This is me a couple of weeks ago. I was feeling VERY sorry for myself. I don’t “do” quiet illness. When I feel rough, everyone knows about it – including Instagram.

I was halfway through a radio shift, hence the ear-wear, and struggling with a sore nose, scratchy throat and aching joints. I was also feeling rather tired, a mixture of being up since 4am and waking up every hour throughout the night to blow my nose. 

Since then, I have been on a mission to protect myself from any new stray colds doing the rounds. This isn’t the easiest, seeing as my three year old is currently harbouring a snotty nose and cough herself. But *touch wood* so far, I seem to have escaped.

The thing is, having a cold is utterly rubbish at the best of times, but when you’re a busy mum juggling work with motherhood duties, you just don’t have time to be ill. I remember the first time I felt properly under the weather when Frog was a baby and I saw the day stretch ahead of me like a long black tunnel, hours and hours before I could be back in bed with a hot water bottle and a cup of honey and lemon. The realisation that I simply didn’t have time to be ill was not a happy one.

Of course (alas) there’s no one-fits-all cure to the common cold, but there are a few things that help, once it’s here:

* Sleep - Your mum was right, there really is no better cure than sleep, ideally no less than eight hours.

* Tea – Drunk hot, out of your favourite mug, with a slice of lemon if preferred.

* Oranges and satsumas - A sweet injection of Vitamin C is really rather lovely when the snot hits.

* Otrivine – The medicated range from Otrivine is perfect for nursing the sniffles. Nasal drops (in both an adult and children’s range) clear the airways in less than 3 minutes.

* Sympathy – Preferably in the form of someone making you a hot water bottle, covering you in a blanket and letting you sleep.

What are your best cold remedies? 

 

***

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. For more information please see my disclosure page.