Everyone dreads that feeling of the flu creeping up on them. The aches, the stuffy nose, the cough: it all adds up to make you feel miserable. When you feel the flu coming on, don’t just roll your eyes and resign yourself to suffering through it. Here are the best ways to beat the flu.
How to Beat the Flu
Step One: Stay Home
Firstly, cancel your plans. Call out from work and get ready to stay home. Now’s a great time to get deep into your favorite video game, or maybe start reading that book you’ve been meaning to finish. Staying home will help you rest up to beat this thing, as well as prevent you from spreading it around.
Don’t look at this as a bad thing. Consider it down time to get caught up on whatever show you’ve been watching or just a chance to stay home from work or school.
Step Two: Stay Hydrated
While you’re kicking it at home beating this darn flu, make sure you’re staying well-hydrated. Gatorade, orange juice, apple juice, chicken noodle soup and the like are all great for this. Of course, good, old-fashioned water is your best bet, so just keep pounding glasses of the life-giving liquid.
If you don’t get enough water, you’ll get dehydrated. It’s much harder to fight the flu and recover if you’ve got no water in your system.
Step Three: Treat Yourself to a Steamy Shower
If you’re stopped up, groggy and feeling just plain gross, a steamy shower can be a huge help. Turn the water up to “freaking hot” (be careful you don’t burn yourself!) and let the steam fill up the room. If you don’t feel well enough to sit under the hot water, just sit on the commode and let the room fill with steam.
The steam will help to break up your congestion and will generally just feel good on your inflamed mucous membranes.
Step Four: Humidifier
If you own a humidifier, now is the time to use it. Much like the steamy shower, a well-humidified room will make you feel much better when it comes to coughing and sniffling. Dry air can further irritate your membranes, making your cough and sniffles that much worse.
Make sure the device is clean and not harboring molds. Likewise, you should use the cold mist setting, as warm, humid air could promote further growth of bacteria or mold and creates a more hospitable environment for the flu virus.