Colds in the office: what to do?
Your dear colleague is heading for the desk opposite, waving tissues like a virus mother ship: what can you do to avoid being overwhelmed by the cold? What helps against coughs and other symptoms?
As we all know, when you're sick, you should stay in bed. Nevertheless, you can currently hear coughing and sniffling behind every PC in the office. If you want to protect yourself from infection, you should follow these tips:
- Keep your distance: When colds are rife in the office, avoid firm handshakes and lean back and relax when talking to people. This is because colds, coughs, and bronchitis are usually transmitted by viruses that spread via droplet infection.
- Clean up: Cold viruses also spread via surfaces that many people come into contact with. It is therefore better to disinfect door handles, telephones, keyboards, etc. on a daily basis.
- Wash your hands: Thorough hand washing with soap is a reliable way to prevent infection with cold viruses. Lather your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds and don't forget the spaces between your fingers.
- Fresh air: Heated air dries out the mucous membranes in the respiratory tract, weakening their self-cleaning system, known as mucociliary clearance. Therefore, ventilate rooms thoroughly for 5 minutes several times a day. This also reduces the concentration of viruses in the air.
- Strengthen your immune system: Getting enough sleep, eating a vitamin-rich diet, and exercising outdoors can help boost your body's defenses to successfully fight off colds.
Relieve coughs and soothe sore throats with special ivy extract
If, despite all precautions, you do develop an acute cough, you should treat it with a herbal cough medicine from the pharmacy. For adults, phytotherapeutic remedies for coughs and bronchitis containing special ivy extract, e.g. in the form of cough syrup, have proven effective. This treatment is not only well tolerated, but also highly effective: the special ivy extract acts as a cough suppressant, but can also relieve the urge to cough. Cough syrup is suitable for use at home, while stick packs are practical for on the go, as they can be taken without water or a spoon.
Treat viral coughs promptly – but not with antibiotics
If acute coughs are treated promptly, there is a good chance of preventing the infection from spreading in the respiratory tract. However, antibiotics are not a good idea for viral cold symptoms, as they only work against bacteria and are powerless against viruses.
Take a break from the risk of infection: work from home
If you have the option of working from home, the most effective way to protect yourself from sniffling and coughing colleagues is to work from home for a few days – and let the wave of colds roll past you.
