The common cold. Ugh. Even typing the words leaves me feeling a bit drained. When my son got home from school last Friday, he gave me a hug and said, "Mom, you feel warm." Sure enough ... a few hours later, I was spiking a 101.6 temperature. The next two days, I was practically glued to the couch and was starting to feel like a real slug. And it made me wonder: How much of a damper does the common cold really have to put on your fitness routine?

Fitness expert Chris Freytag recommends doing the "neck check." If your symptoms are limited to the neck or above -- such as a stuffy nose or a sore throat -- you're likely OK to exercise. In fact, gentle exercise may help unclog your sinuses a bit, and the circulation boost will help fight the fatigue symptoms. If you're having symptoms below the neck -- such as chills or stomach problems -- you should probably stick to rest.

Knowing how I felt this weekend, I wasn't about to do anything strenuous. But today, when I was feeling a bit better but still far from 100 percent, I got up and followed a portion of my typical fitness routine. I wasn't able to finish it, but even doing a bit of it made me feel better. If a cold has you down, listen to your body -- if it's calling for rest, give it what it needs. But don't forgo fitness entirely -- even a little bit can make you feel more like your healthy self.

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With the advent of MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant infection, doctors are becoming more leery to prescribe antibiotics unless they're sure it's the appropriate treatment. (MRSA has actually been known since the early '60s. It's just become more prevalent in the US in recent years. You may have heard it referred to as a "superbug.") A recent study urges doctors to refrain from prescribing antibiotics for adults with acute sinus problems.

Antibiotics fight bacterial, not viral, infections. It's difficult for doctors to tell when sinus issues are bacterial or viral in nature. The study looked at more than 2,500 adults with acute rhinosinusitis. They used symptoms such as facial pain to determine which infections were likely bacterial and should be treatable with antibiotics. The symptoms proved unreliable however. Out of 15 patients given antibiotics, only one saw relief as a result of the medications. This means the other patients were given antibiotics unnecessarily.

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