1) HOT TEA
I like tea in general but hot tea really helps a dry, sore throat. Adding honey helps coat the throat and if you don’t mind a little kick to your tea, add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to knock that bug out of you. If my throat is unbearable, I gargle with a bit of the vinegar as well. The first time I tried apple cider vinegar, I bought a bottle and started chugging it in the car since I heard it was good to have when you are fighting a cold. Not a good idea. It is super strong so my eyes started watering and I felt like I was breathing fire! When I told my friend what I did, she realized she forgot to tell me to mix it with water first. She never thought I would chug vinegar in the parking lot! Anyway, hot tea does wonders. It is best to use a detoxing tea like green or raspberry tea.
2) SLEEP
You don’t have to tell me twice to take a nap. Sleeping helps rest the body so that your immune system has time to catch up with the demand of the week. Get as much sleep as you can. When you are fighting a cold, you can never have too much sleep. I own way too many blankets but I use them all. The soft, plush blankets are my weakness. As soon as my face lands on one of them, I’m out. I also need my sock monkey to hug as I drift off into dreamland. If I can sleep for most of one whole day, I wake up feeling so much better.
3) GARLIC
I saved the best for last. Being a broke millennial, I found a really cheap way to cure the nasty cold is to eat raw garlic. You can use it a couple ways. My favorite way is to slice up a couple cloves of garlic and place them in between the slice of toast with either butter or coconut oil spread/melted over it. It can be really strong depending on how thick you have the garlic so I would suggest drinking almond milk with it to help stop the burn on your tongue. Having the garlic between the toast helps keep the garlic from directly touching your taste buds. Your tolerance builds up to it after awhile. Also, placing a couple thin slices of raw, fresh garlic under your tongue does wonders as well. It still may burn a bit under your tongue but not as bad as having it on your taste buds. You definitely have garlic breath days later so plan accordingly. I discovered this hack when I had a major sinus infection. I was miserable for weeks and it was so bad I couldn’t even taste which made eating a chore. Usually I avoid doctors if I can but it was so bad I went to one and got on antibiotics. It didn’t help. Just when I was about to lose hope, I started eating garlic. I couldn’t taste at all so I basically ate the clove like an apple. The next day I was 90% better! Garlic cures. I highly recommend it. Plus, it is way cheaper than a doctor visit especially if you aren’t covered under your parents insurance anymore.
