Raw, aching throat? Check.
Sniffles? Check.
Pounding sinus headache? Check.
Winter colds are no fun at all, and for most of us they seem to come around like clockwork this time of year. Just last week, I was merrily going about my Thursday, when all of a sudden during the afternoon, I began to notice the right side of my throat was slightly sore.
Oh no, and so it begins, I thought to myself.
And begin it did. By the time I woke up the next morning, I was sneezing uncontrollably, could barely breathe through my nose, and had one heck of a sore throat.
After calling into work sick, I began my newest regimen for stopping a cold in its tracks. Cold and flu tablets may help reduce a fever or break up mucus (ew!), but honestly, in my totally not professional opinion, the absolute number one trick to stopping a cold in its tracks is ridiculously easy:
Drink a ton of water!
Seriously. H2O is your best friend when you start to feel the inklings of a cold coming on.
Sure, it may mean you’ll take more visits to the bathroom than you otherwise would, but you’ll thank yourself the next day when that would-be cold is retreating into the shadows.
If you get tired of plain water, herbal tea, like Tazo’s Wild Sweet Orange, is a fantastic alternative.
Maybe I’m the only one who never really took mom seriously when she said to hydrate when you get sick, but I seriously doubted how effective lots of water would be at staving off a cold.
Tell me, what are your top strategies for stopping a cold in its tracks?
Until next time,
xoxo Charlotte
I mix a vitamin C packet (like the Target brand, airborne, emergen-c) with orange juice and drink! It does WONDERS.
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Ooh, I hadn’t thought of mixing one of those vitamin packets with OJ!!! That does sound really amazing!!!
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I love the raspberry Walgreens brand ones that are fizzy! Definitely super helpful.
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I drink plenty of water and eat fruits and veggies. Its improtant to eat clean. If you are fighting a cold last thing you need is to eat awhole bunch of junk food that your body will need to work harder to digest. 🙂
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That is definitely a great point! Diet is an important part of staying healthy and of getting well once you’re sick. Whenever I have a cold, I make sure not just to eat healthy, but to also avoid really spicy or abrasive foods that may hurt my throat even more.
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Well, back when I was a drinker, I’d take a day off the wine and get a good night’s sleep. I’d wake up the next day on the upswing. I don’t think I’ve gotten sick in the 13 months since I quit drinking. There seems to be some connection (at least for me) between alcohol and colds. 😉 BTW – I just discovered Wild Sweet Orange. Good stuff!
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It’s amazing how much of a difference taking care of ourselves makes on things like getting sick. I know that since I began taking a daily multivitamin religiously, I’ve been a lot less prone to sickness, in addition to having better hair and skin.
And yes, Wild Sweet Orange is the best!!!
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I’ve always found that having a bloody good moan about it always helps. Failing that, chain-drinking tea.
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That is a brilliant approach! I did a fair bit of moaning at my husband during my recent cold.
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[…] enough, when I woke up on Friday morning, as I was telling you guys in my how-to-stop-a-cold-in-its-track post, I could barely breathe and had the absolute worst sore throat. So, I called into work sick and […]
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Zicam! And lots of tea!!
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I’ve yet to try Zicam! Is it like Mucinex?
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No, it’s for when you just feel the cold coming on. It’s supposed to shorten or even completely stop a cold 👍
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I am totally going to have to try this!!!
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I swear by it!!!
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Oh, and my mom just made me “the cure”. It’s supposed to stop that scratchy feeling in your throat that you get when you start feeling sick. It contains Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, oregano oil, cayenne pepper, and fresh lemon juice. It’s NASTY, but it really does help!!
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Ok that sounds *disgusting*, but if you only have to drink a sip, it just might be worth it! Or are you supposed to drink a whole glass?
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2 T. I put mine in a shot glass and knock it back in one shot 😬
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Are you allowed to chase that with a real shot?
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Haha alcohol kills shit. Why not?! 😂😂😜😜
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I moan because I’m a man and we have it much worse, so the stereotype goes 😉 But seriously, I tend to hit the hot lemon drinks and wrap up warm, often to the point of sweating. I’ve heard sweating viruses out is the way to go. It meets with varied levels of success though I find. I do believe I will try the trick of hydrating regularly next time though
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I’ve heard that wisdom as well. I recall a phrase from my childhood that was something to the effect of “feed a fever, starve a cold.” Meaning, I presume, that one is to encourage a fever by sweating it out, but try to restrict a cold?
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