Ok, as I was sitting here, sicker than a dog as they say, I thought I would make a post about my favorite natural remedies for colds and sore throats. If you are building a business, you don’t have time to get sick. Well who does, but most likely as an entrepreneur, a busy executive or a small business owner, you work long hours late into the night and then get up and do it again the next morning. And if you live in the Midwest and the weather is 90 degrees one day and 40 degrees the next, then you might get hit with sniffles, sneezes and a sore throat sometime this spring.

I am a big proponent of natural remedies. Not one to run to the doc at the first sign of a sniffle if I can help it. There are certainly times to do that, but I always like the battle, apparently.

Some of My Favorite Natural Remedies

• Hyland’s Flu Care For Kids – don’t be fooled by the name. This homeopathic packs a powerful punch in the face of influenza and a bad cold. It has a dosage for children and adults alike and you can find it at your nearest health food store or online at Hyland’s.
• For a sore throat gargle with warm salt water – also works great for toothaches! You don’t want to overdo the salt here, but it certainly can help lessen the pain in your throat caused by the inflammation from allergies or a sinus infection.
• For a cough, try Honey Styx! They taste amazing and work great. We find them at Whole Foods and at our local grocery store in the health market area. But honey in general is a great allergy preventative when it comes to pollen allergies, particularly if it is a local honey. Our pediatrician always recommends honey for a bad cough and when I cannot get my little ones to take a spoonful of honey, she says to have them just sniff it in the jar, but please do not give it to infants or young toddlers, as it can cause food poisoning in that age group! Here is short article giving more information.
• Extra rest is always important when you don’t feel well – as I sit here too late as usual.

And there’s always…

• A steamy hot bath or shower helps too, to loosen everything up.
• Go to the chiropractor. No I am not kidding. Every time that I have even an ear infection, I go to the chiropractor rather than the doctor. Feels better, non-invasive and no medicine! Yay!
• Eliminate sugar and dairy. Sugar is just toxic and dairy increases mucous production.
• Go for a walk, but don’t overdo it.
• Chicken soup. Old remedy. Still works.
• Take acidophillus to boost the immune system protection in your gut.
• Put some eucalyptus rub on the bottom of your feet and cover them with warm socks and go to bed. No idea why this works for us, but it really does help.
• Obviously – increase water intake. Water, water and more water.
• And of course, as my friend reminded me today, echinacea and good old vitamin c help, too.

Ok, well, on that note, I am off to bed, so don’t work too hard and stay healthy this Spring!