Sick Days

I heard on the radio yesterday that this weekend/week is the most common time of the entire year to get sick. The theory is that for the past couple of weeks we’ve all been so busy with Christmas and New Years that this is the first time we have all ‘relaxed’ and so our bodies are now ‘feeling it’.  Well I don’t know about all of you, but I found myself on the sick end of that statistic this weekend.  Nothing major, just a cold (runny nose and sneezing) but was definitely tempting to medicate myself through the symptoms.  While a lot of people might choose to take Nyquil or some other type of medication when they get sick I try to go natural, but when it’s 2am and I can’t sleep because I’m congested I start to not care about being healthy as much and just want to breath normal again (It’s times like these that make me appreciate the small things in life… like being able to just breath normal haha).  For those that also would like to attempt the more natural, home-remedy path here are some of the things I found to be really helpful.

·         Get adjusted. As a chiropractor I know how getting my neck adjusted can help with drain fluid and there are various other techniques to help drain sinuses and unclog hears.  Also, getting adjusted can help heighten your immune system to help fight off the cold quicker.

·         Increase the supplements, specifically zinc, vitamin C and vitamin D can help increase your immune system so you get better sooner.

·         Lots of hot tea. I find that the steam helps with the congestion and warmth feels good on my throat. In addition, a lot of teas have herbal properties that can help with colds (such as lemon and ginseng).

·         Replace peppermints for cough drops (peppermint is a natural cough suppressant, you can take as many as you’d like, it’s cheaper, and your breath will smell much then after a cough drop).

·         Get lots of sleep. This can be hard when you have a cold, since laying down can make it hard to breath or you keep waking up to blow your  nose, but when we sleep is the time when we’re able to heal.

What other things have you heard of that can help when you’re sick?