Considering it’s 23 below zero here in Minne-Snow-Ta today and schools along with many public organizations are closed, I found it fitting to write about how to embrace winter illness.
I recall recently a post floating around Facebook welcoming the Flu Season.
The Flu is not a season folks.
The winter is a season where people are indoors way too much, breathing stale air, not washing their hands, sharing libations, breaking bread together, laughing, and breathing for crying out loud.
This is also the season where more people than not try to push through that cold, head off to work and share the love with their co-workers.
What we need reminding of are good strategies, yes?
Here are some of my favorite ways to embrace winter illness:
- Keep a stack of fresh reading material on hand. Whether library books, on your Kindle or via a stack of magazines, have a consistent dose of good reading. When the head cold hits or the sore throat takes over, it’s easier to succumb to the fatigue than it is to fight and perform when we have a solid stack of reading material calling our name. FYI-having flannel sheets on the bed topped with 9 pillows and a down comforter will also add to your literary experience.
- For those of you who don’t love reading as much as I do, have your favorite movies queued up on Netflix, your shows Tivo’d (to be honest with you I don’t even know what that means, it just looks good) or send your love out to RedBox to surprise you. Again, the flannel sheets are bonus material and you won’t regret them.
- Small cozies like a rice sock can make all the difference in your comfort. For a simple version, grab a long tube sock and fill it at least halfway with rice and tie off a knot where the rice ends making for a solid yet malleable heat sack, that, when popped into the microwave for a minute, leaves you with an aromatic and relaxing way of soothing your tired and achy body. Alternately, a hot water bottle also does the trick.
- Hot tea such as Throat Coat (available on Amazon), Echinacea or Chamomile with a bit of raw honey taste and feel oh so good going down.
- Call your homeopath. Get adjusted. Go see your acupuncturist. All of these modalities help to move the junk through your body, often bringing it about more quickly and at times more intensely so you can get over it and back to your life.
- Eliminate sugar. I know you’re sick of hearing this, but every time you eat sugar it feeds the crap making you feel crappy.
- Drink or slurp bone broth-I’m not talking out of a can, but real gelatinous bone broth. Believe me when I say there is some old lady in your neighborhood, or some family member or friend who knows how to make the good stuff (not the kind with bouillon cubes, but with real bones making up the real thing) and would be willing to pull some out of their freezer or make it up fresh just for you. Just ask.
- Essential oils are so awesome-they clear sinuses, calm the body, quiet the mind, help in healing, and offer an overall feeling of calm.
- Slow down my friends. Take some time off. Cool your jets. Whatever you need to hear in order that you plan a staycation, head to the tropics or play more frequently out in the snow. We need time to recuperate and regenerate ourselves. Have some fun. Plan a girls weekend. Into scrapbooking? Go nuts. All that matters is that you take time for you. Put it on the calendar.
- Eat more veggies. You may have noticed you’ve been living on bagels, oatmeal and pasta since the sun went away last fall. We’re rounding the bend and it won’t be long before you’re starting your seeds indoors. Boost your energy and immune system with fresh greens.
- Get your zzzz’s. Go to bed early. Sleep in. Establish a rhythm of 7-8 hours per night. If you fall behind, catch up. When you’re behind on sleep, your immune system takes a plunge. Once it’s off the deep end, embrace it and jump into the sack with your flannels on and give in to the rest your body badly needs.
Now that I’ve shared with you how to embrace winter illness, do you have any favorite home remedies you’d like to share?
Nichi
Nichi Hirsch Kuechle supports moms from pregnancy to parenthood as a Childbirth Educator, Birth Doula and Nutrition Response Testing Practitioner in Minneapolis. She publishes a weekly e-zine called Raising Healthy Families, which offers tips and ideas to bring ease, clarity and understanding to your parenting. She also teaches a variety of live and virtual workshops.
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