If Your Nose Is Running, Should You Be Running?

“I'm all stuffed up. But I want to work out. Should I? Solution: Yes! As long as you don't have a fever and the symptoms are above the neck—or you have a sore throat or sinus infection—it's OK to moderately exercise, said Shazia Khan, an assistant professor at Loyola University Health System. ‘It's important to stick to your regular exercise routine if you're feeling energetic enough,’ Khan said. Just don't push yourself too hard, and take in more fluids than usual. If you're achy, vomiting or have diarrhea and chills, however, it's probably not the best time to be doing interval work on the health club treadmill. Which brings us to another issue: If you're determined to bring your cold to your gym, please, please, please disinfect the equipment when you're done and stay out of the pool. Droplets from a sneeze travel up to 3 feet; if your mucus hits fellow swimmers before landing in the water, it could give them a cold, said Dr. Harley Rotbart, the author of ‘Germ Proof Your Kids’ (ASM Press, $29.95). The good news is that while hands are still the major culprits in spreading cold viruses, ‘hands under water in the swimming pool are less likely to have enough living virus on them to inoculate into the nose or mouth,’ said Rotbart. Also, remember that overtraining can also lead to feeling run down or having coldlike symptoms. The No. 1 sign that you're overtrained? You normally love working out but now have no desire to go to the gym. Take a day off.”

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