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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Lifestyle -> 
Simple ways to fight colds
    2015-11-13  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

    1. Sleep at least 7 hours each night

    People have four times the odds of catching a cold if they sleep fewer than six hours a night, compared with people who snooze more than seven hours, a recent study found. The study’s researchers sequestered participants in a hotel and dosed them with the cold virus to see who could fight it off. The results: Short sleepers were significantly more likely to come down with cold symptoms that week, even when researchers controlled for things like stress and smoking.

    2. Take 1 probiotic

    supplement per day

    In a recent study, University of Florida students were 35 percent less likely to catch a cold when they took a probiotic (beneficial bacteria) supplement during finals season. When they did catch a cold, symptoms didn’t last as long for the probiotic poppers (1.8 days compared to 2.4 days). Your gut is full of immune cells, and experts believe that good bacteria may communicate with these cells to boost immunity.

    3. Expect that a cough will last about 17.8 days

    Although most adults expect a cough to last about a week, a literature review found that most coughs actually stick around for two to three weeks — 17.8 days on average. Most of the time, antibiotics don’t help a cough, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), so hold off on asking your doctor for antibiotics if it’s only been a week — the cold may just need to run its course. Overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance, which means the drugs don’t work as well.

    If you have a fever and are coughing up blood or a large amount of mucus, however, it’s worth checking in with your doctor. You may have pneumonia, which may need to be treated with antibiotics or hospitalization.

    4. Take antiviral medications within 2 days of the start of symptoms

    Medications for the flu are more effective the sooner you start taking them. The CDC recommends starting the drugs within the first day or two of the onset of flu-like symptoms.

    Keep in mind that these medications aren’t miracle cures. They make symptoms milder and may help you get over the flu a day or two faster than you would otherwise. That’s why the CDC recommends flu medication for people who have a high risk of flu complications, such as people older than 65, those with weakened immune systems, and people with asthma.

    5. Take 75 milligrams of zinc when cold symptoms start

    A research review from Finland found that zinc lozenges can help you get over a cold about 40 percent faster — but only if you take a dose with at least 75 milligrams of zinc. Studies using lower amounts of zinc didn’t show any effect. Zinc plays an important role in your immune system and also helps prevent the cold virus from multiplying.

    Zinc is most effective when you take it within 24 hours of when symptoms begin, studies have found. Research also shows that taking zinc daily for at least five months reduces the incidence of colds in children.(SD-Agencies)

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