🔗 Share this article I Am the King of Catching Colds – and I'm Able to Tell You How to Avoid One This time a year ago, I was participating in a broadcast with three singers. There was a rapper of Ghanaian heritage, a major pop celebrity, and an acclaimed classical singer. It was deep midwinter. Just the night prior, I celebrated a close friend's milestone birthday, crammed into the function room of a pub in the Surrey region. The festivities were fun, yet now, simply to make conversation, I questioned how it was possible to avoid catching a cold as numerous attendees were part of an orchestra of winter ailments. Incidentally, how come some people have nose-blows like trumpets, and others don’t? A topic for future discussion. The Reaction of the Three Performers Upon referencing the party, this trio of troubadours in the TV green room took two actions. First, they shrunk away from me slightly. Next, they engaged in a feverishly enthusiastic discussion about preventing colds that expected because of their careers was a major concern for them. I understand that, but I have skin in this game too – I must avoid colds at all costs because the colds I get are worse than anyone else’s. I lack official documentation, but I know it to be true. My illnesses drag on. My nose is more blocked, I have a more irritated throat, my coughs are harsher, more persistent and seem infinite. My family, alert to the initial throat noises indicating trouble ahead, sometimes banish me or leave themselves. During my time hosting football on TV, my teammates behind the scenes learned to recognize the signals. “Earpieces out!” the director would shout to his team prior to me blasting their ears, blowing the wiring in their headphones. Managing Blocked Noses When it comes to congestion, don't get me started. Aerosols, liquids, even the sharp aroma of warm spirits my mum prescribes … they all work for a while before giving up. It's hard to find something more pathetic as a Midlands dialect spoken without the benefit of air passing through the nostrils. That is, it can sound nasal even normally. At least this elicits sympathy, though that's not necessarily beneficial. In my first year away at university, separated from family care, the cleaning staff at our accommodation felt sorry for me. “I’ve got just the thing for that, you unfortunate soul. I’ll be back in a minute.” She was extremely kind, very Irish, and adamant that I consume the fresh, skinless onion she brought to my sickbed. She stood and watched me do so. Kind soul. No improvement resulted, unfortunately, other than causing digestive turmoil and leaving my breath foul. The Singer’s Cold Avoidance Regime Therefore, I loathe winter illnesses and am quite sure that prevention is better than the cures that whether folk remedies or not, fail to help. I listened intently together with the other artists while she explained her health practices. Due to upcoming holiday performances, she was highly committed. She instructed us to sanitize hands regularly all winter long as far as I could deduce plus, specific measures were necessary during festivities. Before any event, she suggested a few applications of a preventive product through the nasal passages – even if healthy. Intense. I like it. And, get this, she insisted on following it up later with additional bursts of the solution. What Happened Next I followed suit. And I can report I remained cold-free. There were downsides: the many containers I acquired, mislaid, bought again, located, and so on. And the disappointing instant finding you've squashed the gel bottle kept in your jeans and it's oozing out. However, a small cost for the benefit. As the cold season approaches once more, I’m re-armed to the teeth with her prevention arsenal. I'm set for the fight.