How to Naturally Fight a Cold

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This year in Wisconsin the Winter seems to be endless.  The flu, colds, and a variety of weird viruses have gone around my office about 2 dozen times already and I'm beginning to wonder if there is an end in sight.

It's March and I haven't gotten sick yet...oh my god I'm knocking on wood so hard right now. 

Okay, well, I did start to get sick a couple of months ago, but I fought it off for a day and the next I was better. Oh and I didn't get sick last year either.

I should also mention that I SHARE a CUBICLE with a lovely, but perpetually sick co-worker AND the microwave/fridge so my desk is the social area for EVERYONE (I know, I live such a glamorous life).

Want to know how I managed that?

Good, because I'm going to tell you. But first I want to mention that I am not a health professional so you probably shouldn't base your whole life on what I tell you to do (or any of your life...whatever). I'm just a girl that studied biology, reads too much, and hasn't been sick in two years. Okay, here we go!

1. Yell at your co-worker for getting you sick then go home and rest as soon as possible. 

The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to pay attention to your body and take care of it as soon as you feel anything funny. I have a very high pain/sick symptoms tolerance so I used to wait out colds until I was practically dead before I even considered missing work or taking care of myself. These days I go home as soon as possible and if necessary I stay home the first day I'm feeling badly to rest and take care of myself. When I've done this I have always gotten better and didn't need to miss any more work or spend my days in the office being completely unproductive. I'm not going to pretend this is a fool-proof method. I mean, you could have some monster virus that's going to knock you out for a month and then you'll be really mad at me for telling you to miss that first day. 

I'm just saying, if you feel a little funny, don't wait to do something about it. Also, sleep is glorious.

2. Mucus is disgusting - salt water is your friend, dairy is not.

Bryce still thinks I'm crazy every time I gargle with salt water, but gosh dang it it works! It has been proven to loosen mucus and remove bacteria so start gargling ASAP to lessen the chances of your cold getting worse.  Also, neti pots are great for clearing out your clogged sinuses.

Dairy increases the mucus in your body so avoid the milk and cheese for a bit.

3. Hydrate like crazy.

Right after I gargle I like to drink a cup of tea with honey and lemon to soothe my throat after I clean it out. Tastes yummy too.

Make sure you are drinking lots of fluids and keeping yourself hydrated.

4. Find Boiron products for cold or flu - they are incredible.

My first experience with Oscillococcinum came in high school when I got the achy shaky flu. Holy crap, that stuff is amazing and I got over the flu faster than I thought was ever possible.

Meet my new best friend from Boiron, Coldcalm.  You have to take 2 pills, every 15 minutes for 2 hours and then just 2 more pills every 2 hours after that (until you feel better) which seems completely excessive until you wake up the next day and forget that you had a cold the night before.

5. Try to take care of yourself all of the time.

Do the usual wash your hands and stay away from sick people thing, but also make sure that you are eating well and resting during this awful time of year. And by eating well I mean eat your vegetables. Lots of them. Dark leafy green raw or steamed vegetables. Make some veggie juices or smoothies if you are sick of chewing.

6. Go back to work and threaten to murder your co-worker if she gets you sick again.

But only if you're friends! Please don't get fired because I'm such a sarcastic brat.