Feeling Sick? To Exercise or Not to Exercise. That is the Question

While we were flying home from Florida on Friday, Les starting complaining of a sore throat.  By the time we landed he was coughing and blowing his nose.  I felt great until Monday afternoon.  While his has been in his chest and throat, mine has mostly been sinuses.

A quick Google search on "exercising when sick" brought up over 24 million results!  The most common is the "above the neck" rule.  "If your symptoms are above the neck, including a sore throat, nasal congestion, sneezing, and tearing eyes, then it's OK to exercise. If your symptoms are below the neck, such as coughing, body aches, fever, and fatigue, then it's time to hang up the running shoes until these symptoms subside."  (WebMD)  Most of my symptoms have been above the neck, but I haven't slept much the past couple of nights, so I've taken the past two days off.  I'm just taking it day by day.

Of course there's a lot more to it than that.  The same article from WebMD says that fever is the limiting factor.  "The danger is exercising and raising your body temperature internally if you already have a fever, because that can make you even sicker."  The article doesn't address stomach flu,but unless your neighborhood is lined with port-a-potties, it's probably not a good idea to head out for a run!

I have a couple more of my own "rules" - "How did you sleep last night?"  If you spent half the night getting up to blow your nose or cough, a little extra rest is what your body needs.  "Do you just feel crummy, no energy, dizzy?"  Go back to bed!  I don't have a gym membership, but if you do, don't go when you're still coughing and sneezing.  Nobody wants your germs!

As you get close to feeling like yourself again, don't go full out.  You're setting yourself up for a relapse (been there, done that.)  Go out and walk a little to see how you feel.  Run half a mile and see if you're back to coughing and feeling terrible.  Don't push yourself!  It's not worth it.  Let the sickness run its course.  You won't lose all your fitness.  Do you really want pneumonia?  (Done that, too!)

Source

I think the bottom line is just as there were over 24 million results on my search you are unique.  Listen to your body.  And don't feel guilty for taking care of it!

Have you been sick yet this season?  Do you soldier on or take extra rest days?