Always catching colds: why some people get them constantly

If it feels like you barely get over one cold before the next arrives, you are not imagining it. Adults catch, on average, two to three colds a year, and small children can have four or more — before the age of two, a baby may have eight or ten a year. That is the norm, not a failure of your immune system. People who feel "always colded" are usually just living inside those numbers.

What is rarely said is this: more than 200 different viruses cause colds, and rhinoviruses account for up to half of cases. No previous exposure protects you from all of them. Having several colds in one winter does not mean something is wrong with you.

Why do I catch so many colds and my colleague doesn't?

There are mundane explanations, and almost all of them are about exposure rather than the strength of your immune system.

The first is contact with children. Children catch more colds because they have not yet been exposed to as many viruses, because their immune systems are still learning to recognise new germs, and because they are in close contact with other children, do not always cover coughs or sneezes and do not always wash their hands before touching their faces. If you have young children, or work with them, you are sharing that reservoir of viruses.

The second is closeness to other people. Winter is cold season because we spend more time indoors, in closer contact with people who can pass germs on to us, and because the flu virus stays in the air for longer when the air is cold and less humid. Notice the irony: it is not the cold that gives you a cold. Moderate exposure to cold does not appear to increase susceptibility to infection. It is what we do because of the cold — gathering indoors — that counts.

The third is sleep. An experimental study of 164 healthy adults exposed to rhinovirus found that those who slept less than five hours, or between five and six hours a night, were more likely to develop a clinical cold than those who slept more than seven. The authors concluded that sleeping less was associated with greater susceptibility. Note the words: associated, not caused. It is one study, not a certainty, and it does not prove that sleeping more will protect you.

The fourth is simple bad luck with the calendar. Colds spread through droplets from coughs and sneezes and through surfaces that someone touched before bringing a hand to their nostrils, eyes or mouth. You can be contagious for up to two weeks, including a day or two before symptoms appear — so the people you remember to protect yourself from may already have passed it on before they sneezed.

What can I change this week?

Start with what has the best support. The NHS says that washing your hands with warm water and soap is one of the best ways to avoid catching a cold. You do not need a special gel or an elaborate routine: soap, water, and actually rubbing, especially when you get home or before eating.

Next, avoid sharing personal items with someone who has a cold. Towels, cups, children's toys — germs survive on hands and surfaces for up to 24 hours, so the shared bathroom towel is a more plausible vehicle than it looks.

Also avoid bringing your hands to your eyes and nose. It is uncomfortably hard to stick to, and yet that is how the virus gets in.

Finally, stay active and generally healthy. The recommendation is vague because the evidence is too: there is no single formula that guarantees you will not get another cold. And there is a detail that usually goes missing from these lists — sleep, which we have already seen is associated with greater susceptibility when it is short. If you are sleeping five or six hours a night, that is probably the change with the biggest return, even if the studies do not promise a result.

How long before you know if it worked? A cold season, not a week. Given that most people catch two to three a year, you need to get through a few months to have a minimally honest idea. And even then, with so many viruses circulating, an improvement could be coincidence.

What probably won't help you

The NHS is direct: there is little evidence that supplements such as vitamin C, echinacea or garlic prevent colds or help you recover faster. This contradicts a lot of what you read elsewhere, and it is worth letting that sink in.

That does not mean those products are dangerous or useless for other purposes. It means that, for this specific question — always catching colds — the promise that they will solve the problem is not supported. If you take them because you like them, that is your choice. If you take them hoping to stop getting colds, you are buying an expectation that no one can guarantee you.

Another popular idea that does not hold up: wrapping up warm to avoid catching cold. Moderate exposure to cold does not appear to increase susceptibility to infection. Dress as you like, but do not count on a scarf as a prevention strategy.

If the aim is to reduce the number of colds, the effort you put into washing your hands and sleeping enough is more likely to pay off than the money spent on bottles.

Where supplements honestly fit

They fit very little, and it is better to say so. The available evidence does not support the idea that vitamin C, echinacea or garlic prevent colds. That is the current state of knowledge, not an opinion from the brand.

There is, however, a distinction worth making. One thing is supplementing against colds in people who are not deficient; another, quite different, is having a varied and balanced diet that covers what the body needs. It is in that second category that a supplement may make sense for some people — as a complement to a diet, not a substitute for it, and not a treatment for anything.

If you are looking for an option in this category, Immunity & Defense Gummies with Echinacea combine, per two-gummy dose, echinacea extract, vitamin C, zinc, vitamin D3, selenium and Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and are intended for adults. There is, however, no authorised claim that this formulation prevents or treats colds, and that is not what we promise you. Always check the label and do not exceed the recommended dose. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, suffering from a medical condition or taking medication, speak to a healthcare professional before use.

When this stops being normal

Frequent colds are, for most people, a nuisance and not a warning sign. There are, however, situations where you should seek help rather than keep trying to sort it out alone.

• Symptoms get worse or do not improve after 10 days.
• You have had a cough for more than 3 weeks.
• Infections keep coming back or do not go away — healthcare professionals consider this one of the reasons to assess the possibility of an immunodeficiency.

Notice that none of these criteria is "I catch a lot of colds a year". Having several is expected. What changes the picture is the duration, the severity or the pattern of recovery. If you are unsure where you stand, a pharmacist can help you tell the ordinary from what deserves an appointment.

A note on what we still don't know

Research on sleep and susceptibility to colds is promising, but early. One experimental study is not the same as a population-wide certainty, and we do not know whether intervening on sleep actually reduces the number of colds in people in general. We also do not know why some people seem to catch more than others with similar exposures. That part remains open.

What you know today is enough to act: wash your hands, do not share towels, avoid touching your face and sort out your sleep. If you want to buy a supplement, buy it for what it is — a food supplement — and not as the solution to a problem that, in most cases, is just life happening.