Next to injury, getting sick is a runner’s worst nightmare. And, unfortunately, we are being hit with illness left and right these days. First, it was COVID, then RSV, a strange surge in Hand Foot and Mouth, the flu, now it’s this cold that causes pink eye and a chronic cough … and RSV again. So, how do you avoid getting sick when you’re around germs all the time?
There are ways to avoid getting sick — and bonus: A lot of these healthy habits will help with your running and overall health, too.
I did research and talked with people who never get sick to collect nine healthy habits to get you well if you’re sick as well as to keep you healthy.
How I Stayed Healthy This Year
I don’t know about you, but when our kids are showing signs of illness — or we come into close contact with someone who is sick — we go into panic mode. We don’t do well as a sick family. And it’s worse when I am in marathon training season, because I don’t want to miss training and stress over the key workouts I am missing.
We got hit with the flu (for the first time!) this fall during my peak marathon training weeks for the California International Marathon cycle. As a mom, it’s hard to train when your children are sick. And then, obviously, it’s not an option to run when you are sick.
I followed the steps below to avoid getting sick as much as my family. I had a fever for a day or two, and my runs (when they resumed) felt labored with a higher-than-normal heart rate. But overall, I was unscathed.
This is rare for me. Usually, I don’t avoid illness when my kids are sick — especially when I’m training for a marathon. My immune system is often suppressed from the hard workouts, and I’m usually exhausted from being up with the sick kids.
I truly believe the steps below are what helped me stay healthy then and when returning from my marathon back into a house full of cold germs.
How Do You Avoid Getting Sick When Your Child is Sick?
It seems almost impossible not to get sick when your kids are–and breathing and coughing all over you 24/7. But there are ways to protect yourself when living with someone who is sick:
- Eat a nutrient-dense diet with zinc, vitamin C, vitamin D, selenium, iron, and protein
- Wash your hands
- Limit your exposure as much as you can (I try to roll over so that my children aren’t breathing on me in bed)
- Take immune-boosting vitamins with zinc, vitamin C and vitamin D
- Disinfect the house
- Discourage sharing
- Use disposable cups, plates, and plasticware
- Engage in light exercise
- Rest as much as you can
- Ask for help
- Shower and keep yourself clean
- Embrace survival mode and don’t sweat the small stuff
What To Do With My Kids When I’m Sick?
Embrace survival mode when you’re a sick parent. Dr. Krupa Playforth of The Pediatrician Mom shared some great tips on this. When battling illness while trying to care for her toddlers, Dr. Playforth says she:
- Gave them unlimited screentime so she could nap
- Used paper plates and ordered in food
- Played games that involved lying down and closing her eyes such as “Doctor” and “Spa”
- Skipped the unnecessary parts of the routine such as bath time
- Allowed her kids to make their own meals and feel good about the independence you are fostering
- Asked for help and shared duties with her partner when she could
- Accepted the mess and gave herself grace
What Can Suppress Your Immune System?
There are several lifestyle choices that can suppress your immune system and make you more likely to get sick. Some of these immune suppressants include:
- Drinking alcohol and smoking
- Eating unhealthy foods, such as those with trans fats or processed food
- Getting less than seven hours of sleep a night
- Intense exercise (especially without appropriate recovery)
- Excess weight
- Lack of exercise
- Chronic stress
How Do I Avoid Getting Sick?
Below are 9 science-backed tips to get healthy faster if you’re sick. Most of these tips will also help you stay healthy this winter.
1. Embrace the extra rest.
If you’re sick, remind yourself that taking a rest day now will save you from a longer layoff from running later. Resting is really hard for runners, but when you’re sick or in a house full of germs, it is the prudent thing to do.
Remember that it takes more than a week of inactivity for you to start to lose even a small amount of fitness. And what you lose, you gain back quicker — so don’t worry about getting out of shape!
2. Sleep.
Aim to get seven to nine hours of sleep a night (deep sleep is when we repair our bodies) and don’t feel guilty for laying around during the day. This is helping your body bounce back quicker.
Even when you’re not sick, sleep is crucial to avoid getting sick — especially when running.
Exercise is a form of stress, and more vigorous exercise creates more physiological stress which causes physiological and biochemical changes in the body. To tackle the potential threats these changes highlight, the immune cells may simply move out of the bloodstream to the lungs, for example.
This still leaves our bodies vulnerable to infections and, generally speaking, the more strenuous the exercise, the longer it takes for the immune system to return to normal.
3. Hydrate.
If you’re sick, drink more fluids than you normally do. Staying hydrated helps your immune system work better by aiding the transport of oxygen to your body cells. Liquids can also help flush out toxins that negatively impact your immune system. This helps keep you healthy.
Also, avoid alcohol when sick and drink it sparingly when well since alcohol dehydrates you and impairs recovery.
4. Eat well.
Eating healthy will help you fight germs when sick and stay healthy. If sick, when you have an appetite, aim to eat a nutrient-dense diet containing the following:
- Fruits and vegetables. A rainbow of colors in fruits and vegetables (about 75 percent of your diet) will give you a dose of antioxidants that help your immune system fight oxidative stress. Aim to eat protein, carbs, and healthy fats in every meal.
- Carbs. Carbs serve as the energy source for immune cells, so make sure you are giving them the fuel they need to fight. Scientists have found that eating carbs, especially during and after exercise, helps regulate blood sugar levels. Aim for 30 to 60 grams of carbs per hour of running
- Protein. Protein is used to make the antibodies necessary to fight infections and germs. Specifically, their amino acids ready your body’s T cells and B cells to fight and kill harmful invaders.
Some immune-boosting foods to eat include:
- Nuts
- Berries
- Sweet potatoes
- Fish
- Leafy greens
- Dark green vegetables
- Citrus fruits
- Yogurt
- Poultry
5. Supplement your nutrition.
- Studies show that vitamin C and zinc can help shorten colds. Previnex supplements are the best supplements you can take. They have helped me somuch. If you aren’t happy, get your money back.
- Taking vitamin D can also help you get healthy and stay healthy.
- Betaglucans can activate your immune system to be ready to fight.
I’ve managed to sidestep major illness this year thanks to taking Previnex’s Immune Health PLUS which contains beta-glucans.
Beta-glucans are natural defenders that boost the immune system by optimizing its response to viruses, pathogens, and infections. Studies have shown that beta-glucans act as immunomodulator agents, which means they can trigger a cascade of events to help regulate the immune system, thereby making it more efficient, effective, and powerful.
6. Take care of your gut.
A whopping 70 percent of your immune system lives in your gut, so keep it healthy with healthy fats, sauerkraut, yogurt, and a probiotic.
I take Previnex’s probiotic, which includes 30 billion healthy bacteria, six clinically proven strains, with a clinically proven prebiotic, NutraFlora, that helps with the growth and colonization of good bacteria in the gut.
Regularly taking a probiotic decreases your chances of getting sick, so start taking one today to get healthy and stay healthy.
7. Exercise.
If you are sick, when the acute phase of your illness is over and you’re feeling better, try going for a walk (about 30 minutes).
Repeat the walk the next day if you feel good and progress to a short run. (A running coach can help you with your schedule).
To stay well, keep up your running. Epidemiological evidence suggests that regular moderate exercise improves immunity and decreases the illness rate. The light activity will increase blood flow and help move white blood cells and nutrients to fight infection and remove waste products.
Remember that intense exercise can suppress your immune system, so eat well and take it easy the next day to recover well!
8. Practice good hygiene.
This is common knowledge, but it bears repeating — practice good hygiene. Wash your hands frequently. Keep hand sanitizer in your car and purse and use it after touching surfaces in public places.
Limit your exposure to sick people — including when you are sick. Keep your distance when talking to people. Take showers. And avoid sharing drinks and food.
9. Ease back into running.
If you were sick and had to take more than 10 to 14 days off from running, then you need to gradually reintroduce your training. Don’t jump right back in or try to make up your mileage.
- If you took only a week off, you can return to running as normal but with several days of easy running before trying any speed workouts or long runs.
- For two weeks off, aim to do the first week of running at 50 percent of your typical training volume with no intensity. The next week of running can be at 75 percent of your regular training volume with some strides to reintroduce intensity.
If you feel worse or exhausted when you return to running, then you pushed too hard and need to reign it in. If you experience chest pain or tightness, light-headedness, or an irregular heartbeat, then you need to talk to your doctor.
Whitney Heins is the founder of The Mother Runners (https://www.themotherrunners.com), a resource for moms who run and the host of The Passionate Runner Podcast. Whitney lives in Knoxville, Tenn., and is a wife and mother of two, a former TV news journalist, a VDOT-O2 certified run coach, and a 2:56 marathoner. Her insights and The Mother Runners have been featured in Runner’s World, Nike, The Huffington Post, US News & World Report, and more. Whitney has her eyes on qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Trials marathon.
