Grandma Knows Best

Don't forget to soak your thermometer in
peroxide for 5 minutes after use.

This writer has been sick way too long. The flu bug has definitely hit this home, and has now morphed itself into bronchitis (according to the doctor...no self diagnosing here). So, to help me navigate the roads to getting better and healthy, I went to my grandmother for her advice.

One of the first things  my grandmother did for me was to boil a large pot of water and put vick's vapor rub in the water. She then had me pull a towel over my head and hover over the pot
. The steaming menthol helps open the nasal passages and lungs to help you breath easier. Helps ease coughs and is great for the skin, too!

Another aid was to drink hot green tea laced with pure honey. My cousin, the beekeeper of the family, would probably jump in here at this moment to expand on the healing properties of natural, pure honey would be to someone who may be under the weather (which I agree). The tea on the other hand is antioxidant rich and, again, helps steam the nasal passages and the lungs as you breath in and sip on its steamy warmth.

Chicken soup is touted as one of the leading feel good remedies of the flu and cold alike. The yummy broth helps to loosen up the nasal passages. It helps to sooth soar throats, too, while helping in hydrating a sick individual.

Now that you are well hydrated and breathing a little easier, grandmother says it is time to wash the sheets. Not just wash them, but wash them on the highest temperature in the wash and dry them on the highest temp setting, too. This will help kill any virus or bugs lingering to keep you from feeling better. 

She also suggests pulling comforters and blankets, too, and if you are unable to wash them, to throw them in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heat setting. Again, to kill the bugs and germs gathering. And in my case, help loosen and rid of any pet dander that may be causing any irritations, too.

Throw away that toothbrush. Yes, you are the only one who uses it, it still harbors germs that can continue to keep you bedridden. If your toothbrush is new, or you just don't feel like giving it up, soak it in peroxide for 5 minutes, then rinse with boiling water. If possible, rinse it (and everything you drink from or eat from) in the dishwasher on the highest heat setting. 

And most of all, clean door handles and any surfaces you come into contact with...then the ones they come into contact with. I emptied a whole can of Lysol on my home. 

There you have it, grandmother's wisdom for getting over a cold or flu. Oh, and she would also say a nice long steam in the shower would help loosen up those sinus passages, too.