Flu season is upon us. If you wake up and feel like you’ve been hit by a truck, these tips may ease the discomfort.
If you get knocked down in your tracks with a fever, chills, an achy body, sore throat, headache and maybe even nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, influenza is to blame. The difference between a cold and the flu is that the flu comes on suddenly, the symptoms are more severe, especially the aches and pains, weakness and extreme exhaustion.
For some home relief, try the following tips:
- Rest: your body needs to heal, so sleep more or at least rest in bed or on the couch with comfy pillows and blankets.
- Stay hydrated: drink lots of fluids, even if you just sip them all throughout the day. Fevers and coughing are dehydrating, so add plenty of extra water, electrolyte drinks, pure fruit juices or broths.
- Eat nourishing foods: although you may want comfort foods, i.e. junk foods, your body needs nourishing food to heal. Try lean protein, like turkey and chicken soup, because there really is scientific proof that it is healing. If you’re not up to regular food yet, start with popsicles made from 100% juice.
- Ginger: if you are nauseous, try flat ginger ale or ginger tea. Ginger soothes the nausea.
- BRAT diet: if you’re also experiencing vomiting and diarrhea, after 24 hours of clear liquids, try the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce and toast (unbuttered). If you tolerate these, advance slowly.
- Gargle: if your throat is sore, gargle with warm salt water. Mix 1 teaspoon salt in 8 ounces warm water and gargle once an hour. It decreases swelling and inflammation.
- Tea: Also, drinking tea with honey soothes your throat.
- Nasal relief: for nasal congestion, breathing in steam, either using a bowl or sink of hot water and draping a towel over your head (be very careful not to make water too hot and burn your face) or using saline nasal spray will ease stuffiness.
There are some OTC medications that can also ease the discomfort of the symptoms, but since every one has different medical conditions and situations, I’ll leave those recommendations up to your physician, who knows you best. A complication of the flu is pneumonia, so if you do not start to improve in a couple of weeks or if your symptoms seem to be getting worse, call your physician.
Remember the best defense is effective hand washing! A big part of staying healthy is eating well, getting adequate sleep and managing stress. How are you doing with that?