Well we are deep into the thick of flu and cold season, and if your anything like me, you can't afford to down for the count. Fortunately or unfortunately I came down with a nasty cold day 1 of vacation and yes I was that weirdo with a bag full herbal remedies and vitamins hoping that something would take the edge off and/or make the miserable cold and sinus pressure go away. Sunday morning I woke up with the sniffles so I started pounding the contents of my home made cold kit every few hours. By Sunday evening the sniffles had turned into sinus pressure and I was down right miserable. Monday morning I woke up with the same annoying symptoms and a whole day of car travel in my future. I continued on with all of my herbal remedies hoping for some relief. By Tuesday I woke up not feeling 100% myself, but exceptionally better. By this time my sinus pressure had reduced almost completely and I wasn't blowing my nose constantly. Then from there on out my only battle was regrowing the skin that had been rubbed raw around my nose. All of this may sound irrelevant however, if you know anybody with a cold that has been going around, you know that most people have battled it for more than two or three days. So as I share my short sickness story with my clients, they always ask..."What did you do?"
With that, I'd love to share with you what's in my home made cold kit. Vitamin C tablets,
Elderberry Elixir,Immune Biotic,and breath well stick. I hope that you can use some of the information I'll share with you, and always encourage you to do your own research! We have complete say over how we support our health, so take control!
Me on our long day of travel trying to act like it was going to be a great day even though I had gone through about 100 tissues by 9am, my nose was raw, and my head felt like it was inflating by the second. Thank goodness for a bag full of remedies. I am convinced that if it weren't for the products that I list below, I would have battled that cold our entire trip.
Earthley's Elderberry Elixir is hand crafted with more than just elderberries. This tincture really packs a punch with elderberries, astragalus root, cloves, ginger root, and mullein leaf. The combination of all of these herbs increases the effectiveness vs. just your regular elderberry syrup. I also like this option because although it does have quite a strong flavor upon first use, it doesn't contain all of the sugar that other options do. It is also shelf stable so it is easy to travel with. I take this product daily to help ensure a strong immune system.
Immune Biotic uses gentle immune supporting herbs to give your immunity the jumpstart it needs. This is one of my favorite products this winter season. I have taken it on a few occasions and it kicks the illness in the butt. It is recommended to take it as needed for 3-7 days, but I have not had to take it more than three days. I would highly reccomend having this product in the household and for travel.
This natural chest rub is free of sulfates, parabines, and fragrance. It utilizes a combination of essential oils to help relieve congestion. The carriers for this salve stick are olive oil and candelilla wax so I felt safe using this salve as my only option to remedy the skin around my poor little chapped nose.
4. Vitamin C
I have been taking vitamin C as a cold remedy ever since I was a kid. At the first sign of a cold, my parents would load me up. Now fast forward how many years and I am able to appreciate the effect that high dose vitamin C has on the body. There are many studies out there that support high dose vitamin C for not only shortening the length of the common cold, but also helping to heal other illnesses. I am not a Dr. and do not consider this to be medical advice, but rather just sharing that in conjuction with utilizing the products listed above, I did take 6,000mg daily of vitamin C. I had only done minimal amounts of research prior to coming down with this cold, but after reading many studies, it appears that it can become more effective at even higher dosages yet. Check out the link below, and do some more research for yourself!