I’m back from three weeks in Europe (travel blogs and guides to come soon!), and of course, guess who caught a bug on the plane? Just what you need when you get home to mountains of work. I’m all about the natural remedies for a cold, and the moment I feel a little tickle coming on, I’m sipping my Emergen-C (more on this later) and getting on the Oregano Oil (yup, we’ll cover this, too!). I prefer to fight a cold the natural way, letting my body fight off the bug and only turn to cold meds when I can’t take it anymore… or have a super long day of meetings. Call me a closet hippy, because I think you could be right!

Yes, we all know you need to get plenty of sleep and fluids, but h ere are my favourite natural remedies for a cold… sniff sniff.

Oil of Oregano: This one has been the newest addition to my protocol, but I feel like it shortens the duration of a cold for me. Six drops three times a day, and it tastes horrible, so be warned.

NeilMed Nasal Cleanse: Yes, you put this up your nose and squeeze. I swear by it, and it can help with sinus infections because it sanatizes the passage. It sounds gross, but it feels so, so much better. I do this three times a day. Pop in the pre-measured salt packets (the green ones are double strong, I don’t mess around), and then fill the bottle with warm sterile water (this means you must boil the water once, and then heat up slightly for each use). Get it at the drugstore.

Saje Wellness Oils: The aromatherapy powers of their Immunity oil work when I’m in the middle of a cold, and using it preventatively is a miracle worker according to my friend, who is sure it’s helped her kids avoid illness all summer. Their Head Cold Remedy makes me feel so much more open when I’m stuffy, and the Peppermint Halo takes away headaches. I don’t know how this sorcery works, but it seriously does.

Green Tea with Lemon and Honey: The obvious choice, but it’s comforting and just feels so good when you’re sick.

Emergen-C: Full of like 1000% of the vitamin C you need (which means you’ll pee most of it out, but I’d rather be safe, ya know?), plus a whole host of other minerals and vitamins (major boosts of the B vitamins, plus E and A), this stuff is a powder you add to a glass of water. It really is something you should be drinking daily, but it gives my immune system a good boost. I get these by the box at Whole Foods.

A few other things I like to do to help keep things sanitary and avoid reinfection are sanitizing my surfaces and toothbrush and washing my pillowcase often. I use clorox wipes on my phone, computer and remote regularly, and much more often when I have germy sicky fingers, and boil my toothbrush. I always thought my mom was crazy when she did this, but turns out she was right about absolutely everything.

Feel better soon! xo