Vaccinations for Cold & Flu Season
The common cold or flu is an unwelcome but familiar inconvenience; the headaches, fatigue, aches, and general malaise can mar planned holidays, family time, or deadlines and work throughout winter.
Cold and flu season here in the UK typically hits in the winter months; crowded indoor spaces, weaker immune systems, and the tendency for viruses to survive longer in colder conditions leads to a nationwide increase in cold and flu infections.
What can you do to prevent and treat common colds and flus? And how can a private GP support you?
Tips and Advice for avoiding colds and flus
Avoiding colds and flu starts with supporting the health and functionality of your immune system, primarily in 3 main areas: sleep, stress, and nutrition.
Sleep quality
During deep sleep, your immune system replenishes its cells, including T cells and cytokines. These components play a crucial role in identifying and combating the viruses causing the common cold and flu. A healthy amount of sleep is around 8 hours -undisturbed and restful- per night to allow your body to strengthen its immune system (1). Sleep is a complex and individual issue; if you’re not getting good quality sleep, our in-house GP can support you in understanding why, and how best to solve this issue personally.
Stress management
Sleep deficiency can limit your ability to cope with stress, but a stressful lifestyle can also generally impact your immune system (2). Chronic stress can trigger the release of cortisol, suppressing the immune response and reducing the production of immune cells (3). As the cold and flu season approaches, seek healthy ways of managing your stress such as intentional relaxation therapies.
Nutrition
Like any system in your body, your immune system depends on adequate and appropriate nutritional components to function well. Vitamin C has been comprehensively researched and proven to support immune cell function in several ways including its stimulation of immune cell migration and its antioxidant activity (4). Vitamin D also plays an integral role in activating and regulating immune health. Unfortunately, cold and flu season coincides with darker days here in the UK, and the lack of sunlight can lead to Vitamin D deficiency (5).
Supplementing is a highly individualised task, and you may find profound long-term benefit in navigating tailored recommendations with our private GP and pharmacists here at Berkshire Grove.
How can a private GP and pharmacist help with colds and flu?
Our private GP and Pharmacist partners, Pillbox, can support you with cold and flu prevention and treatment.
Our private GP offers comprehensive health assessments and bespoke advice, ensuring an individualised approach to treatment and symptom relief, and resulting in faster recovery.
Our private healthcare service can provide same-day, discreet appointments and dispensing from our on-site pharmacy, providing you with the care you need, when you need it.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that, for most people, colds and flus aren’t something to be concerned about. Your immune system is strong enough to defend against these common infections and fight them off usually within a week.
For those who are more vulnerable - such as elderly people and those with compromised immune systems or respiratory issues - colds and flus can lead to further, more serious complications. If you’re more vulnerable to cold or flu infections, the annual flu vaccine is the best preventative measure. We offer private flu vaccination services here at Berkshire Grove.
References
Bandyopadhyay, A. and Sigua, N.L. (2019). What Is Sleep Deprivation? American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, [online] 199(6), pp.P11–P12. doi:https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.1996p11.
Angela Liegey Dougall and Baum, A. (2003). Stress, Coping, and Immune Function. Handbook of Psychology, pp.441–455. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/0471264385.wei0316.
Segerstrom, S.C. and Miller, G.E. (2004). Psychological stress and the human immune system: A meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological Bulletin, 130(4), pp.601–630. doi:https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.601.
Jafari, D., Esmaeilzadeh, A., Mohammadi-Kordkhayli, M. and Rezaei, N. (2019). Vitamin C and the Immune System. Nutrition and Immunity, pp.81–102. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16073-9_5.
Hewison, M. (2011). Chapter two - Vitamin D and Innate and Adaptive Immunity. [online] ScienceDirect. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780123869609000022
