I guess I’m lucky that this doesn’t happen to me all the often. I probably come down with a cold about twice a year. But when I do, I want it gone, ASAP. Because, as lots of mamas know, we don’t get to take a day off. We must power through. Here are some tips to get the cold gone asap so you can be at your best, sooner!
Hot bath/shower
Many times when a cold really laches on, you can wake up feeling like someone beat you up while you were sleeping. Your neck hurts, your back hurts, lights are too bright, and it feels like you head might explode. Aside from wanting to wash off all traces of mucusy mess you may have gotten on you while blowing your nose, a hot shower will do wonders for relaxing your muscles and the pressure in your head.
Tons of water
You’re going to want to get this awful cold out of your system as soon as possible. Drinking water is a great way to boost your metabolism and get a jump start on your immune system. Drinking water will also keep you from becoming dehydrated which will help prevent nausea and headaches.
Detox tea
Drinking detox tea will run towards the same goal as drinking tons of water. You’re wanting to flush this nasty cold out of your system. Plus the humidity from the tea will help any dryness you have in your nasal area. Remember however that tea alone can dehydrate you so you’ll want to follow this up with water as well.
Local honey
I’ve been told that putting a local organic honey in your tea will help with allergy symptoms in that it will strengthen your immune system against local bacterias in the air. Hey, tastes great and worth a try!
Detox everything
Another great thing to do on a regular basis (but especially when you have a cold) is to do a body detox. Arbonne sells a detox and cooling gel that not only helps to rid your body of toxins but also aids in the reduction of water weight by speeding up your circulation. How great is that?! Plus it feels great when you put it on.
Baths in epsom salts are another natural way to detox the body.
Sleep sleep sleep
It’s not an unlucky coincidence that colds come when we haven’t gotten enough sleep. When we’re tired, we’re making our immune system work much harder to fight off the cold. Do your immune system a favor and get a few hours extra rest. You’ll probably need it anyway after that first rough night and your immune system will thank you!.
Gargle or snort salt water
This is something my mom ALWAYS told me to do whenever I had a cold growing up. And of course I was all, “Ew, no.” But once recently when I found myself desperately in need of air after suffering way too long with a cold, I took my mom’s advice. This one isn’t pretty, but it’ll make blowing your nose a whole lot easier and more effective afterwards. You know it’s worth it when you’re finally able to smell and taste again!
Vitamin C
Of course when we’re sick we immediately run to the dayquil/nyquil to try to ease the symptoms but what our body really needs are the vitamins that will help us help ourselves. Taking a fizz drink like airbornne or a vitamin C capsule are good ways to get a ton of vitamin C in your body. Also, take a look at this list of the top ten foods with vitamin C.
Echinacea
An immune boosting herbal supplement that comes in a capsule or tea! Yum!
Blow, don’t sniff
I think most people don’t have a problem with blowing their nose. Maybe I’m just weird but I HATE blowing my nose. I hate the gross sound, I hate that my nose gets raw, and I get very self conscious. But, as they say, out is better than in and that goes for snot too. If you’re like me don’t try to suck it up- or in- just blow your nose and get it out.
Exercise
As much as I know you don’t want to, even going for a walk will help get the blood moving enough to help boost and make all your internal systems work harder to get you healthy again. This also will boost your metabolism to help detox you faster.
Know any great tips for getting rid of a cold fast? Share them here in the comments and help a friend out!
Great post! Fingers crossed I won’t need to use any of these! haha If you exercise when you’re sick make sure it’s low intensity and only if your symptoms are neck up!
Thank you for sharing these tips! I’ll be saving it to Pinterest to keep for when those pesky winter colds start popping up!
My mom told me about a concoction my grandmother made for cough and cold: boil down several onions to the point they are pretty much a syrup. Take out any solids. Add enough honey to get it down your kid’s throat.
Mom says grandma never used store-bought cough syrup. However. my mom never made me this potion!
Great tips!! It makes me sad that cold and flu season is coming…
I appreciate all of these tips and “tricks” with two sons, I know we’ll be experiencing this eventually…I especially love the raw honey. 🙂
Yes to all of these! I hate being sick 🙁 Hoping I won’t have to deal with it again for a while!
These are great tips! Hopefully we won’t have any cold to use them on this year. (I know, wishful thinking!)
I always make hot lemonade….my husband does the salt water gargle thing and the neti pot and I just cant bring myself to do that yet. He says it helps, so I’ll take his word for it! 😉
Thanks for the helpful tips!
I have been just ‘sorta sick’ for a straight month now. It’s crazy! I’m ready to feel better. I’m definitely trying these!
Ah, I need this! I’ve felt horrible all week. I have done a lot of these on the list this week, there are a few I have not. My immune system really doesn’t like me, so it lies to pick up every germ it sees.
Great advice! I love natural alternatives for colds. I find that a lot of vitamin c and essential oils usually help me!
These are all great tips! I hate how many viruses go around this time of year!
In my corner of Jersey we have a VERY nasty cold bug going around. I’m on day NINE and even after following Drs orders it continues to hang in there. I was pleased to find a link to this post on Pinterest and have/will be adding most of these to the arsenal. I was disappointed, however, to find that the detox tea link goes nowhere. I am on an iPad but even after going out on Safari I get an about:blank page. Other than that great article!
Most ideas here I’ve tried and found true. Others are thoughts rolling around on that hamster wheel in my head for “next time”. Thanks for sharing. One of my pet peeves is when the kids or grandkids snuff. The thought of it is just gross to me. My suggestion for your nose (and I know it’s a plug – but well worth it), is Puffs Strong and Soft! I have allergies so I put up with a lot of……..drainage. I swear by my Puffs Strong and Soft. One time my hub went to pick up tissue for me, he got something else. The second time he had to take the other stuff back and exchange it. They make that much of a difference. Not the plain, they don’t hold up. Not the with lotion, they don’t absorb. Try them you might just like them. Good health to ya!
Mix one teaspoon Tumeric, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, a few slices of ginger, and honey to taste in a hot mug of water. Take twice a day! IT WORKS! Tumeric is a natural cure for many things that ail us.