How to Catch a Cold

Some people seem to expect a bout with a cold or the flu each year. If you haven’t had your quota yet, here are some things you can do:

Eat a poor diet. If you want to catch a cold, make sure your body lacks the vitamins and minerals it needs to keep itself in good repair. Eat lots of processed foods, stripped of their nutritional value.

Avoid adequate rest. Deprive yourself of adequate rest. Stay up late and reduce the time you sleep as much as possible. Use tobacco, coffee and other stimulants to fool yourself into thinking you have plenty of energy.

Stop exercising. Reduce the effectiveness of your immune and lymphatic systems. Unlike the circulatory system, your lymphatic system depends upon exercise and movement to circulate these germ-fighting fluids.

Rarely wash your hands. Increase your chances of catching a cold by compromising your personal hygiene. Remember to use your dirty hands and fingers to rub your eyes, pick your nose or wipe your lips.

Think negative thoughts. Look for opportunities to visualize having a cold. Pay attention to news reports about outbreaks of the flu and pay close attention to advertising that sells medications for cold sufferers.

Invite stress. Stress yourself physically by experiencing extreme temperature and humidity changes. Stress yourself mentally with constant worry or fear.

Become dehydrated. Avoid drinking enough water. Reduce the effectiveness of your natural defense mechanisms and other bodily functions by avoiding fluids.

Forget your appointments. Ignore your nervous system, the master control of your immune system. Avoid these preventive strategies and shun our suggestions of periodic chiropractic checkups to help you stay well.

Bottom line? The way to catch a cold or the flu is to make yourself a hospitable host to the millions of cold and flu germs around you every day. Avoid those activities and include regular chiropractic care to keep your nervous system working at it's very best.

Dr. Jessica Asks some important questions of interest to Pelham residents - Chiropractor Pelham Dr. Jessica Asks...

What is the purpose of pain?
Pain prompts many Pelham folks to begin chiropractic care. But pain isn't the problem! Pain is just how your body alerts you that a limit has been reached (or exceeded), that something isn't working right and that some type of change is needed. As a chiropractor, my job is finding the underlying cause and recommending the changes needed to bring your body back into balance.
What's a side effect?
It may sound like a bonus; something extra, but chiropractors know it should more accurately called an "unintended effect," and "unwanted effect" or in some cases an "adverse effect." A pill can't come close to matching your body's ability to create and deliver the essential compounds it needs. That's when it's important to make sure your nervous system is working correctly—the purpose of chiropractic care!