Why do I get so many colds and coughs?

Achoo! Summer or winter, you chase after that cold but it just keeps coming back. Why do I get so many colds and coughs, that's what you want to know!

Do you have a cold for the third time this season? Do you wake up after another bad night’s sleep and moan "why do I get so many colds and coughs?" To get the answer, you first need to figure out exactly what you’re dealing with.

The common cold is one of the annoying but prevalent ailments today. The average adult catches a cold two to four times a year. In most cases, it's caused by a relatively harmless virus. Once it's run its course, you are immunized against that particular strain. The problem is that there are several hundred strains out there. Not surprisingly, your immune system is simply unable to protect you against all of them. The cold you dragged around last January isn’t the same one you caught in May. That's one reason why you get so many colds and coughs.

Who hasn’t pointed to Mother Nature to explain a bad cold? However, the temperature alone isn’t responsible for your cold or cough.

• Highly contagious rhinoviruses are very resistant and can survive for several days on smooth surfaces such as your keyboard. That's why it’s important to keep your immune system strong at all times.
• There’s no need to rob your pharmacy or swallow gallons of orange juice to prevent colds, though: just avoid stress and fatigue and eat a balanced diet.

Here's another explanation to why you get so many colds and coughs: when your body is fighting an invading virus, it can weaken your immune system and leave you vulnerable to another strain. Isn’t that paradoxical?

• You're more likely to get a new cold when you already have a cold. It’s not surprising, then, that you can have a string of colds for several weeks in a row.

Children are reminded constantly that they should be washing their hands (not only after a pee break!) and adults should remember that as well.

• The hands are the main vector of contamination for cold viruses, which can remain infectious for up to two hours on the skin. In that amount of time, an adult rubs his or her face an average of four times.
• It doesn’t help much to become afraid of germs, but it's worthwhile to avoid chewing on your pen or biting your nails during cold season.

Rest assured, except for newborns, colds without complications are not dangerous. While it's normal to cough and sneeze occasionally, a chronic cough can hide a respiratory infection.

• If your symptoms don’t go away or continue to worsen, talk to a healthcare professional.
• What seems like a chronic cold may be an allergy or a bacterial lung infection.
• Going to your medical clinic will help you better understand why you get so many colds and coughs.