How Does Exercise Affect Immunity?
” above) and the advisability of engaging in exercise or competition during the illness (see “URI Performance Effects and Risks in Athletes” page 93). For patients who continue to work out while ill with a URI, physicians need to choose a treatment that will not impair the patients’ ability to exercise. In addition, athletes involved in high-level competition must avoid using medications that are banned by sports governing bodies. A Horde of Viruses The common cold is most often caused by one of several hundred rhinoviruses, but coronaviruses or the respiratory syncytial virus may also lead to infection. Other viruses, such as influenza, parainfluenza, and adenoviruses, may produce respiratory symptoms, but these are often associated with pneumonia, fever, or chills. Colds occur in a seasonal pattern that usually begins in mid-September and concludes in late April to early May. The common cold is quite contagious and can be transmitted by either person-to-person contact or airborne dro
