-Lena

Your point about sleep is well taken. Sleep! Sometimes we get sick just to force us to sleep.

Glad you’re feeling better. You get the October Self-Care Award! Cheryl

As someone who just got over a three-week knock-down-drag-out fight with the flu combined with pink-eye and tonsillitis, I can say this is sound advice.

I would add that you can gargle with very warm, salt water AND a dash of plain or apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is better, but whichever you have is fine don’t get hung up on the details. Also, its important to gargle often. Doing it once doesn’t cut it. Try 3-4 times per day.

Also, those HOT showers help a lot! I know, people say that hot showers dry out your skin. Yeah, yeah. You aren’t taking hot showers forever so it won’t hurt to really get the steam going. When I was sick, one of the only things that made me feel better was taking a hot shower. And, if you feel guilty about the environment, it’s OK to make a donation to offset your carbon impact. I realize that we all can’t pay our way to a healthy planet, but keep in mind our planet needs WELL people to help it heal.

If you don’t have a humidifier, you can keep a bowl of water in your bedroom. Feel free to add essential oils like lavender or peppermint. Refresh the water every other day. It’s not the same as a humidifier, but it beats nothing.

As for a stuffy nose I have a last resort home remedy that works like a charm. Put some slightly warm water (not warm like for gargling) in a cup and add a pinch of salt (not a lot) and stir to dissolve. Take this cup to the bathroom and put your head over the sink. Put a little of the salt water in the palm of your hand and sniff up your nose. You can do one nostril at a time if you want, but I like to do both to get it over with. It will feel like you’re drowning. The salt water will come out of your mouth (hey, it has to come out somewhere). And, if you’ve been blowing your nose a lot, it might sting a touch (it’s not too bad, I’m not into pain), but if you’re sick of breathing with your mouth open so much so that your mouth is bone dry and if you’d finally like to get a good night’s sleep, then you’ll do it. It takes about 30 seconds and you’ll get relief all night/day. Guaranteed.

Oh, and be prepared with plenty of tissue to blow your nose afterward because everything loosens and comes out straight away.

If you have a neti pot, it makes nasal washing that much easier.

And, lastly, sleep your life away! Well not really, but really. It’s OK to sleep all day. Remember when we sleep our body repairs itself. So, the more sleeping, the more repairing!