Why athletes can stay competitive with colds, but not the flu

Almost every competitive athlete has had to compete while sick. Runny nose, watery eyes, chills and fever — these symptoms rarely matter; few athletes will miss out, especially for a big event. But as many have learned with dismay, you can perform well for a short time with a cold, but you’re never competitive if you have the flu.

In fact, a top U.S. ski team racer once told me that if she’s sick with a bad cold she’ll still race. But if she has the flu, she doesn’t even bother to show up. The reason is the nature of each virus. A cold usually hits respiratory tissues like the nose and throat. But the flu goes all the way down to the cells.

Colds and the flu are viruses, but they are totally different. Their results bear this out. A cold may make you miserable, but the flu can be fatal. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates the U.S. death toll from the flu to be more than 36,000 annually. Stats for the deadly 1918 flu pandemic are estimated that almost 50 million people died, including nearly 700,000 Americans. In fact, the flu is historically humanity’s most lethal disease; it’s killed more people than bubonic plague.

The symptoms of a cold occur because the body’s immune system sends out white blood cells to attack the invading virus. If you’ve never had that strain before, the fight between the immune system and the cold virus creates a lot of mucus, and the affected tissues become painfully inflamed.

But the flu gets inside human cells, even though cells have a protective membrane that keeps most invaders out. The microscopic flu virus is covered with proteins that act like keys to open the cell’s receptors, thus allowing the virus to enter. The viral terrorist then migrates to the cell’s nucleus, which contains the genetic stuff used to duplicate the cell. The flu virus releases its own genetic material, which then takes over the nucleus. In turn, the cell is then tricked into duplicating flu viruses instead of copies of the cell.

The attack on cells by the flu virus is quick and overwhelming. You can be fine at nine, and immobilized by noon. The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that the flu is more deadly than Ebola, even though Ebola is much more fatal, killing 90 percent of its victims. But Ebola is only spread by direct contact with an infected victim’s blood, saliva or other bodily fluids. The flu is much more contagious, and droplets from flu-caused coughs and sneezes are light enough to stay aloft in the air for a long time, and also spread unbelievably far. Worse, someone coming down with flu will be contagious for at least a day before showing any symptoms, and stays contagious for nearly a week.

When normal cells are busy churning out copies of the flu virus instead of copies of themselves, there are fewer healthy cells to provide the energy needed for athletic activity. In addition, much of the body’s overall cellular energy is being consumed by the virus. That causes weakness all the way to the cell level, making it impossible for the body to produce its normal level of athletic energy. That’s why you can often compete and succeed with a cold, but with the flu, you’ll always do poorly.

The biggest problem is that cold and flu symptoms often overlap, so it's often hard to know whether you've got the influenza virus or a bad cold. A very good comparison chart by the medical site WebMD can help you evaluate which virus you have; cold or influenza (http://symptoms.webmd.com/cold-and-flu-map-tool/difference-cold-or-flu).

The other bad news is that residual weakness from the flu can last for a month or more. All of this information suggests one important point: get your flu shot right away so you won’t mess up your season.

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Wina Sturgeon is the editor of the online magazine Adventure Sports Weekly

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