You wake up in the morning sore and stiff because you were in bed all day yesterday with a cold. You then realize you have a massage schedule today. Aaahhh, that will provide relief to your achy muscles and give you a brief hour of feeling good instead of feeling terrible.
Actually, getting a massage when you are sick with the flu or a cold is a bad idea. Depending on what stage of the illness you are in, the massage can send the virus zooming through your body by increasing your circulation. Maybe you might get better faster, but it is more likely you will feel a lot worse. Also, when you go to a massage with a cold you put your practitioner at risk to catch your cold.
I was a child care provider for many years and would often get sick from being around the kids and babies. While I am not a doctor and can not prescribe cold treatments, I have found these natural remedies to be quite helpful.
Echinacea ~ This wonderful super herb stimulates the immune system and promotes T-cell activation. Remember when this herb was first available? It was in a horrible tasting tincture. Yuck. Some still swear that is the best way to take it but there are many other forms now found like tablets, capsules, teas…
Vitamin C ~ My favorite source of Vitamin C is Emer-gen C. Yummy powdered drink that helps hydrate you as well as give you lots of Vitamin C.
Zinc ~This is great to help with sinus type colds. Not so great for nausea. Be careful how much you take.
Drink lots of fluids ~ Water, herbal tea or any other clear liquid is best. They help replace fluids lost during mucus production or fever. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can cause dehydration, and cigarette smoke, which can aggravate your symptoms.
Chicken soup or Pho ~ The warmth of these soups helps to move that mucus out of your nose and on to your kleenex and provides nourishing hydration.
Get lots of rest ~ Stay home from work, keep warm and sleep as much as you can. Your body needs all of its strength to heal and you reduce the risk of infecting others.
Gargling with warm salt water ~ Not sure why this helps. It might be that the salt draws out the inflammation. Doing this several times a day can really help relieve your sore throat.
Saline nasal drops or Neti pot ~ Either one of these methods can help relieve nasal congestion. The drops are found at most local drug stores. Be careful when using the Neti pot and follow the provided directions. If you are not careful you can get water in your ears.
Thanks for reading and feel free to share remedies you might have in the comment section. PJ Harris, LMP http://www.pjharris.com/
Those are great suggestions…I especially LOVE eating Pho when I am feeling sniffly; so delicious & comforting!
Kay, I like to put that chili sauce on it. That really cleans out my sinuses!
Thanks for clearing up that question. I always wondered…
Yes, Jala Neti is wonderful. Personally I use it twice a day and that is a great way to keep the colds away naturally. Then if I do ever get a cold, I up the anti and do it many times a day which reduces the length and severity of the cold
I’ve heard that taking a cold shower can help trigger your body’s immune system when you get the first symptoms of a cold, although I’d personally prefer a long soak in a hot bath!
I’ve heard that echinacea can work miracles if you take it when you first start to get the early symptoms of a cold
Fine post on the question of whether or not to get a massage when your are sick with a flu or cold. Good information.
there is no “information” here. just one person’s opinion. my opinion is that massage help me recover. i feel sicker immediately following the massage, but i think that it decreases the total recovery time. of course, that’s just my opinion.