Your Winter Protection Plan

Prime your defences and stave off winter bugs with a strategy tailored to your lifestyle

- Hannah Ebelthite

There’s lots to love about the colder months. Autumn leaves and crisp, bright mornings, country walks and log fires, opaque tights and berry lipstick. The colds, coughs and ’flu though? Not so much. ‘Most of us get between four and six colds a year,’ says Dr Ross Walton, immunologist and co-founder of clinical research company A-IR. ‘There are more than 120 strains of viruses that cause respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and we’ll get more than 200 episodes in our lifetime . We know antibiotics don’t work for colds and ’flu, so what we need to do is optimise our immune response or, ideally, avoid contact with pathogens in the first place.’ Read on for some proven ways to stay well this winter...

IF YOU’RE A… GYM BUNNY

THE GERM RISK

You’re more likely to pick up a bacterial infection than a virus in the gym, thanks to the warm, moist environment in which bacteria thrive. Studies have shown the surfaces of gym equipment – machines, free weights, balls, mats – can be teeming with bacteria, such as pathogenic Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA). One study found free weights harbour 362 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.

Cold and ’flu viruses are less likely to survive on equipment, but can still be spread in the air if your gym is a busy one and people cough, sneeze and splutter through their workouts – especially with air-con and fans to increase air flow.

YOUR ACTION PLAN