Hola! While everyone I know has been in Mexico lately, Jeff and I have been trying to recover from forking bad colds while huddling under blankets and catching up with The Good Place.

I don’t want to sound like a baby, but man oh man, British colds hit me way harder than Canadian viruses and tend to linger for weeks. In my Toronto life, it was usually enough to get extra rest and fluids right when I first felt the ‘impending doom’ feeling hit my sinuses and expect to ride out a miserable two or three days if I caught it fast enough.

But when I’m ill here in England, I’m constantly looking for a Victorian fainting chaise longue and coughing like a consumptive. I keep expecting my doctor to prescribe a month at the seaside.

It’s no surprise that I’ve had to ramp up my approach to recovery and healing. I realise there isn’t anything super groundbreaking in this post, but if you’re anything like me, the stuffier my head gets, the foggier my brain gets, so I thought it would be helpful for my next cold to have all my favourite remedies listed in one place.

Toronto me felt that merely staying home and taking it easy was enough when I would begin to feel ill; now I literally take to my bed whenever I can. I find a book or box set that’s interesting-ish but also won’t be a big deal if I nod off. Podcasts are great for when I want to rest my eyes but worry about getting bored.

So that’s the resting part of the equation. On to the fluids:

• Tea, and lots of it. Caffeinated black tea if I simply must be awake and alert for a while, but more often I switch to a lemon-ginger infusion. Twinings Lemon & Ginger is a staple here at Casa Hewer, but Pukka Lemon Ginger & Manuka Honey is another recent fave. If I have a persistent cough, I prefer adding a squeeze of actual honey to the Twinings version.
• If I haven’t had any painkillers for a number of hours, a shot of bourbon added to the lemon-ginger-honey tea is a nice send-off for a nap.
• Sparkling mineral water has lots of fizz and bubbles to soothe my sore, scratchy throat. I avoid soft drinks these days, although I might consider ginger ale for an upset stomach.
• Chicken broth, chicken noodle soup, vegetable broth if you’re vegetarian. I wish I had a ramen or pho place nearby.
• And when I am beyond tired of not being able to breathe through my nose, I go for some sinus-clearing Thai Tom Yum soup, or Chinese Hot and Sour soup.
• During particularly bad bout of bronchitis, I went online to look for home remedies for a cough, and found out that avoiding dairy was the wrong plan for me – a cup of warm milk with honey at bedtime is a very effective way to stop coughing long enough to fall, and stay, asleep.
• And also on the liquids continuum – nothing beats a long, hot shower if I’m able to stand upright without feeling faint or dizzy. Sometimes it’s easier to sit in front of a bowl of steaming hot water with a towel draped over my head.

I don’t go in for drugstore cold remedies as a rule, but lately I’ve had no choice but to pull out a classic from my childhood: Vicks VapoRub.  I completely forgot how soothing this stuff is. I make sure I’m wearing pajamas I don’t care too much about. Not that I can smell anything anyway, but that stuff is as greasy as the day is long.

I recently discovered the trick of taking a teaspoon of honey to stop coughing, so now I do that instead of having a lozenge. I save hard candies for coughing jags when I am out and about in the world.

I always forget to do this until it’s too late, but getting a couple of boxes of extra soft tissues is a necessity when I’m constantly blowing my nose. And I wash my hands every single time I blow my nose or touch my face.

And it may be obvious, but these super bad colds have scared me into taking even better care of myself when I am healthy – eating properly, getting enough sleep, and paying attention to my body’s early warning signs.

If you’ve got a favourite cold or flu tip, please feel free to share in the comments. And has anyone ever tried the trick of applying Vicks VapoRub on the soles of your feet to stop coughing? I’m super curious.