How to Muddle Through Colds

Make sure to drink plenty of water and to aim for a tall glass every couple hours. In addition to water, teas and broth are good too. Of course,  nothing can undo hydration efforts like coffee and alcohol. So avoid these dehydrating beverages while you are sick, or at least cut back on the intake.

For that stuffy nose, draw a hot, steamy shower to get air into the sinuses to open the passages and promotes drainage. Gather a handful of shower water and put it up to your nose and kind of snuffle the steam up your nose that way. Once the air goes in, gently blow one nostril at a time to help drainage. An abbreviated option of you do not feel like showering is to run hot water in the sink.

Add an extra pillow to help raise your head higher to breath better. This promotes sinus drainage down the back of your throat and will open up your nasal passages a little bit.

This is a good symptom management tool. While the products at the drugstore will not shorten the length of your cold or even kill the virus, the will thought help nullify the symptoms. Cough and cold medications can bring a great deal of relief. Adding that antihistamines may help watery-eyed, sneezing cold sufferers. Saline nasal solutions may help folks with dry noses. And ibuprofen and acetaminophen may help subdue body aches and slight fevers.

Not only is sipping on tea a tasty way to hydrate, but it can bring some calming relief to a scratchy throat. In this case honey will be your best friend.  Put in some honey to coat your throat and to help sooth it so does not hurt.

This may seem like a slightly less delicious way to relieve a sore throat but gargling with salt and warm water may be what finally puts out that fire.

Just like taking a steamy shower and drinking hot tea has its benefits, so does eating chicken soup. Chicken noodle soup offers that much needed hydration, and it offers some nice, gentle, easily digestible nourishment.

We all have been there. That runny nose when it’s cold outside and the opening of the nostrils getting chapped and uncomfortable. An affordable way to resolve this is by rubbing petroleum jelly on the effected area. 

When we are sick, we often feel a bit more fatigued. Give into it! Now is the time to rest as much as you can. Go to bed earlier and take it easy.

This advice is a bit tricky. If you are capable of some exercise, then go for it. You should not be training for the Olympics of course. I am talking just 30 minutes of gentle exercise. This may seem hard when you are sick, but it does actually help and you will feel good having done it. If you are one to max out your workout everyday, you will want to cut back on your routine while you are sick. Do not lift as much, do not run as fast and maybe sub a yoga class for a workout.

No one wants your sickness spread to them and you certainly do not want to pick up another person’s illness on top of what you already got. So make sure to always cover your cough and sneezes, sanitize germy spots and wash your hands often.

Since the common cold is caused by a virus and antibiotics treat bacterial infections, antibiotics will not work. So no matter how much grossly green discharge is coming from your nose, do not go to your doctors or healthcare provider to ask for a antibiotic.

If you are taking all this stuff, you are just making expensive urine. I would not recommend you spend money on that kind of stuff. Stick to the teas and over-the-counter symptom relief medicines. Also stock up on the nasal salines and a humidifier and work.