how to stay healthy in cold + flu season

I have survived my first winter cold (which turned into a sinus infection because they always do for me -_-) and after being miserable for a week, I am back with a new post to try to help y’all avoid the bugs out there! Believe me, it is not fun, so do whatever you can to avoid getting sick, including these tips!

NOTE: My mom is a nurse, so these tips are Cait tested, mother (and RN) approved.

DO:

• WASH YOUR HANDS. Obviously. But make sure you are actively scrubbing with soap for a period of 20 seconds to get rid of germs.
• Carry hand sanitizer around with you. Use it after you open a door, use public transportation, anywhere where your hands touched something a bunch of other sick peoples’ hands touch. Pro tip: Get good scents so it doesn’t smell like you’re breaking out a bottle of Everclear when you use it. Especially at work.
• Get enough sleep! I am talking a solid 8 hours a night, people! Your body needs that time to fight off any germs it’s encountered and keep you healthy. Get. Sleep.
• Wear LAYERS! It is important to stay warm and keep your body temperature regulated.
• Drink hot tea with honey in the morning to help your throat from getting dry. Honey also has a crazy amount of medicinal benefits, so not only will adding it make your tea taste better, it’ll help with your immune system.
• Take daily vitamins to make sure your body is getting everything it needs to function and fight off germs.
• Listen to your body. If you start to feel at all sick, make sure you begin taking medication or see a doctor.

DON’T:

• Go outside without checking the weather! You need to make sure you’re warmly dressed at all times – even going out! Suck it up and pay the $4 coat check.
• Forget hats, socks and gloves. Your extremities are the first things to get cold.
• Hang out with people who are actively sick. Yes, you want to see your friends, but you will be kicking yourself 2 days after if you catch their bug. Wait it out a few days!
• Put off going to the doctor if your cold lasts longer than 5 days! It probably has developed into a secondary infection (this happens to me with literally every cold I get) and needs prescribed medicine to go away.
• STOP TAKING ANTIBIOTICS EARLY – this is SO important people! If you stop taking antibiotics and still have pills left, there is a risk that the meds won’t have killed all the bacteria that made you sick and that it will mutate and become resistant – AKA you are SOL. Take your freaking antibiotics. You already paid for them. (PS: antibiotics render some birth control pills ineffective, talk to your doctor about this if you’re prescribed antibiotics and are on the pill)

I hope y’all make it through the season without getting sick! Netflix marathons are so much less enjoyable when you’re holding a box of tissues and not a glass of wine #realtalk

xoxo Cait