Recently, I came down with a cold as the change in weather swept over New England. I have a history of having an absolutely horrible immune system. Ever since I was little when I get a cold, it lasts for two weeks minimum and it just totally stinks. That being said, I have perfected the art of treating my colds and also trying to not let it bring me down. Now I am in no way, shape, or form in any field of medicine so my necessities for when I want to feel better are all my own opinion and based off my experiences. With that being said, here are my must-haves for getting better, and feeling better.
1) Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom, night time
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Okay right off the bat I should let you all know I stopped taking daytime medicine years ago. There is no rhyme or reason to why it happens, but I always get bad reactions to daytime medicine so I thought it would be better to just cut it out completely. Also, it kinda freaks me out driving while on that stuff no matter what the ingredients are. During the day if I need anything I will have cough drops. If I am lucky enough to have a day off while sick, I will take the nighttime stuff and try to sleep off the cold. Recently I read that suppressing the fever ends up prolonging the cold, so I basically only take medicine for half the cold hoping the fever would break during the day. Now I have tried a lot of cold medicine in my time, and this is hands down my favorite. Other brands are good, but I found that this one is the most effective for me, without side effects that I found other medicines have given me. Personally this one cleared my stuffy nose better than any other brand.
2) Emergen-C, super orange
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This stuff is GREAT! I started taking this after seeing all the commercials about a year ago. Now every time I feel a cold coming on, or everyone around me is sick, I start taking this right away. I found it actually helps the cold go away, but it also makes me feel better. It gives you energy that is much needed when you are groggy from cold medicine or just need a pick me up. I have tried the super orange and raspberry flavor and super orange is the way to go. Raspberry tasted way too much like medicine for my liking and barely got through five packets of it. Sick or not, it is a great item to have on a regular basis.
3) Peppermint Tea
This tea is great, the peppermint clears up stuffy noses and helps you breathe. The brand does not matter, just make sure it is peppermint. I would drink some tea whenever I was feeling overly stuffy and did not want to take something. It really helps with congestion and warm tea always makes you feel a little better.
4) Clay Mask
Okay, so this is pure vanity, but sometimes when you are sick, you look sick. I know that when I get a cold my skin tends to get a little more oily and I breakout. Doing this mask once or twice during my cold and it made me feel better. It dried out my skin and also cooled down my face which is a plus when you are running a fever. Feeling like my skin was not totally disgusting helped me not be as pissed that I was sick. Also I told myself that by cleaning out my pores I was also getting the cold out of my body. A little mind over matter if you will.
5) Sleep and Relax
Yes I know this is a huge "duh", but sometimes when you are sick you push it more than you should. I pretty much became a hermit and did not see my friends for awhile because I know I would be out late and that would not make me feel any better. When I had to work while sick I would still try as hard as I could, but when I did not feel well I did not push it. If you have a job that is understanding, take a break every now and then. You will not be doing any one any favors by pushing yourself and becoming more sick. When I had a day off I pretty much slept all day, as lazy as that sounds it was necessary. Luckily my cold only lasted a week for once and I think it had to do with all the steps I took and stuff I took. Hope this helps everyone :)
