Can you do anything to get over a cold faster?

Yes! There are many things someone can do at home to help them get over being sick faster, or at the very least make their time being sick a big load easier than it could have been if they did nothing.

Before we get into this, I just want to preface everything by saying I am not a medical professional. Do not use my advice as professional medical advice. I am only speaking from personal experience, and results could vary from person to person.

Now with that out of the way, back to the topic at hand. As I was saying, there are many things you can do that could make you get over being sick faster. Or, as I said, at least make you feel better over your time of being sick.

Drinks

First of all, fluids are incredibly important for us humans. Being made of about 70 percent water give or take, we need to constantly be inputting more of that sweet sweet H2O to replace all of the liquids we lose.

By going to the bathroom we lose liquid, by sweating we lose water, and even by breathing, we lose water! Exhaling water is actually one of the major ways through which we lose water from our bodies!

Every time we exhale, we are evaporating some water in our throats, lungs, mouths, noses, etc. Considering the average human takes about 17 thousand to 23 thousand breaths per day, that adds up to a lot of lost water!

So, don’t think if you are just sitting there playing online poker you don’t need to drink water! Stay hydrated, and it will help prevent you from getting sick in the first place!

However, not all liquids are made the same! Essentially everything we humans drink is water-based. Well, unless you decide you want to punish yourself and take shots of Everclear…

But, what is important is what is in that water. It makes all of the difference.

You could just drink regular plain old water, and that is probably one of your best options. Nothing added to it, just pure crystalline water. It will keep you hydrated, and moisten your throat if it is feeling sore.

Another popular drink for when you are sick is tea. Tea is a great option as well. It’s just plants that have been steeped in water, so depending on how you take your tea, it will keep you well hydrated as well.

Plus, the hot water could also aid with swelling or help soothe a sore throat. However, not all teas are made equal. Some of them would be better than others for when you are sick.

For instance, black or green tea probably would not be a good choice for you if you are feeling under the weather as they say. The caffeine is going to keep you awake, which is bad for a sick person who needs to rest.

That is also why I wouldn’t recommend caffeinated soft drinks or coffee if you are sick either. The name of the game is to aid your body’s natural ability to fight diseases, not fight against them.

Another thing I have heard of people drinking when they are sick is warm milk or hot chocolate. Now, due to allergies, many people can’t drink milk, but the theory behind it seems sound to me and it’s at least worth a try if you can!

The warm temperature of the milk would act like tea, but it would also have the ability to coat your throat and soothe it if it was sore. This is because milk is thick due to it being an emulsion of water and fat. The fat would be able to coat your throat and make it feel better.

Hot chocolate might have the problem of keeping you awake if it has a lot of caffeine in it, so just check on the label how much it has in it.

Rest and Relaxation

Probably the single most important thing you need when you are sick is rest. Not just sleep, REST. This means doing things to make you relax and keep you from being stressed.

Studies have shown that stress can seriously affect people’s physical health along with their mental health. Stressed people can possibly get sick more easily, and can possibly take longer to get over being sick.

So, When you are feeling sick and just overall “bleh” take some time to get over it. Take a day or two off with sick leave to get over the worst of it. If you go to work before you are over at least the contagious faze, the stress of work will probably just make you take longer to get better.

Now that you are on a little vacation on an island of hot drinks and used tissues, try to do as much as you can to keep your mind off of things that worry you or upset you.

Watch movies, sleep, chat with a friend to have them cheer you up, play a casual video game, learn something new, sleep, read a book, just chill, sleep, listen to music, or even simply do nothing and think. Oh yeah, and you could sleep!

Your immune system gets to work double time when you are sleeping. This is why you usually feel better when you wake up, and not just randomly during the day.

You aren’t spending your body’s energy on weird stuff like moving, so your immune system takes the extra juice. And so, you will get over being sick faster if you let your body rest and spend its energy how it’s needed.

Medicine

Depending on what kind of person you are, you will be staunchly against taking medicine when you are sick, or you will be popping pills like it is candy. I happen to know both types of people.

Much like how most things are, and most people, the sweet spot is somewhere in the middle. It’s best not to take medicine you don’t really need all the time, but it’s also not the best to force yourself to not take medicine if you need it.

For instance, if you have a really bad headache when you are sick, you shouldn’t not take a pain reliever just because its “medicine.” Pain causes stress, and stress will make it take longer for you to get over being sick.

Now, a larger gray area forms when it comes to antibiotics. Antibiotics are known to be overprescribed in wealthy countries, and it would be worthwhile to talk to your doctor about them.

Especially if they want to prescribe you antibiotics for something you have that seems minor like a cold. The overprescription of antibiotics leads to the development of so called “superbugs” that are antibiotic resistant.

This could make a lot of people dangerously sick if more and more infections become resistant to the treatments we have for them.

Therefore, it is worthwhile to ask your doctor if you really need the antibiotics they are prescribing you. Or, if you do need them, take all of them that are prescribed to you!

When people don’t finish taking their antibiotics, it can also lead to diseases becoming resistant.

But either way, a point to this whole rant is that you should do what you need to to get better fast while feeling the best! If you have a viral infection, antibiotics could just make you feel worse if they give you some common side effects.

Antibiotics only work on bacterial infections, so you should make sure you actually need medicine before you take it, so it doesn’t have the chance to make you feel worse than you already do.