.

But more bad things can be lurking behind that attitude. As in, what if you go to work and give everybody the flu or cold that you have? As an employer, this would not be a positive situation. In fact, staying home when sick is mandatory in some companies.

The loss of productivity from one person is enough, but if that person is the cause of even more lost productivity due to making more people sick, what would be the outcome? It would would way more than paying a single employee sick leave for a week, that is for sure.

When the temperatures drop dramatically and the world is covered in a blanket of chilling snow, I often find myself waking up with a scratchy, sore throat. You too? Many people are quick to label a sore throat as strep throat or tonsillitis, but having had both when I was growing up, I know better. Strep throat is pretty severe -- here are the signs:

• It's difficult to swallow -- to the point where you avoid food because it hurts too much
• It's often accompanied by a headache
• It comes with a fever -- often a high one
• Your tonsils look red and raw, and have a white puss on them.
  
• Your lymph nodes are swollen.
  
• You don't have a cough, stuffy nose or other respiratory symptoms.
  

To find our more about strep throat, click here.

With the stress of the holiday season getting close to full swing it's as important as every to take care of yourself and stock up your arsenal of weapons against the cold and flu. And that arsenal, besides a healthy lifestyle and perhaps a flu shot, should probably include the following:

• Vitamin C
• Zinc
• Echinacea
• Elderberry
• Licorice Root

The first three were things I already had on the top of my mind, but the last two I may not have considered before now. You can get more info on each of these here, but as always be just as careful with home remedies as you are with prescription ones.

We're coming into flu season the same way we do every year -- the colder it gets the more of us seem to get sick. So why is that? Why is it that the flu seems to spread so fast in the fall and winter months? It's really very simple: the flu virus likes cooler temperatures and lower humidity.

So knowing that, there are a couple things you can do to help slow the spread and minimize your chances of getting sick:

• Keep room thermostats set at 68º F or higher.
• Try to keep room humidity at 50% or greater.

Plus, of course, take care of yourself!

Cold and flu viruses love big offices! A whole bunch of stressed out, sleep deprived, and generally run-down people clumped together in close quarters just waiting for a flu or cold virus to come along and take them out for a few days. Finding ways to minimize your risk and stay healthy isn't easy with so many obstacles, and although leading a generally healthy lifestyle (i.e. not being terribly stressed out or sleep deprived) is a big Numero Uno on the list of what to do there are definitely other smaller parts to the puzzle that you can do every day. Just how is your office making you sick? Well, do any of these sound familiar?

Marriage has a bit of a bad rap these days, with lots of people complaining and saying how life and fun are essentially over the minute you take the plunge. But millions of people are still getting married every day, and thankfully research shows that they don't have the wrong idea -- it's not a bad thing! Research has found that married people have the following health advantages over people who aren't married:

• Better general health, and less sicknesses
  
• Less alcoholism
• Fewer suicides
• Less time spent in hospitals, and faster recovery rates
• Stronger immune systems
• Lower risks for depression, along with reduced stress and anxiety

Of course I'm thinking if you marry the wrong person and end up stressed and unhappy then these benefits probably don't apply, but for the average person your spouse may be doing more for you than you think!

Here's some good news in the wake of the frustrating stuff we just heard about Vitamin C: Echinacea does help prevent and limit colds. Over the years it seems the data has gone both ways, with people saying first it was great for colds and then later saying it was worthless. But now, as the result of researchers reviewing over 700 separate studies from years past they've determined that yes, echinacea does indeed have a substantial effect on preventing colds and limiting their duration (once they've already been caught).

Of course there are still those out there who argue against this current research's methods and flaws, but since echinacea is a fairly safe supplement to take anyway I'm going to be positive and assume the best!