How to Remain Cold-Free

Health expert Michael Castleman says there are three times in your life when you will get a lot of colds: when you're a youngster, when you're children are young, and when you're grandchildren are young. With a preschooler in the house (and a million of his best friends) I decided to make it my quest to avoid getting colds -- by using humidifiers, Zicam, hand-sanitizers and throat lozenges -- and it seems to make a big difference. Everyone in our house has gone four cold seasons without colds. If you too want to prove the experts wrong, try these simple steps:

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Throat lozenges
• Humidifier
• Zicam
• Hand-sanitizer

1. Set up a humidifier in the rooms you and your children sleep in. We are infected by cold germs by other people, but the only way germs can invade our bodies is by entering through cracked, dry mucous membranes in our throat and nasal passages. When our nose becomes stuffed up during the day, we blow it. When it becomes stuffed up at night, what do we do? We start breathing through our mouth. This dries out our throat and -- voila! -- cold germs are here to stay! The humidifier keeps air moist so our throat will not dry out. Trust me, this makes a big difference.
2. Keep cold lozenges by your bed, at your desk, in your purse, in your car and whenever your throat feels scratchy, suck on one. Same theory: Keeps your mucous membranes in your throat moist.
3. Use a hand-sanitizer or wash your hands frequently at work, in public places or when with children. Avoid touching your nose or eyes when your hands are unclean -- this is how most cold germs are transferred from person to person.
4. Squirt Zicam Cold Remedy gel in each nostril each morning. I have no idea how this works -- but I want to buy stock in this! (I haven't, by the way; I have no financial interest in promoting this stuff. I just know it works.)
   
   It's expensive, but it is clinically proven to reduce the duration of colds. I took it once three days into a cold I was sure would last the full 10 to 14 days and bam! it was gone! So I started using it at the first sign of a cold, and then just as a preventative measure each morning, and I haven't had a cold since.

Tips & Warnings

• Humidifiers now are very easy to use, to fill and to maintain. At the end of cold season, just empty it out, let it dry and store it away. I check the filter every year.
• I am not a health-care professional. This advice is based purely on my experience.