How to survive a cold [Lifehacking]

So I got another cold this week. Bah. Hate it. Looking back afterwards I can almost always point to a certain cause for getting a col: A period of too little sleep, bad stress, unhealthy eating and drinking, other sick people in the office.

Most people would say that I just have to live through it; Within a week it will be over. That’s of course true, but since I haven’t been really sick or hurt in ages I’m simply not used to such level of inconvenience.

So over the years I gathered a number of hacks to fight the symptoms. I know you can’t really cure a cold with a medicine or treatment, but I can at least try to get through these hell days in the best kind of way possible. So here we go:

1. Drink a lot. I have some XXXL mugs that I fill up with hot tea with a lot of sugar. If my throat really hurts I add honey to it. At the moment my favorite ‘hot cold tea’ is Lipton Apple Cinnamon. Other good drinks are of course water and Coca-Cola, which is soft on your throat.

2. Listen to your body. If you start to feel sleepy, go to bed, even if it’s still ‘early’. Yes you can skip that one Champions League match. Just watch the online replay in the morning after you slept for 10 hours.

3. Earlier this year I discovered this Vicks First Defence spray. You have to start using it as soon as you feel the first symptoms of getting a cold (sore throat). It promises to stop the development of a cold in an early stage so it won’t be as heavy as normal. I used it twice now and it seems to really help! Using it isn’t really pleasant though. It makes you sneeze a lot and it gives a bad taste.

4. Don’t sport or workout during your cold. You need all your energy to fight the cold. So take it easy.

5. Eat fruits: Oranges, bananas, kiwis, strawberries, pineapple. It provides you with a lot of vitamin C and simply gives you a healthy feeling. I also like to mix these fruits into a smoothy to drink.

6. Eat spicy food. When my cold is the worst, mostly the third day into it, I order some extremely hot Indian food for dinner. It makes your nose run and clear up the sinuses. Nowadays I go hardcore with the Vindaloo, for starters I would recommend starting with some mild curry dish.

7. Take a warm bat and throw in some eucalyptus bath oil. This also helps to break up the nasal congestion.

8. One of the worst things of having a cold is dealing with a nose that is both blocked and running all the time. If I can’t sleep because of it I use a decongestant nasal spray. I opens up your nose and you can sleep without a problem. I try to use this only if I really need to. If you use it too often or for a long period (over a week) it can get you in some kind of addiction cycle.

9. If it is possible, don’t go to the office and try to work from home. You really don’t want to be sniffing and coughing all day with a lot of people around you. It won’t be pleasant for anybody. By the way you will also spare the travelling time which gives you some extra rest.

10. Use quality tissues to sneeze in. I use the Kleenex Balsam tissues. If you keep using those cheap Euroshopper tissues that you bought for once in a while usage: You’re gonna have a bad time! Your nose will get red and very painful after a day or two. If you make this mistake you could use some Vaseline for your nose so it won’t hurt that much.

So this is my top 10. What other cold beating hacks do you know that I haven’t tried yet?

HackingSAP.com - Jul 22, 2012 | Lifehacking
Tagged | Cold, Lifehacking, Sick