Occupational hazard

The downside of working with young kids is that they get lots of bugs. Teachers do build up an immunity but every now and then you succumb to the sniffles.  I've been fighting off a sniffly nose and a bit of a cough all week but I've woken up this morning with a full blown stinker.  After getting up to feed dogs and chickens I've gone back to my bed.  Not like me at all!!

I know there's no cure for the common cold but if there's anything I can do to ease some of these symptoms then I'm game.  I've been doing some googling and have so far found these natural remedies.  Some I knew about and some are new to me.

Cayenne pepper in orange juice sipped through a straw to ease a sore throat.  Easy one to try.

Garlic in everything.  Already knew about that one for colds.

Pomegranates have more antioxidants than green tea and red wine.  Drinking the juice helps fight throat infections as well as having all round immune boosting properties.  New one for me.

Sage tea.  I've tried this one in the past, really works!  Fresh sage is good if you've got it, just infuse and drink.  Dried sage works best as a gargle.

Carrots, cooked not raw.  Full of good stuff.

Kiwi fruits, more vitamin C than oranges.  Apparently eating them reduces the number days of having a sore throat.

I know I've got garlic, dried sage and carrots in the kitchen so will be having those today.  Another good one is honey and lemon.  I did a nice Manuka honey and lemon remedy once.

But my personal favourite thing for a cold is homemade chicken soup.  And luckily I just happen to have made a big pot of it for my visitors yesterday :-)