9 Natural Ways to Survive Cold Season
With winter and holiday cheer comes cold season. The first step in surviving cold season is to try and prevent even getting sick. Make sure you wash your hands, take your vitamins and avoid coming in contact with those who are sick. However, should you be unable to avoid sickness, here are some natural ways help you get through the coughing, sneezing and runny nose.
1. Gargle with Salt Water: should you feel a sore throat coming on, gargle with salt water. You should continue to do this throughout your cold. Gargling salt water will pull the viral fluids away from your throat and allow you to dispell of them.
2. Honey and Lemon: use a mixture of warmed up honey and lemon to ease a sore throat. It can also work as a cough suppressant and is a great alternative to cough medicine. Opt for the purest honey you can find and freshly squeezed lemon juice. However, if you don't have either of those on hand, regular honey and bottled lemon juice will do the trick.
3. Eat Garlic: garlic is packed with minerals, enzymes, vitamin C, tons of other great things which will all help you beat a cold, so add a little extra to your meals this season. If you aren't a fan garlic, consider using minced garlic in soup, stir-fry or casseroles to get that immune boost.
4. Sleep: there's a reason you get tired when you're sick. Your body is working in overdrive to fight off the nastiness and you have to help it by getting ample sleep. Use a light blocking sleep mask to help you sleep at any time of the day during your sickness.
5. Vitamin D: make sure you take your vitamin D during cold season. In the US winter is colder and darker than any other time of the year, so your body is lacking on Vitamin D. Those with lower levels of Vitamin D in their system are more likely to get sick.
6. Essential Oils: essential oils can do wonders for someone with congestion during a cold. You can add them to a diffuser, or a hot bath. There are even some you can apply to the skin. Scents to look for during cold season are Frankincense, Oregano, Eucalyptus, Lemon and Lavender among others.
7. Check Your Pillow: getting a new pillow won't suddenly cure your sickness, but it could be causing you to have congestion and itchy eyes. Pillows can be filled with dust mites, sweat, and dead skin that can make allergies and sickness worse. Consider switching to a natural hull filled pillow during the winter. Natural hull filled pillows are more hypoallergenic and far more breathable, meaning they don't trap the same debris as quickly.
8. Drink Fluids: when you're sick it's very important to stay hydrated. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water in addition to your herbal tea. Sometimes we drink so much tea that we forget to drink regular water, but it's important for our bodies!
9. Warm Up: when you have a cold you can get chilly easily, and sometimes it feels like nothing will warm you up. Using Hot & Cold Therapy items can warm you up and also give you some relief to chest congestion if placed on the chest.
Follow these steps and you'll make it through cold season, even if it doesn't feel like it now!