I love hiking outdoors and hike year-round when the weather will cooperate with me in the Midwest. However, I recently came down with a cold and wondered if I should still go on the hike I had planned before the cold came on.
My two main concerns which you might be wondering as well is whether or not it’s safe to hike with a cold and if hiking will somehow set me back in getting over my cold?
So I did some research to see if you can hike with a cold. Here is what I found out.
Yes, you can hike with a cold, in fact, it may actually help to bring on a speedier recovery. It’s important when hiking with a cold though to listen to your body and keep the hike on the milder side and not overdo it.
Below are some of the main points to remember when hiking with a cold while on the trails.
Everything You Need to Know When Hiking with a Cold
Before you hit the trails with a cold there are a few things to keep in mind so you know what to expect and don’t hike into danger.
Sizing Up Your Cold or Illness
Before going on any hike while your sick it’s important to gauge your level of illness and know the symptoms you are exhibiting. As there are times depending on what your symptoms are when it’s probably best to skip the hike.
According to Edward R Laskowski, M.D. with the Mayo Clinic determining whether or not you should exercise or go on that hike depends largely on the types of symptoms you are exhibiting.
It is usually OK to exercise if all your symptoms are above the neck. Meaning if you are experiencing only a runny nose, a minor soar throat, nasal congestion, or sneezing you should be fine to exercise.
If however, your symptoms are below the neck such as chest congestion, a hacking cough or an upset stomach it’s probably best to postpone your hike until you are feeling better.
Also if you have a fever, fatigue, or widespread muscle aches it’s also best not to exercise.
Precautions to Take When Hiking with a Cold
If you do plan on hiking while you have a cold there are a few simple things you need to do and know before hitting the trails.
- Listen to your body: If your hiking and start to feel worse or begin to feel awful it’s OK to slow down, take a break, or stop altogether. Your body will always be your best guide when exercising with a cold so make sure to always be listening.
- When you have a cold reduce the intensity and length of the hike. When you are sick your body is using most of its resources to get over the illness so doing any extreme or intense workout will require your body to pull resources away from the healing process to repair your muscles from the intense workout. Which can potentially slow the healing process down.
- It’s also best to avoid extreme elevation changes when hiking while sick so be sure the trail you’re on maintains a certain level of elevation and does not include any extreme elevation changes.
- If it’s cold outside it might be a good idea to skip the hike. The reason for this is that hiking in cold and dry air can restrict or irritate your airways leading to a runny nose or coughing according to health.com which can exacerbate your symptoms.
- If you have any concerns about hiking or exercising while you have a cold always check with your doctor.
Can Hiking Help to Improve Your Cold?
The great news about hiking with a cold is that it can actually help to improve your cold symptoms.
The reason for this is that hiking, as well as other types of exercises, help to open up your nasal passage allowing you to breathe easier and it can even temporarily reduce and relieve nasal congestion.
Can You Sweat Out a Cold While Hiking
There is nothing new about the concept of sweating out a cold which is the process of heating up the body through exercise or heat to cause the body to sweat to get over the cold faster.
However, the unfortunate truth is while some of the techniques used to sweat out a cold might help provide some relief or help to reduce some of the cold symptoms temporarily it will not help to cure a cold any faster.
So while it’s OK to hike with a cold and it can help to reduce the symptoms and discomfort from a cold temporarily it will not help you to get over the cold any faster.
Best Ways to Get Over A Cold Before an Upcoming Hike
If you have a cold and the luxury of a little time before your planned hike there are actually many things that you can do to help get rid of the cold all together before you even go on your hike according to Healthline.
Below are some of the best things you can do to get over a cold before your next hike.
- It probably comes as no surprise to you that getting your rest is very important when getting over a cold or illness. So make sure you are getting plenty of zzz’s to reduce the number of days of your cold. Healthline recommends to try and get between 8 and 10 hours of sleep each night.
- Make sure you are staying hydrated while you have a cold as staying hydrated can help your body fight the illness as well as loosen up the mucus and congestion.
- Also, it’s a good idea to avoid anything that would dehydrate you while trying to get over a cold quickly such as alcohol, caffeine, and salty foods.
- Gargling with salt water can help to reduce irritation and inflammation in your throat.
- Dry air can make your cold symptoms worse so using a humidifier at night can help add moisture to the air helping to keep your nasal passage moist to help reduce congestion.
- While over the counter medications can’t cure a common cold they can help to reduce their symptoms allowing you to go on the hike sooner than might have been possible without them.
How to Avoid Getting a Cold While Hiking
What about if you don’t have a cold and you want to keep it that way while hiking. Is there anything you can do to help from getting a cold or sick while on the trails and outdoors?
While it’s hard to avoid ever getting sick there absolutely things you can do to keep you healthy and help prevent you from getting a cold while hiking.
To begin with, you want to make sure you are eating enough calories and drinking enough water to fuel your body while hiking. This is because as with any physical exercise or activity when you are hiking you are putting a strain on and using your body’s resources and if you don’t replenish those spent resources it can leave you more susceptible to illness.
This leads us to our next point while it might be tough on a multi-day hike to get your rest it’s absolutely imperative to get plenty of rest and sleep before during and after hiking. To keep your body and immune system strong.
Finally, the last thing you can do to help avoid getting a cold while hiking is to make sure you are prepared and appropriately dressed for cold weather.
While cold air by itself won’t make you sick or cause you to catch a cold. Cold weather can place psychological stress on your body which can lead to illness so make sure to dress in layers and stay warm while hiking in cold weather.