November 12: Tips for getting over winter colds and the flu
My wife has had a miserable cold over the last few days and as I nurse her back to health I thought I might share some cold and flu tips that I have come across recently.
(If you have tips for fighting colds and flu’s please tell us by commenting on this article.)
The very first thing you can do to help stave off winter colds and flues is to eat a healthy diet which includes lots of fruits and vegetables.
You can add a supplement to your diet and I recently read that Omega-3 is a better choice for the immune system than vitamin c and Echinacea but I’m not a doctor so you may want to research this one a bit more on your own. I take vitamin c and Omega-3.
Prevention of the cold and flu is probably the most important thing you can do. Hand washing especially after being in public places like grocery stores and schools is a must.
Try not to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze and cough. Believe it or not you are just doing more harm than good buy covering your hands with all those germs and spreading them around the room. Yuck!
Fresh air helps rid your body of airborne viruses and drinking water, about eight 8 ounce glasses a day is a must.
You could get a flu shot although some prefer not to. I just had one last week and was my first since 2005 and I have not had the flu since before that. My wife and kids had flu shots last year and they all came down with it.
Finally (vegetarians must turn away for this paragraph), chicken soup for when you are sick. This works and I recently read an excellent post on how to make a fantastic chicken soup when you feel miserable. Here’s an excerpt of the article which you can read at Lifehacker.com.
“Simmer until the veggies are soft enough to chew but not too soft they turn to mush. When you can stab your potatoes with a fork and they are just flaky enough to crack apart, you’re done. Turn off the stove. Set the table. And eat directly from the pot with a big, big spoon. Don’t stop until you finish the entire pot. Colds hate a full belly.”
Do you have some tips to share with your fellow Jellyheads? Please leave them here.
Tags: cold, Echinacea, green, health, healthy, Omega-3, sick, the flu, vitamin c, winter
Posted in Uncategorized
Ursula
Your article was pretty good, but I for one would love for people to please cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough! Tissue is not always available and it can get gross leaving something behind (even if it’s not seen) is disgusting because you are passing it back to yourself and probably touching things that others will come in contact with so my advice is this: The next time you have to sneeze or cough, bring your arm up and sneeze/cough in the crease of your elbow. If you just sneeze or cough in the open, millions of droplets that can contain the virus spread through the air and others breathe it in-that is how we get sick. Another good thing for you to have with you and use often is hand sanitizer. Have you ever really wondered who and what touched the bar of the shopping cart before you used it? Please remember to soak your toothbrush (about 30-60 seconds) in Listerine and then rinse under running water after every use while you are sick and when you are completely over a cold or Flu, buy a new toothbrush. Get the Flu shot-every year. Remember a Flu shot does NOT contain the live virus and therefore cannot give you the Flu.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:58 pmGigi
You may not want to cover your nose with your hands but when you no tissue and you need to sneeze then sneeze into the crook of your elbow.
November 13th, 2008 at 7:26 amMark
Good tips. The fresh air is very important, especially if your heating with wood as may of us do in the North east. Burning wood dries out the air and i think that lowers your immune system.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:18 amLaura
Something my Chiropractor suggested, and I find helps, is when your sinuses feel congested put a cold compress with a wet cloth between it and your skin over your sinuses for 15 minutes. It shocks your body into responding with more of your natural defences. Just make sure that the cloth is wet, it transfers the cold better and the moisture helps the membranes in your nose and sinuses.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:32 am