Must Haves for Cold And Flu Season

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It's that time again, moms! Cold and flu season is upon us and pretty soon our littles will be bringing it home and sharing with everyone else in the family. Whether you are looking for something to help prevent cold and flu or help ease the symptoms and get rid of it, there are a few must haves that you will want to stock up on. 

I've complied a list of Must Haves that I always keep around the house to take care of my family when the sickies hit.

Wellness Tea

By now, everyone should know that herbal tea is very beneficial to your health. From helping with weight loss and reproductive health, to easing cold and flu symptoms. We stock our pantry full of Celestial Seasonings teas all year long and among the many flavors and mixes we have are a few boxes of their wellness teas like Sinus Soother and Complete Care Wellness, designed to help with your overall health. 

No Touch Thermometer

Thermometers have come a long way through the years. I remember the ones we had in our home as kids where we had to put them under our arm or tongue an typically, they weren't all that accurate. When my daughter was born, I moved up to the in-ear thermometer, which was better, but not by much. Now, I use the Braun No Touch Thermometer and it's amazing how far technology has come! 

The Braun No Touch Thermometer is something all parents need to have in their home. Now you don't have to worry about waking your baby or child to get their temp. All you have to do is hold the thermometer about an inch from the forehead and hold the button. Within seconds, it will not only give you your child's temp, but it will light up green if your child's temp is good, yellow if it's on the high side, and red if your child need immediate medical attention. It's honestly so easy to use, that my children can use it on themselves. 

Hand Sanitizer

Germs stick to everything we touch. This is how we bring them home and pass them onto others. All we need to do is touch a door knob that a coworker or classmate who is sick just touched and then unknowingly touch our face and bam, we end up sick ourselves. The best way to prevent this from happening is to make sure we keep our hands washed during this time of year when germs are running rampant. Knowing that there are times and places that we can't just run to the restroom to wash up, the best way to keep clean is to keep hand sanitizer with you. Purell makes convenient travel size bottles that you can attach to your backpack, purse, or keys and is there when you need it. Use them after touching shopping carts, doorknobs, the office fax machine, or where ever else germs linger. 

Soup

Everyone knows that soup is the universal comfort food when you are sick, and chicken noodle especially is packed with vitamins that help strengthen your immune system and ease cold and flu symptoms. My favorite to stock up on has always been Lipton Soup Mixes and Lipton Cup-a-Soups. Not only are they quick and easy to make, but they just remind me of when I would get sick as a small child and my mom or grandma would make them for me. I remember instantly feeling better and my kids now have that same feeling when I make it for them. 

Essential Oils & Diffuser 

In the last year, I've become obsessed with the benefits of using essential oils, not just to freshing the air in my home, but to use in cleaners, beauty products, and especially for health and relaxation. When you're sick, it's hard to relax and get a good night's sleep. There are so many essential oils out there that relax you and sooth you to sleep when used in an oil diffuser. Not only do the scents help you with sleep, but you can find some that will help with congestion and the mist diffusers emit takes care of dry air that irritates and inflames the lining in our noses that makes it burn or hurt when we breathe. A lot of us suffer through dry air once we turn our heat on in the winter and diffusers - even without the oils- can really help with air quality. 

Some essential oils can even be used on the body to relax muscles and help with ear infections.

Tissues 

This one is definitely an obvious one. This time of year we keep pretty well stocked in boxes of tissues, placing one in the bathroom, each of the kid's rooms, and a box or two in our living area. I even go the extra mile and keep travel size packages in my purse, the vehicle, and my daughter's backpack. Kleenex is our brand of choice because it's a brand that's soft and reliable, and you can get boxes in different sizes which make it easier put smaller boxes in the kid's rooms, bigger boxes in the rooms we are in the most, and smaller packages in our travel bags. 

Lozenges/Throat Spray

I really dislike when I don't really feel sick, but I just can't get past a sore throat. It makes me miserable. You can't eat or drink anything and even talking is a pain (literally and figuratively speaking). This is why I make sure I have Chloraseptic Lozenges and Chloraseptic Spray for instant relief of a sore throat. The lozenges are great for when I'm out of the house and need relief, and the spray is great for those mornings that I'm running late or at night before bed. Sometimes you only have one symptom and since most medicines are designed to fight multiple symptoms together, it's hard to treat your ailment without unneeded medicines that sometimes don't even help and can make you feel worse. This is why, in addition to my general cold and flu products in my medicine cabinet, I keep Chloraseptic Throat products on hand. 

Herbal Packs

My routine when I'm home sick is to make myself a mug of hot tea, a bowl of soup, and wrap myself in an herbal scarf. The scarf I have can be used cold or heated in the microwave and helps various ailments. I use it cold when I have a migraine, but I use it the most warmed up and wrapped around my neck when I have sore muscles from a cold or flu. The smell of the herbs help sooth my symptoms and the warmth helps relax me as well as keep me warm. The one I have even has pockets on it to put my hands in! So it's great to throw on when I run out to get my daughter off to school during the winter. Prefer something smaller than a scarf? You can purchase smaller packs or even make your own! 

Cold and Flu Must Haves