You know the feeling: the annoying buzz of the alarm feels like its pounding away at your head even more so than any other day, your throat feels like you’ve swallowed a galactic fireball and school feels like the last thing you want to think about. We’ve all woken up with the common cold, but while some of us choose to tough it out for a few days before collapsing in third period, that is far from the best thing to do. Trident decided to search and sieze the top ways to get you up and running and beat that pesky “bah-hummbug” feeling as soon as possible.
When you wake up with that not-quite right feeling, immediately put a pot of water to boil. Once it reaches a hot temperature place the towel over your head and breath in the steam for a couple of minutes. In contrast, you can also jump into a hot shower ”The heat zaps any nasty cold bugs still lingering in your nose, before they make it any further. The moisture prevents irritation, clears nasal passages, and breaks up any mucus that may be starting to form” says infectious disease specialist Dr. Shoham.
Keep yourself hydrated. Though you hear that about two hundred times a day from your doctor to your football coach, it is crucial when you feel like you’re getting sick. Drink lots of tea, water and healthy fruit juices throughout the day, the liquids will help your body clean itself from the virus.
Echinacea and zinc are some popular natural remedies to take during a common cold to ward off the virus, but according to Shoham “vitamin C may help ward off some viral infections, but once the infection has set in, then it probably doesn’t have a role in making things better.” Shoham suggests that mom’s good old fashioned chicken soup is the way to go. It has a similar effect as drinking lots of liquids by cleansing your body and making sure things do not get blocked up.
Avoid dairy foods. Dairy tends to stimulate the production of mucus, which is the opposite of what you want when you have a cold. High fructose and fatty foods are also a good idea to avoid since they will most likely leave you feeling even more lethargic because they take a lot of energy to digest.
When you are sick, your body needs all of the rest in can get. So set up that TiVo and snuggle up with an extra cozy blanket and tune in a couple hours early. Take these simple tips and you are sure to be feeling better in no time!
