The curse of the common cold

The whole family is suffering from colds at the moment. I rarely got colds before our son was born and now in his ten months of life, I’ve lost count of the number of colds we’ve all had and how many sick days my husband’s taken!

Being ill with a baby is in itself something challenging too. You can’t just have a duvet day and wallow in your own self-pity when there’s a little one to look after. They are miserable with their sniffles and you are miserable with yours and it all makes for some long days. Parents of older children tell us how it only gets worse, as once they attend school they pick up bugs all the time.

In a desperate attempt to reduce the number of colds we get (as we move into prime cold-catching season), I researched cold prevention and the best ways to deal with a cold when you do have one. I learnt that I don’t spend long enough washing my hands – you’re meant to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice as a measure of how long to wash and rub your hands.

Amidst all the usual advice I found a couple of more unusual tips…..did you know taking regular saunas could help ward off colds? A 1989 study revealed that those who took a sauna twice a week got half as many colds as those who didn’t. Well, anything’s worth a try!

Here are five tips for dealing with a cold:

1. Drink lots of fluids to avoid dehydration, ideally 6-8 glasses of water a day.
2. Get as much rest as you can during the day and plenty of sleep at night.
3. Eat hot (spicy) foods: ginger, chilli, garlic, wasabi and horseradish are all good for your immune system
4. Eat fruit rich in vitamin C.
5. Always sneeze and cough into tissues, not into your hands

Do you have any other tips to share?

This post was contributed by Mummy Zen, a London-based mum whose blog is a sharing of ideas, tips and things to ponder.

Photo credit

Comments

[Expat Mum]

They tell you to let it run its course rather than take those decongestant things. Sometimes however, you just have to allow yourself to feel better.

[A Modern Mother]

I admit to being a wash your hands freak.

[Metropolitan Mum]

I am asking every visitor who comes to our house to wash their hands. They are partly looking a little bewildered, but at least it puts my mind at ease.

[nutrition sportive]

Hello
You have given good tips to deal with the common cold.I can understand that being ill with a baby is really very challenging.Thank you very much for sharing this with us.

[Janine Clements]

I completely sympathise. Once you have a child, even if you are ill, you simply can't feel ill. Mums don't get sick days!

Take vitamins regularly to help prevent bugs.

If you do feel a cough/cold coming on take Echinacea, it works well to keep them at bay, although not always! First Defence was recommended to me, you can get it from the pharmacy, not sure I used it properly.

Yes definitely wash your hands and rest (easier said than done with a baby). I also give my daughter vitamins (haliborange) daily and have done since she was about 1. I give her a tonic from the pharmacy if she's ill to keep up her energy.

My father-in-law says you should drink a hot toddy, whisky, honey and lemon - it just makes me feel sick!

[Karen]

I am always full of cold and im always washing my hands as i have small children in the house and when your feeling ill there is nothing worse than you baby coming down with it aswell