Exercise with a cold

Sophie Matzik is a freelance writer for the medical team.

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Is exercise a problem with a cold? This is the question that many running enthusiasts ask themselves when their throats scratch and their noses runny. Even if you do not feel significantly affected by such complaints, you are unsure whether exercise is advisable despite a cold. The strength of the symptoms and the general state of health are decisive here. Read more about exercising with a cold here.

ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. J00J06

Exercise for a cold: is that possible?

When you have a cold, cold viruses have infected the lining of the upper respiratory tract. Your immune system takes up the fight against the invaders, which weakens your body. This is why you usually feel weak or tired when you have a cold. Sport also challenges the body - energy reserves are used during exercise, the heart and muscles work harder, the circulation and pulse increase.

If the common cold and sport come together, this means a double burden and thus "stress" for the body. As a rule, therefore, the combination of exercise and a cold is not recommended.

In individual cases, however, different recommendations apply, for example whether someone has a strong or just a mild cold. Sport is also not the same as sport. If you have a cold, you shouldn't expect extreme stress such as running a marathon or any other competition. Likewise, exercising at the limit of your ability during a cold is not healthy.

Competitive athletes who are in the middle of a training phase are best advised to talk to a doctor about the extent to which they can exercise if they have a cold. The following recommendations apply to hobby athletes and leisure activities.

Slight cold

Exercise is often still unproblematic during a mild cold. If you have no other symptoms apart from a runny nose, there is generally nothing wrong with exercising. However, you should only exercise lightly during a cold and avoid anaerobic training and long exertion. Interval training is also not advisable if you want to exercise despite having a cold.

Also make sure that you are dressed warmly enough and that you do not cool down during breaks (e.g. by putting on a warm jacket). After training, you should slip into dry and warm clothing as soon as possible.

Exercise for a cold: when to take a break!

Although exercise is generally allowed with a mild cold, you should refrain from doing certain signs for your own well-being - for example, if you have a sore throat. These can be a typical cold symptom, but also the harbinger of tonsillitis. This is mostly caused by bacteria. If the immune system is weakened by a cold, the germs can penetrate the body faster than in healthy people. They can then spread relatively easily and spread to other organs such as the kidneys, liver or heart.

The infestation of the heart muscle with subsequent heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis) is particularly dangerous. There is a risk of permanent heart muscle damage and, under certain circumstances, even mortal danger! Myocarditis can be triggered not only by bacteria, but also by viruses - even the cold viruses themselves if the flu-like infection is not cured properly.

Because of the risk of heart muscle inflammation, exercise with a cold is only allowed as long as you do not have a fever. The rise in temperature can be caused by the cold itself, but it can also be a sign of an additional bacterial infection - such as the sore throat mentioned above. In this case, too, there is a risk that the bacteria will spread in the body and spread to the heart or other organs.

Even if you suppress symptoms such as fever or sore throat with medication, you must not do sports if you have a cold. The medication alleviates the symptoms, but your body is still weakened and cannot cope with additional stresses such as physical training or other pathogens.

Jogging with a cold?

When it comes to jogging when you have a cold, the opinions of experts differ widely. However, there is consensus on the recommendation that one should primarily listen to one's own body here. Jogging with a cold is possible if you only have a mild runny nose or cough. However, you should be careful not to overdo it and stop when you feel weak or tired.

As soon as you feel really sick, have a fever or a sore throat, you should refrain from jogging if you have a cold. Exercise stimulates the circulation and blood flow. This allows pathogens to spread in the body more easily than if you take it easy - among other things with the risk of myocarditis, as described above. The same applies here: Even if you suppress the symptoms with the help of medication, jogging with a cold is still taboo!

Exercise after a cold?

After a cold, you should take it easy with your sport. Before the first workout, you should be drug-free for at least two days without recurring symptoms. First start with a low load and only train in the light endurance range for the first few times. If you immediately resume your old training load with maximum stress, you risk a relapse. After an infection with a fever, you should not start exercising again until about a week without symptoms. The body needs this time to recover.

Exercise for a cold: tips

Some people are particularly prone to infections. The following applies, especially in winter: start exercising slowly (e.g. when jogging in winter). In colder temperatures, the body needs a little longer to reach the correct operating temperature.

In winter, if possible, do sports around midday or in the afternoon. This allows you to soak up some sunlight if necessary, which the body can use to make vitamin D - albeit not by much. For a significant vitamin D synthesis, the winter sunlight is not enough in our latitudes. It is all the more important to soak up enough sun in the warm season and thus replenish your vitamin D stores. By the way, the body needs vitamin D both for strong bones and for good defenses.

Basically: Listen to your body when it comes to exercising if you have a cold. If you feel weak and sick, it is best to refrain from exercising altogether. However, if you have the feeling that a light exercise would do you good, nothing speaks against it in the case of a slight infection. However, exercise is taboo if you have a cold with a fever or a severe flu-like infection.

Tags:  drugs palliative medicine stress