Doing sports during a cold

How much exercise and effort is recommended for a cold clearly depends on the severity of the illness and, above all, on the subjective perception of the sufferer. If you have a harmless cold without symptoms such as cough or sore throat and without feeling ill, it is certainly not harmful to continue with moderate exercise. Outdoor sports such as cycling or Nordic walking are particularly suitable for this, as they do not challenge the body to the limit.

Breathable, sufficiently warm clothing is important here. If you feel increasingly ill or have worsened symptoms after physical exertion, this is a sign that you should stop training for a few days. In case of symptoms such as coughing, sore throat, exhaustion or a real feeling of illness, you should definitely refrain from exercising until the symptoms subside.

An infection is a stressful situation for the immune system and the entire body.If physical training is added as an additional burden, the body cannot concentrate on fighting the pathogens and the course of the disease is negatively influenced. The flushing out of the pathogens can lead to heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis), a potentially life-threatening inflammation that initially only manifests itself through unspecific symptoms such as fatigue and fever. If you have a cold with fever, you should refrain from any physical exertion in any case, as the increased body temperature is always a sign that the body is fighting an infection with great effort and needs its strength to do so. In this case you should refrain from physical exertion and any kind of stress for at least one week.

Special features of a cold during pregnancy

Even during pregnancy, women are not spared from catching a cold, because the immune system can be weakened by this physical stress factor and thus be more susceptible to viral infections. However, this cold does not normally pose a risk to the child in the womb. The course of the cold is also usually harmless.

As usual, the symptoms of the common cold are mainly restricted to the respiratory tract and can be accompanied by headaches and fatigue. The severity of a stuffy nose, cough and sore throat, for example, varies from person to person. However, a cold usually never lasts longer than one to two weeks.

It is important for pregnant women with a cold to avoid a fever above 38.5°C. If a fever does occur, a doctor should be consulted to begin appropriate treatment. On the other hand, it should be excluded that there is no flu or other viral infection.

If symptoms occur that do not fit a typical cold, such as diarrhoea, vomiting, skin rash or similar, a doctor should also be consulted for clarification. There are also some things to consider when treating the common cold, as many medications should not be used during pregnancy due to their side effects. Therefore, alternative means of treating the symptoms of a cold should be used.

Instead of a cough syrup from the pharmacy, one can make one’s own onion syrup from chopped onions and rock candy, which also has an expectorant effect and has no influence whatsoever on the child. If you have a sore throat, sage tea is always recommended for gargling or simply for drinking, as it has a mild and soothing effect on the mucous membranes. To reduce swelling of the nasal mucous membranes, saline solution can be used instead of a decongestant nasal spray or inhaled over hot chamomile tea.

Both are again harmless for the child. Caution is advised, however, when using essential oils, which are contained in many products and are better avoided during pregnancy. In the case of headaches, paracetamol can also be taken in small quantities and with a low frequency of use after consulting a doctor.

Otherwise, as with every cold, rest, sleep and drinking a lot are very beneficial for healing. Also walks in the fresh air stimulate the circulation and the recovery of the respiratory tract. Thus, a cold during pregnancy is also a surmountable and unproblematic obstacle. and fever during pregnancy