Four Tips For Beating The Cold (When Chicken Soup Won't Do)

What's my best cold remedy?

The obvious answer to this question is “Mum’s Chicken Soup”, because, quite frankly, who doesn’t love an overflowing bowl of steaming chicken goodness?

That is, unless your mum is like mine and regularly manages to make two-minute noodles wrong. (Seriously, who forgets the flavouring?)

So while all my friends have their mothers caring for them when they’re feeling under the weather, I’m left to fend for myself. For those of you in similar situations, I hope I can impart a few words of wisdom.

Dealing With Snot

When your nose feels like it’s drowning in mucus, it’s important to clear your sinuses and keep yourself hydrated, because producing all that snot must require a lot of water. I have found that a cup of hot, non-caffeinated (if possible) tea works best to keep you hydrated and unblock the mucus clots. If you’ve also got a sore throat, add a teaspoon of honey to the tea to soothe your throat.

Headache Relief Through Efficient Nose-Blowing

Now that your nose and throat have been dealt with, it’s time to get rid of that flipping awful headache. If you’re not a fan of pain-relief tablets, I recommend lying down in a dark room and taking a nap. Yes, like a three year-old. The headache might also be caused by sniffing all that mucus up so please, for the sake of your beautiful brain, don’t do it! Blow your nose with pride! But learn to blow the right way: little and often. Do not avoid blowing your nose and then try to get everything out in one explosive effort; that’s like trying to do a whole assignment the night before it’s due. It never works out well for you.

Singing (Away) The Blues

Once the headache has disappeared for good, listen to jazz. It sounds crazy but I swear it helps. Belting out tunes as loud as I can with my raspy flu-addled voice is not only fun, but I’m pretty sure it either scares the germs away or, as studies by some fancy doctor have shown, it increases the production of an immune protein. Either way, it works.

Spice Up Your Life

Try to also incorporate garlic, cinnamon and cayenne pepper into your diet. Firstly, these make your food tasty which is always a great bonus. The garlic is surprisingly good at soothing sore throats and helps fight infections. Cinnamon and cayenne pepper are natural antibiotics and the strong cinnamon odour can sometimes help clear your nose as well.

Hopefully these tips help someone without easy access to chicken soup to overcome a nasty cold just a little bit quicker!

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