Reoccuring cold due to stress?

Question

I have had this cold 3 or more times. The first two times it lasted 2 or 3 days and was relatively short but draining. This is the third time, and it is by far the worst. I'm going through the coughing-up-phlegm stages and it hurts to cough so much. I wake up tense and bruised in the mornings. I'm just so tense thanks to all the coughing- I have to regularly stretch it out and rub my shoulders to prevent things from getting too bad. The cold is going away now, but I'm afraid it's going to come back if I get stressed again from school/being worried for people. Are there any ways I could boost my immune system to prevent this without messing up my excitable, acid reflexive stomach? I'm just exhausted. Maybe I need more sleep?

Answer 1

yes! sleep is the magic cure for everything. you're right when you say stress may be a cause of this because stress lowers your immune system. sleeping actually reverses the effects of stress and helps your body heal. if you're not getting enough sleep at night (~8 hours for most working people) then i would make that your first priority over taking somethign that will help boost your immune system. why take a foreign chemical that costs money when youve got a remedy that not only makes you feel good, but is free!
unfortunately for some people, it's hard to find the extra time to sleep and feel that they "need" to take drugs. just keep in mind, going to bed an extra 30-60 minutes each day will save you more money and time by preventing you from getting sick again.
there are alot of immune boosters out there like vitamin c and echinacea or zinc that claim to work. actually there are no scientific studies that prove this so dont even bother. a multivitamin of course will help only if you're not eating properly. the last one that actually may help the next time you get a cold is ginseng (american or korean, not siberian). if you feel like you're starting to come down with a cold, get lots of sleep and water, and take some ginseng. it has been shown to decrease the time that you are sick by about a day or so (more for some people). it wont help with symptoms unfortunately. it wont interact with your reflux either, but there are other things you need to know before taking it so t alk to your pharmacist