What are your protocols for training when you're ill? How do you treat your colds?

The real issue with an overboard body temperature is dehydration. Humans can survive in the 120Fs, dry heat, with access to water and protection from the sun. They will die fast without access to water and electrolytic chemicals.

Everyone's body is tuned to keep you at around 98.5. Every degree higher you are going to sweat to cool down. At some point, you will run out of sweat, which is when a cool bath can be lifesaving. A short term, high fever is like a day or two in the desert. You can survive using the same regimen, fluids and low levels of exertion.

Allergy wise, consider inflammation. Another place where a good fluid/electrolytic balance is important. I recommend Green dragon tea, especially pre-Ching dynasty.

 
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Thank you for the correction. I was basing it on when my friend got sick, and they made him take an ice bath to lower his body temperature. I guess I didn't understand what my friend was explaining to me.
Whoever told them to do this didn't understand things either.
All this will do is make you miserable, and cause you to shiver. Which generates heat. Ice baths as a treatment for fever are not advisable.
Evaporative cooling has been used (a fan and a spray bottle, for example) but there is no real good science to prove actual benefit.

Ice for fever can be used in a very few cases, such as neurogenic fever in spinal cord injuries.

We do use hypothermia treatments. A common use is to reduce metabolic needs following cardiac arrest. The patient is placed between two water blankets connected to a pump, with a temperature sensor (usually in the bladder). Just dial in the core temp you want. But these patients are sedated and chemically paralyzed. This sort of thing is also used to treat hyperthermia or hyperpyrexia (temperature above 106.7F caused by disfunction of the hypothalamus). In theory, hyperpyrexia can be caused by sepsis, but that is exceptionally rare. In 40 years, I have never seen it. The most common cause is intracranial bleeding. Heat stroke is the only other cause I have personally seen.
 
A suppressed immune system is correlated with overtraining. My understanding is that there's a little debate as to which way that goes - whether immunosuppressed people are more prone to overtraining, or overtraining leads to immunosuppression, but it's a long held belief in strength training and bodybuilding circles that frequent colds are the first sign of overtraining. If you're often sick because you are overtraining, not getting some rest will actually retard your progress and potentially make things worse. If you are only overtraining because of some underlying, undiagnosed infection or other problem, then getting that diagnosed and treated is just good all around.
 
Whoever told them to do this didn't understand things either.
All this will do is make you miserable, and cause you to shiver. Which generates heat. Ice baths as a treatment for fever are not advisable.
Evaporative cooling has been used (a fan and a spray bottle, for example) but there is no real good science to prove actual benefit.

Ice for fever can be used in a very few cases, such as neurogenic fever in spinal cord injuries.

We do use hypothermia treatments. A common use is to reduce metabolic needs following cardiac arrest. The patient is placed between two water blankets connected to a pump, with a temperature sensor (usually in the bladder). Just dial in the core temp you want. But these patients are sedated and chemically paralyzed. This sort of thing is also used to treat hyperthermia or hyperpyrexia (temperature above 106.7F caused by disfunction of the hypothalamus). In theory, hyperpyrexia can be caused by sepsis, but that is exceptionally rare. In 40 years, I have never seen it. The most common cause is intracranial bleeding. Heat stroke is the only other cause I have personally seen.
This was more than 30 years ago to put it into context. With that being said I know I need to update what I know now so that it's accurate in terms of things like this.
 
Whoever told them to do this didn't understand things either.
All this will do is make you miserable, and cause you to shiver. Which generates heat. Ice baths as a treatment for fever are not advisable.
Evaporative cooling has been used (a fan and a spray bottle, for example) but there is no real good science to prove actual benefit.

Ice for fever can be used in a very few cases, such as neurogenic fever in spinal cord injuries.

We do use hypothermia treatments. A common use is to reduce metabolic needs following cardiac arrest. The patient is placed between two water blankets connected to a pump, with a temperature sensor (usually in the bladder). Just dial in the core temp you want. But these patients are sedated and chemically paralyzed. This sort of thing is also used to treat hyperthermia or hyperpyrexia (temperature above 106.7F caused by disfunction of the hypothalamus). In theory, hyperpyrexia can be caused by sepsis, but that is exceptionally rare. In 40 years, I have never seen it. The most common cause is intracranial bleeding. Heat stroke is the only other cause I have personally seen.
keep it coming. Good information.
 

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