Yesterday evening i felt the onset of a small cold. Sneezing, bit runny nose and generally a bit more tired than usual. As pr usual i made some hot tea to drink, and made sure to stay warm. But though the night it got worse in the manner i could not fall a sleep. Luckily the worst was handled during the night of torture, but i decided to make a quick collection article about common cold remedies that could prove usefull.
Exercise
This one is my own. I had a set goal of running my daily route this morning to get an early start. Even though i was still fighting my cold and mostly felt like staying under the covers i pushed myself into some running clothes, put on an extra shirt and hooked up the iPod (and my Nike+). Out the door!
After the run i felt great, and didnt notice my cold that much except the runny nose. Really helped me to feel energized. So some exercise is at least not bad. Also exercising regularly helps prevent getting sick according to all i have read.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is important, and helps combat the cold. Get an extra dose if you start getting cold symptons. Make sure to not only take pills, but actually get the vitamins naturally. Orange Juice should give you a good healthy dose.
Hot Shower/Bath
Taking a hot shower, or bath, will help relieve the symptoms. The steam helps clear up the airways and thin out mucus. Also while you are getting refreshed try getting your airway as clear as possible by blowing your nose thouroughly. A common way to relieve symptons is also to hold your head over a warm bowl of water with a tower over your head to simulate a small steam cabin.
Stay well hydrated
Drink lots of fluids. I personally prefer to drink warm fluids like tea when i have a cold. Mainly because the varm liquid helps relieve a soar throat. Also its simply cozy to cudde up on the sofa, with a blanket, a movie and a nice hot cup of tea! But in general stay extre well hydrated when fighting a cold.
Get some sleep!
Relax and get some sleep. Your body needs the energi to combat the cold infection. So one of the easiest ways to get over a cold fast is to cuddle up under a warm blanket/cover and sleep it out! This might contradict advice number one about excersise. But 10 minutes out running getting your system going isnt alot, but suffecient to both get your body going out of the groggy state associated with illness, but also provies you with a nice mental note that you acheived something despite of the illness. Reward ourself with a day relaxing afterwards 🙂
All the above mentioned remedies and tips are from various articles i have found and read. A cold consists of a strain of the rhino virus. There are alot of different strains and your body will get imune to a certain strain after you have fought it off. Normally this takes 2-7 days to do and medical attention should not be needed. Nasal sprays could help in some cases though.
Stay healthy!
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