Ten on Tuesday...

The topic this week is 10 things you do to care for yourself when you have cold.

I consider myself something of an authority on colds, as I would estimate I've spent between 1/3 to 1/2 of my life either suffering or recuperating from a cold.  And I'm not talking a dainty, sniffling into a lace hankie kind of a cold.  No, when I get a cold it's a major life-altering event... well, at least for the 5 - 7 days it's with me.

My face changes, my voice changes, I walk like Quasimodo and tend to communicate in low, guttural sounds.

So what do I do to take care of myself?

1. Medicate, medicate, MEDICATE.  I abhor Neo Citran, but it is one of the few things that guarantees me at least a few hours of sleep.

2.  Soup.  Chicken, noodles or rice, vegetables or not - can't eat enough soup.  I love homemade soup, but if I haven't had the foresight to freeze some then I'll take anything.

3.  Rest.  Usually easier said than done, but I try really hard to carve out some quiet, sitting still time.  I have a hard time napping during the day, but I think that just sitting is an acceptable substitute.  When I feel really crappy I don't even knit (shocked gasps!!), I just sit.

4.  Kleenex.  LOTS of it, at several key spots throughout the house.  

5.  Garbage bags accompanying said Kleenex boxes.  I still remember my brother, who gets colds like I do, leaving piles of used Kleenex beside his chair or couch - drove my sister-in-law nuts, which I totally get. I am grossed out just typing it.

6.  Flannel pyjamas.  One of my favourite things for whatever ails me, fresh-from-the-dryer flannels never fail to make me feel a little better.

7.  Email my mother and inform her of my condition.  Sure, it's sucky and whiny, but she always feels sorry for me and that makes me feel better.  Because even though I'm 50 on the outside, when I have a cold I'm 8 on the inside.

8.  Drink tea.  I am not a big tea drinker, although I am working hard to acquire a taste for matcha.  Coffee is one of my elixirs of life (red wine being the other, naturally).  However,  I know when I'm sick because I can't stand coffee, and just want to be continuously sipping tea, preferably with honey.

9.  Vicks vaporub.  How old-fashioned can you get, right?  But this is still the single best remedy for sinus clearing that I know.  And it really does help with aches and pains, PLUS if you rub it on the soles of your feet it actually does stop coughing.  No idea how that works, but I don't question it - I just know it does.

10.  Sleep.  Not always easy, but I usually go to bed ridiculously early, after a hot bath with eucalyptus-scented epsom salts, and try to sleep as much as possible.

In the last year or so, I have learned a few things to do to prevent colds, and I have to say that things have improved exponentially as a result, for me and for the boys.  I'l talk about that tomorrow...

What else makes me feel better when I'm sick with a cold?

Oh, come on, I had to put in a picture of something...  and they are exceptionally cuddly when any of us is sick...