Help Yourself Recover from a Cold More Quickly

August 28th, 2008

Nobody ever really wants to get sick but unfortunately, even those who are careful and take precautions sometimes catch a bug. While flus and colds often don’t have any cure, there are ways that you can help make the time you suffer with them a little shorter, helping you feel healthier and get back to your life sooner rather than later. You may not even realize that you’ve been doing things that can prolong your illness instead of help it get better, so check out these cold shortening tips as we head into cold and flu season to help you prepare.

• Get some rest. This doesn’t mean to just do less than you normally do. It means actually rest. Give yourself some time off and stay in bed, sleep and stop trying to do so much. Easier said than done if you’re working, trying to wrangle a family or have schoolwork to get done, but if you want to get better faster its essential that you rest as much as possible.
• Stay moisturized. This means two things. First, you’ll need to take in lots of fluids. Your body will need them to stay healthy and fight off whatever is causing you to feel sick. Secondly, keep the air in your room humidified. Colds love dry air, so don’t give them an environment they can thrive in.
• Get your Vitamin C. Since the 1960’s when Jonas Salk, discoverer of the polio vaccine, began endorsing Vitamin C as a way to fight off colds, Americans have been taking it to stay healthy and fight off illness. Drink OJ, take supplements and give your immune system all the support it needs to shorten the life of your cold.
• Wash your hands. To avoid reinfecting yourself and getting others sick around you, it’s essential to wash your hands often when you have a cold. It can also be useful to get fresh sheets, change your toothbrush and disinfect things you might have coughed or sneezed on.

Unfortunately, there is no way to instantly rid your body of a cold or flu virus. Yet these simple things you can do at home can help cut a day or more off of the time you spend ailing with whatever bug you catch and that can make a big difference in how you feel and how quickly you can get back to your normal routine.