View Full Version : Colds
strollingalong
01-13-2011, 14:21
According to grandmothers everywhere, if you don't wrap up warm and get dry quick when you're wet, you get a cold immediately. Now I've never known that to be true, I always get a cold when I do a big altitude change.
Do you think you get sick more on or off the trail? I'm thinking about this as I have a dreadful cold after moving house from near sea level to 7000 feet last week.
Colds are caused by coming into contact with a virus, not by cold temps.
Panzer
Many Walks
01-13-2011, 14:48
I believe colds are spread more from contact with other people and things frequently touched such as doorknobs, money, etc. Turning into a Howard Hughes by trying to avoid everything is impractical, but simple logic like hand washing before eating and not touching one's face or eyes goes a long way to avoid colds. With that, being on the trail should be healthier than in the city. I don't think elevation change has much to do with it. We hike a lot in elevations ranging from sea level to over10,000' without colds.
strollingalong
01-13-2011, 14:49
no s..., Sherlock. If only life was that simple....
One's environment also affects one's immune system.
strollingalong
01-13-2011, 14:51
that was for the 1st poster. I get a cold near everytime I do a big change. I'm not talking gradual change by hiking. then again I suppose I could catch them from the plane. It's just wierd I never get them at other times
HiKen2011
01-13-2011, 14:52
Colds are caused by coming into contact with a virus, not by cold temps.
Panzer
Thats a Fact Panzer, cold weather does NOT cause colds, only germs, viruses.
HiKen2011
01-13-2011, 14:54
Thats a Fact Panzer, cold weather does NOT cause colds, only germs, viruses.
I did get my flu shot in preperation for my upcoming hike though. Being in contact with lots of folks, especially travelling from around the country, I felt it was prudent that I do so.:)
Old Hiker
01-13-2011, 14:54
no s..., Sherlock. If only life was that simple....
One's environment also affects one's immune system.
No need to be snarky. Nana was often wrong with her old wive's tales. One's immune system is affected by your body's homeostatis, which can be thrown off by stress, hunger, etc., but unless the virus is present and present in enough quantities to overcome your immune system, just being wet and cold isn't going to give you a cold.
That being said:
http://www.commoncold.org/prevent.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4569022_common-cold-spread.html
strollingalong
01-13-2011, 14:54
I'm sorry, did I say that cold weather causes colds? I just asked if you're healthier on or off the trail
HiKen2011
01-13-2011, 14:58
Also I used to travel quite a bit (plane) and would catch colds etc. often. I think its from being in close contact on the plane, all the people at the airports, and everything you touch there. Everytime you grab the handrail on the escalator think of all the people (1000's) of people who have touched it before you, and God only knows what they have or are carrying.
Wash hands frequently when in these circumstances!!
HiKen2011
01-13-2011, 15:00
I'm sorry, did I say that cold weather causes colds? I just asked if you're healthier on or off the trail
I think a lot has to do with personal hygeine. Washing hands, keeping hands out of gorp bags etc. Germs are spread by contact.
Old Hiker
01-13-2011, 15:01
I'm sorry, did I say that cold weather causes colds? I just asked if you're healthier on or off the trail
On the trail. I KNOW there aren't 100+ 6th graders running around, coughing, gagging, wheezing, puking, snotting, spooging<*> all over my trail like they do my class!
And I CHOSE this profession!
<*>(sp-ooo'-ging: process by which pre-teenagers eject vast quantities of bodily fluids, usually moist, sticky and gross, into the immediate environment. See also: volcanic ejecta, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens videos and Krakatoa effects on global temperatures -1883.)
strollingalong
01-13-2011, 15:02
very likely, take the metro each day though. Anyway....
apart from kicking your grandmothers when theyre down. anyone get sick on the AT?
HiKen2011
01-13-2011, 15:03
On the trail. I KNOW there aren't 100+ 6th graders running around, coughing, gagging, wheezing, puking, snotting, spooging<*> all over my trail like they do my class!
And I CHOSE this profession!
<*>(sp-ooo'-ging: process by which pre-teenagers eject vast quantities of bodily fluids, usually moist, sticky and gross, into the immediate environment. See also: volcanic ejecta, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens videos and Krakatoa effects on global temperatures -1883.)
Nasness!!!!!!!!!!;)
strollingalong
01-13-2011, 15:04
I'm a teacher too...
Blissful
01-13-2011, 16:37
I am much healthier on the trail. I get sick when I go home, and was sick with ear issues late this fall after getting off. You aren't around people and getting their bugs in the great outdoors. And exercise boosts your immune system
Old Hillwalker
01-13-2011, 16:49
On my last trip overseas to backpack, I wore a paper dust mask in the airports and on the plane. Felt weird and I'm sure it looked that way too. I didn't want to risk getting a cold or other illness that would screw up a pretty expensive adventure. I guess it worked since I made it through without catching anything other than funny looks.
I taught elementary school for 26 years after retiring from the US Army. I swear that I caught every cold that the kids brought to school. Since I retired from teaching in 06 I don't think I have had any colds. Drink less too:rolleyes:
Slo-go'en
01-13-2011, 16:51
I picked up a nasty chest cold a couple years ago on the trail which eventually sent me home a bit earlier than I had planned.
I belive I got it at the Overmountain shelter beer blast, where some of the collage kids who lugged in the beer keg sounded pretty sick. And having been cold, wet and some what run down for a week or so before the event, was not in the best of shape to shug it off.
Exercise might boost the immune system, but when out LD hiking in the spring, you can run your body down as your not eating quite as well as you should, your often cold and wet and you are around people who can give you some bug.
I'm pretty sure that we walk around with enough viruses to make ourselves sick at any moment in time, so I do think there is something to be said how hiking stresses ourselves, and thereby make ourselves sick without having to be around others to get the viruses.
My guess is that once you're on the trail for a while, should be better off than you otherwise would be, but I also think everyone's body is different.
I'm sorry, did I say that cold weather causes colds? I just asked if you're healthier on or off the trail
Healthier on the trail for sure.
According to grandmothers everywhere, if you don't wrap up warm and get dry quick when you're wet, you get a cold immediately. Now I've never known that to be true, I always get a cold when I do a big altitude change.
Do you think you get sick more on or off the trail? I'm thinking about this as I have a dreadful cold after moving house from near sea level to 7000 feet last week.I think in general if you allow yourself to get run down, and you get around other's that are sick, you are more likely to get sick yourself. I think this would pretty much be the same on or off trail. And when it is cold out I think our bodies resilience to warding off and fighting colds is reduced somewhat. So pushing oneself day after day in the cold, not always eating well, etc...may make one more vulnerable wherever and whatever they may be doing.
garlic08
01-13-2011, 23:19
I am much healthier on the trail. I get sick when I go home, and was sick with ear issues late this fall after getting off. You aren't around people and getting their bugs in the great outdoors. And exercise boosts your immune system
This is exactly my experience as well. I've never gotten sick on any trail, but often get a minor bug when I go home and start living around lots of people again, with door knobs, public transport, etc.
Sierra Echo
01-13-2011, 23:23
According to grandmothers everywhere, if you don't wrap up warm and get dry quick when you're wet, you get a cold immediately. Now I've never known that to be true, I always get a cold when I do a big altitude change.
Do you think you get sick more on or off the trail? I'm thinking about this as I have a dreadful cold after moving house from near sea level to 7000 feet last week.
Just because you get cold and wet doesnt mean you will get sick. BUT being cold and wet can lower your resistance to germs making you more likely to get sick.
Fog Horn
01-14-2011, 00:15
On my last trip overseas to backpack, I wore a paper dust mask in the airports and on the plane. Felt weird and I'm sure it looked that way too. I didn't want to risk getting a cold or other illness that would screw up a pretty expensive adventure. I guess it worked since I made it through without catching anything other than funny looks.
I taught elementary school for 26 years after retiring from the US Army. I swear that I caught every cold that the kids brought to school. Since I retired from teaching in 06 I don't think I have had any colds. Drink less too:rolleyes:
When we redeployed late '09 we had about fifteen guys catch swine flu from a gym in Kuwait (they only told half of us that the gym was on quarantine and there were no signs posted). During the 26 hours we were on the flight back and the fueling layovers in closed off terminals, all the recycled air spread that swine flu around. When we landed, half of us, including myself, had swine flu (thats about two hundred people) and about fifty were bad enough to be quarantined on bed rest for two weeks.
Those people giving you silly looks for wearing a mask as a precaution probably think that you can't catch anything from plane air because the news kept saying it was "filtered", but I'm living proof you can. Better to look like an idiot for four to five hours than to be on bed rest for two weeks when you'd rather be on the trail, imo.
fiddlehead
01-14-2011, 01:00
Hiking always seems to boost my immune system.
jogging does the same for me.
I generally jog or hike about 6 months of the year.
The other 6 months is when i get the colds and sore throats.
I have a friend who's been jogging or bike riding at least an hour a day for the last 17 years.
He claims he has only gotten one cold in that time.
I believe that.
Get active. Stay healthy.
very likely, take the metro each day though. Anyway....
apart from kicking your grandmothers when theyre down. anyone get sick on the AT?
I had a couple of bad colds while I was hiking the AT, which is a couple more than I usually get in a year at home. (No small kids at home anymore, which cuts down on illness A LOT!) I was sick as a dog when I reached Goreham--fever, sinuses full, mouth breathing, nasty cough... Took a couple of days off.
The real thing about being sick on the Trail is that it brings your spirits down and decreases the Will to Hike. In hindsight I'm sure one of the reasons I found the Whites so difficult is that I was under par physically.
I'm sorry, did I say that cold weather causes colds? I just asked if you're healthier on or off the trail
I think the question should be this: Are you more likely to get a cold if you stay inside or go outside?
To which the answer is, you're more likely to get a cold by staying indoors because people congregate inside and spread germs to one another.
Pedaling Fool
01-14-2011, 08:46
I think it's all a matter of your immune system. If you've lived a sheltered life than trail life may present some challenges to you're immune system, not just in the way of colds. I've noticed that at sometimes there seems to be a "bug" going around getting all the hikers sick, I never did have a problem. However, I did get one of my worst colds (actually think it was much worse than a simple cold), but hiked thru it and finally got over it in about a month (a little after my hike).
I think cold weather can cause sickness, but only if you're exposed long-term and it starts affecting your immune system, and the same with really hot weather, but generally the cold is not a concern.
Nutrition and how much you push yourself is a big factor. Tour De France riders push their system so hard that they have to worry about things like stomach flu and other illnesses, it's quite common for some riders (especially the young guys) to get sidelined by a simple illness.
BTW, as far as the common cold and cold weather, many think the bigger factor is the lack of sunshine (vit D) than the weather.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4788003/Lack-of-sunshine-during-winter-could-encourage-colds-researchers-find.html
Bottomline, don't worry about it, being exposed to all them nasty bugs is the only way to work-out your immune system
:sun
I never let a cold stop me from hiking. Influenza would stop me and so would severe intestinal problems, but not a cold. If anything, hiking helps colds. Gets the lymph fluid flowing. I did not catch a cold on the trail. Hand sanitizer helped. I did get an intestinal problem but it lasted 2 days and I waited it out in misery in a hotel shower stall.