The season of sniffles is upon us and with it comes tubs and tubs of antibacterial cleaners and sanitizers. I won’t go into the controversy surrounding anti-bacterial but I will say that I don’t believe in using chemicals to fight off germs (especially as they just create bigger-badder germs). Yes, I do carry an antibacterial hand spray with me for “emergency” situations - as I commute on buses, trains and work in a city where I don’t always have access to a sink to wash my hands.
But 99% of the time I don’t touch anything “anti-bacterial” and instead I rely on holistic, natural tools and dedicated self-care to help me stay healthy!
My Go-To-Prevention tools include:
Washing my hands for at least 20 seconds (rinsing does not clean your hands)
My neti-pot (I do this every 3 days, sometimes more)
Gargling with warm salt water (I do this every other day)
Echinacea and Golden Seal supplements
Exercise (especially outside)
Enough sleep (for me that’s about 7.5 – 8 hours a night)
Using these 5 natural cleansers/immunity boosters helps me stay healthy and energized throughout the entire year.
Let me take a step back for a minute… throughout my childhood, teen years and even young adulthood I was always fighting colds, sinus headaches/infections, bronchitis, infections, viruses and a lot of other yucky stuff that made me feel weak, tired, achy and generally unhealthy. Seriously people – for YEARS I couldn’t breathe out of my nostrils from November through April. It just wasn’t possible as I was always sick or stuffy. To the point that I actually slept in a recliner in the living room many many many nights as I couldn’t sleep lying down. I even knew all the of doctors at both Bryant and Johnson & Wales as I was there so often. Yup, it was that bad.
You know why it was that bad? I didn’t put the time and effort into self-care. I put work, a busy schedule, a long to do list and a lack of time before my own well-being. And it didn’t help me be more successful or productive – it made me sick more often.
BUT since I started focusing on true self-care and holistic prevention I’ve been able to stay healthy and can probably count on 1 hand how many colds/sinus infections I’ve had in the last 1 – 2 years. That is a HUGE improvement over being sick all the time.
Yes, sometimes I don’t want to gargle in the morning or do the neti pot because they take up time. Then I remind myself that 4 minutes in the morning can save me 4 days of coughing and sneezing and feeling like crap.
My main point: Focus on prevention and hopefully you won’t need to worry about a cure for the common cold.
Created by: www.LearnStuff.com
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