Riding with a cold/man-flu ?

[Riggsbie]

So what's the best advice regarding cycling when not 100% ?

I am suffering a heavy cold/man-flu, really sore throat, heavily congested, muti coloured snotty phlegm, de-hydrated.....

I rode today and 5 mins in I had to go up a 8% grade and my heart was racing and a little erratic, legs felt heavyand lethargic....and boy I was thirsty, lots of water guzzled ! Things got easier after 20 minutes....

Shoud I ride tomorrow or tr and recuperate ?

[waramatt]

If my ride involved a hill of 8%, I would probably give it a spell for a few days.....

[Mulger bill]

What I've read says if it's in your chest, you shouldn't ride.
My experience says 10km at granny pace does wonders for the soul of a sick rider (much more so than groaning on the couch while the GLW plots murder) and that can't be too bad.

[wombatK]

See this recent thread When sick...

In essence, be careful when ill and continuing to train. It is my experience (both for myself and for those I coach/have coached) that time off to allow the body to properly deal with whatever it has to deal with is a far better solution. One's health is not to be toyed with.

I recently had a whole week of no riding because of some minor flu/cold type bug. Indeed I probably could have started back on the bike a day or two before I did but I knew the risk of prolonging or deepening what I had would place my overall goals in greater jeapordy. Then a week or so of sensible riding without high intensity and then back into it. Before long and I am banging out higher power than before. These things suck but one must have patience and consider the bigger picture.

Having seen a friend die from consequences of trying to burn out a dose of flu, Alex's advice makes total sense to me.

[skull]

So what's the best advice regarding cycling when not 100% ?

I am suffering a heavy cold/man-flu, really sore throat, heavily congested, muti coloured snotty phlegm, de-hydrated.....

I had a bit of a man sniffle a few weeks ago, I did a ride in the rain. It got a little bit more sniffly. I did a race. I got proper sick and now approximately three weeks later I am still phlegmy and have a bit of a persistent cough.

[Abby]

Even the pro's rest when they have the flu...

Downside of pushing through is turning a 1 week illness into a month or two of sickness/weakness and the possibility of permanent damage.

Seriously - take a few days off. Its all upside...

Cheers,
Abby

[trailgumby]

Being young and stupid, I naturally learnt the hard way. Vigorous exercise is now known to temporarily depress the immune system slightly. If it is already under challenge, this does not help it fight the infection. Indeed, illness is often a symptom of overtraining, so continuing to train only buries you deeper.

I can only say +1 to Abby's advice and I particularly like Alex's take on it: one's health is not to be toyed with.

[foo on patrol]

Take the advice of what the others are saying and me..........rest or regret it!

Foo

[ColinOldnCranky]

I had a touch of man-flu nearly ten years ago and got no favours from my wife and kids whatsoever.

After four months the Dr sent me for some more tests "just in case"and I came back with pertussis. (Whooping cough.) To their credit the family were decent enough to be a little embarrassed.

Despite having had four bouts of shoulder surgery they still don't give me much space to complain.

[jimsheedy]

first up this is just a bug bear of mine. A head or chest cold even a heavy one is not the flu. Influenza will keep you in bed for at least a week. You will have no choice. Walking to the bathroom is difficult, let alone riding a bike.

But on the subject of a regular cold. rest up. even wait a few extra days after your feeling better before pushing yourself, just to be sure.

[Meditator]

first up this is just a bug bear of mine. A head or chest cold even a heavy one is not the flu. Influenza will keep you in bed for at least a week. You will have no choice. Walking to the bathroom is difficult, let alone riding a bike.

But on the subject of a regular cold. rest up. even wait a few extra days after your feeling better before pushing yourself, just to be sure.

Its a bugbear of mine too. Just to repeat, a cold is not the flu and a cold can really make you feel like crap, especially if you don't rest. And it can linger a very long time, especially the cough that tends to follow. But its not the flu.

I've been on tour with bad colds and i've finally learnt how to treat them after years of not doing anything to help with a cold. I've never ever had a flu so i can't tell you what to do there beyond the usual.

But with a cold, get as much rest as you can anyway. Don't go exercising. Stay home from work on the few days you feel really shite. I take panadols for my sore throats and when i want to try to sleep and if i'm feeling ratty. It helps me to get to sleep easier and feel less miserable. I find i generally don't need to take more than a few a day though. Sniffing eucalyptus oil will help clear your nasal passages but it won't cure the cold. Nothing cures a cold. But i have found that rest and panadol do help me get better faster and the whole thing seems milder.

To help prevent spreading your cold about, in addition to covering your face when you cough and sneeze, wash your hands often and try to avoid touching stuff that other people will touch after you so stay home and don't go shopping. I think a lot of the spread of colds is through hand to mouth contact with the germs. (I'm sure i've read this and am not just making it up).

[skull]

man flu is not influenza, it is man flu. That is worse than the flu.

[trailgumby]

If I start to treat it early enough, I generally get colds out of the way in about 3 days. Some of this may be controversial and may carry risks, so I'm not proposing this as a model for you to follow at all, but it does work very consistently for me. Colds make my asthma flare up so it's less of a risk for me to get them gone fast than let them run the usual 10 days.

My treatment consists of:

* megadoses of vitamin C (2,000mg 3 x per day)
* Echinacea Forte tabs (2 off, 3 x per day)
* Garlic and horseradish tablets (2 off, 3-4 times per day)
* Sleep as much as possible
* NO physical activity that raises a sweat

The third item is the only thing I've found that touches the nasal congestion that doesn't involve pseudoephedrine. The PE substitutes they've tried to introduce to the market are so useless it's pathetic. PE works great, but I find it keeps me wide awake for 12-18 hrs. Not great for getting rid of the cold when being sleep-deprived is probably a factor in getting the cold in the first place. The Garlic + horseradish keeps the nose clear enough so that I can sleep.

If I get the runs (sorry, too much information) then I know I've hit the limit with the vitamin C and I need to back off.

It the above treatment doesn't touch the symptoms then I know it's something more serious and if I get the hots and colds and aches and the glands are up, it's definitely a flu and off to the GP I go as soon as the plegm goes green.

[Riggsbie]

The Skull is right.....

Advice taken but was itching to ride on Sunday, but listened to the wise words of the forum..... Going to take a couple of days off work too.....

I certainly don't have flu, no aches and pains that I don't usually have, but some good phlegm (good word) still, still quite glow-in-the-dark, nice hot & cold spells, the sore throat is better but damn the bouts of sneezing !

Been guzzling water and orange juice.....the other half is grabbing vitamin C supplements as well while she's shopping......no sympathy from nurses

I'm hanging in there, now to watch some junk telly !


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[foo on patrol]

That's a good boy Riggsbie!

Foo

[Petee]

why would you ride when your sick?

Surely your not that desperate?

[Riggsbie]

Don't you ever feel like you are going stir crazy if you haven't cycled for more than 5 days ?

I do......


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[toolonglegs]

5 days ...I go stir crazy after one day off.
My wife and son have a virus of some sorts... daughter and I are ok for now!... although I had yesterday off as I wasn't feeling 100% but I was pretty tired as well.
Hopefully I am not coming down with something but it is pretty hard to avoid once in the family!... going to head out now for an hour or two, hope fully bit of exercise in the spring sun will do the trick!... but I will be cruising.

[notwal]

So what's the best advice regarding cycling when not 100% ?

I am suffering a heavy cold/man-flu, really sore throat, heavily congested, muti coloured snotty phlegm, de-hydrated.....

I rode today and 5 mins in I had to go up a 8% grade and my heart was racing and a little erratic, legs felt heavyand lethargic....and boy I was thirsty, lots of water guzzled ! Things got easier after 20 minutes....

Shoud I ride tomorrow or tr and recuperate ?

Doesn't "muti coloured snotty phlegm" imply a bacterial infection? I wouldn't be riding.
Exercise puts demands on your immune system so at best it's very likely to slow down your recovery. At worst it could promote pneumonia.
Take a gentle walk in the sun, and if you feel worse go to the doc. You may need an anti-biotic.

[Marx]

man flu = bed or couch/TV.
Head cold & riding?
Do your mates a favour & hang out the back, so you don't bog a lurgy on them.

[AUbicycles]

Agree on the train of thought, though I do feel lazy for not riding.

That said, I suffers from allergies and find riding clears my system. I don't overdo it... Swimming and surfing also tend to help as well.

[Riggsbie]

I rode 140km on a charity cycle pub crawl on Sunday and felt crook as right at the start, after 1 hour things improved......

Felt really awful on Monday morning, lots of snot !

This morning pretty snotty but not so bad......

I have a 150km Audax on Saturday, so lets see how that goes .......


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[skull]

rest up my friend, rest up

[Riggsbie]

Well, yesterday I did my first 150km Audax, felt really good during the ride (see post in recumbent section of forum), the snot has returned today.

Let's hope it does not hang on much longer, there's another Audax I would like to do in 2 weeks !





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