Share your protocol for having a cold

[emjay]

My list is considerably shorter As soon as I get a cold the only thing I reach for is more vitamin C... say an apple or in the form of pills... and lament that if I'd only had more of that beforehand I probably wouldn't have got it in the first place Other than that I just ride it out. The vitamin C tends to help though, whether it's a placebo effect or not, at least in how it makes me feel about it.

[Catholic_Lady]

Yeah im not one to be constsntly washing my hands either (only after bathroom and before food), and I only use disinfectant wipes to clean the house as usual because I like a clean house. I don't use it to wipe everything down when someone else is sick or anything.

I'm the complete opposite of both of you. I use hand sanitizer and soap every minute of every day almost. But my white blood cell count is, like, 2, so I guess it's a little different.

I hope you're taking a good probiotic!

[brewer]

I'm the complete opposite of both of you. I use hand sanitizer and soap every minute of every day almost. But my white blood cell count is, like, 2, so I guess it's a little different.

I hope you're taking a good probiotic!

OMG! Run to the natruopath now. Fly, FLY!

[Aegon]

I'm the complete opposite of both of you. I use hand sanitizer and soap every minute of every day almost. But my white blood cell count is, like, 2, so I guess it's a little different.

I hope you're taking a good probiotic!

I don't think im.even allowed to take probiotics

[notimportant1234]

2 paracetamol and 1 nurofen

[Whateverist]

Here's mine.

Natural, healthy things to do:

1. Start taking zicam immediately, continue every 3 hours throughout the cold.

2. Start taking a multivitamin immediately with plenty of antioxidants and B vitamins, if you didn't already do so.

3. Thoroughly Brush your teeth 3-4 times a day and use mouthwash. (Oral health effects overall health, so keep that mouth clean when sick)

4. Drink lots and lots of water. Not soda, not sugary fruit juices. Unsweetened Pedialite if you have diarrhea. No gatorade.

5. Eat well and balanced, even if not hungry. Preferably at least one serving of garlicky anti inflammatory soup per day. A little spicy if no sore throat, to help drain sinuses.

6. Take it slow for the day, don't overwork yourself. And keep warm.

7. If it's warm outside, open your windows and let the fresh air flow through. Lay out in the sun for a while. Vitamin D, biotches!

8. Use netipot or nasal irrigator once a day with distilled water to flush out the sinuses.

9. Use nasal saline spray throughout the day as needed.

10. Take hot showers as needed to help soften and drain mucus.

11. Use a humidifier.

12. Drink Throat Coat tea (from traditional medicinals) if experiencing dry throat.

Meanwhile, here are the best medicines to take, imho:

1. Upon waiking up, take 2 doses of Mucinex D 12 hour relief to combat mucus and congestion simultaneously. You'll need to get it behind the counter and show your ID because it contains real sudafed (pseudophoedrine), not the fake shit that doesnt work. Always take pseudophedrine sudafed. Do not take later on because it keeps you awake.

2. For headache or sore throat, take 800mg of ibuprofen (usually 4 pills), and 1000mg of Tylenol (usually 2 extra strength pills). Take them together. The 2 different pain meds work differently for maximum pain relief. Do this up to twice daily.

3. For cough, Tessalon works great, but you need a prescription. Rubitussin doesn't do shit.

4. Before bed time, use Afrin for decongestion so you can sleep well.

5. Cepacol Sore Throat lozenges work better than any other. Take as needed.

...So there's my protocol. Share yours if you have one. Also, I'm sick if you can't tell lol.

Wow, you've really thought about this.  I mostly ignore it, soldier on and look forward to it being over.  If excessive mucus is a problem I'll take something.  If my throat is very sore I'll see someone about it, same with a really bad cough.

[Silver]

Dayquil; solves anything that ails me.

[pocaracas]

Ah... not as gross as poo, but close!

My way to deal with a common cold is mostly to wipe my nose as required.

If I get feverish, I use paracetamol (that's Tylenol, for you murricans) 1000mg once every 8 hours, or just once and never notice myself getting feverish again.
If I feel a sore throat I use Ibuprofen 200mg instead. Same time between doses.

If my nose is particularly stuffy and wiping seems to do nothing to improve the airways situation, I grab a Cetirizine pill and that usually (but not always) helps. If no chemical helps, there's the old tissue up the nostril trick that, somehow, apparently keeps the other nostril unobstructed for a while.

[The Grand Nudger]

Drink water joe.

[Jenny A]

Having a cold is easy:  Send your kids to school during the day and let them come home after school hours. 

It's not having a cold that requires protocol. 😁

Seriously, lots of liquids, nasal rinse, chewable C, herbal teas heavy in C, zinc, the humidifier, and a sinus steamer are my first choice.  I treat runny nose, headaches, cough, and fever, with drugs only if they are really driving me nuts.  I avoid multi-symptom formulations.  I choose expectorant over suppressants.