Cold and flu season is here and it’s time to get serious about prevention. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting your flu shot, but what if you come down with the flu? Home remedies can help you to feel better faster and reduce the duration of your illness.
Cold and flu symptoms can be uncomfortable, but you don’t have to spend time in bed with a cold or flu. There are plenty of ways to treat common cold symptoms at home. You may not feel like eating much when you have the flu, but it’s important to keep your strength up.
If you develop a cold or the flu, try these home remedies:
- Drink plenty of fluids. This will help prevent dehydration and help loosen mucus in your lungs so it can be coughed up more easily. Avoid alcohol and caffeine while sick; they can dehydrate you further and make you feel worse.
- Stay warm. Colds are more common during winter months when people spend more time indoors, so keeping warm may help reduce the severity of symptoms. If you’re feeling chilled or experience chills when your temperature rises slightly, put on an extra sweater or blanket over your clothing or under a comforter to keep warm at night. Don’t go outside if it’s too cold without dressing warmly first — this will only make things worse by making you colder!
- Ease congestion with steam from a hot shower or humidifier (if your doctor recommends it).
- Rest up. Rest is another important aspect of home remedies for colds and flus because being overly active will only increase your fever and make you feel worse than ever. Resting helps the infection move through your body faster so that you can hopefully return to normal activity sooner than later. You should also take naps during this time if possible as sleep will help to boost your immune system as well as give it a break from fighting off infection so that it can focus on healing.
- Try IV therapy: Many medical centres that provide IV therapy services work with healthcare professionals to understand what vitamins and minerals people need for different issues and create customised packages for them. For example, Tulsa mobile IV therapy has IV fluids that treat flu, headaches, hangovers, etc. Most IV therapy centres have mobile services, meaning RNs provide in-home visits which makes it convenient if you’re unable to drive yourself to clinics.
