Tips for dealing with the Worst Cold Ever!

I have a cold, but it is the worst cold ever and it floored me. Yes, a common cold has wiped me out! After 18 months of not mixing my immune system, has forgotten how to deal with a cold. The antibodies I might once have had against it have all gone and I need to develop new ones.

Add that to the fact that I live with a chronic illness and this has been a horrific time. I have not felt under the weather for as long as I can remember. The mixture of headache, congestion and cough is exhausting and as a parent, I can not just go to bed and rest until it has run its course. So I have been researching tips to help deal with it.

Tips for dealing with the Worst Cold Ever!

• Rest – The top tip would be rest and this is the one I received from everyone. Rest and sleep as much as you can to allow your body to recover. It can be hard to sleep when you are so conjected so try sleeping more upright.
• Fluid, keep drinking not only will this keep you hydratrated it will help any headache you have. Try hot water with lemon, honey and ginger which will help sooth your throat and also peppermint tea is great too. I also love hot lemonade and people wear by hot blackcurrent Notice a theme? Hot drinks are often gentler on the throat and help prevent coughing fits. Steer clear of milky drinks as they are mucas producing.
• Use a humidifyer – this was something we learned a long time ago. for those that don’t follow Maxi was born with a chest condition and we were recomended a humidyfier for then it as partifularly bad. It is a godsend when you have a cold as it keeps the air moist and helps you breath easier.
• Inhaulation – Saline nasal sprays and steaming are a great way to reduce conjestion without medication or in addition to it.
• Pain Relief – there is a miriad of pain relif and flu and cold mediation outhere. Just make sure that you don’t take too much or mix them.
• Head Cool Strips – The cooling effect lasts for around eight hours, the strips need no refrigeration,  the strips contains no medication and are fragrance free, which is key as I used to feel sick with scented things when I had a migraine and Maxi hates things with a scent.
• Elderberry Syrup – I introduced this to the boys when they were four years old and I swear by it over the winter period for providing them with a top up of vitamin C and antioxidants.
• Vitamin D – We barely get enough sun in the summer, so there is no doubt that we certainly do not get enough in the autumn and winter.
• Manuka Honey – honey is great for soothing sore throats and add it to some hot water with lemon for a great pick me up too.
• Probiotics – When we had a bout of illness last winter.  My friend Louise, who is a nutritionist suggested a course of probiotics for us all.  She was right and they gave our immune systems a boost.

Tips for Managing at Home when you have a cold.

Again the biggest tip here would be to drop the mum guilt. We need to not feel guilty about letting standards slip whilst we focus on recovering.

Forget the TV Time Limits – Don’t feel bad about your kids watching too much TV- desperate times call for desperate measures. If your kids are content laying down and watching Frozen four times in a row, watch it with them! You may even get to close your eyes for a few minutes and even if you don’t, you will be laying and resting; which is THE best thing for you and them.

Fed is Best – Yes in an ideal world we would have a freezer full of healthy nutritious meals for when we fall ill, but that isn’t always the reality. There is nothing wrong with a few takeaway meals or convenience food for the family. Yes homemade chicken soup might b best, but shop-bought is great and a lot less energy until you are better

Ask for Help – This is one of the hardest things for me and links with the whole mum guilt thing, but I have learned to just get over myself and ask for help. That might mean getting the kids to school or asking my husband to step in or even ask the kids to step up more

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