Moose's Rules for Dealing with a Head Cold

Mostly Serious and Only Slightly Tongue-In-Cheek

In No Particular Order, and Your Mileage May Vary

1. Lots of water. I mean tons. I don't care if you're headed to the bathroom to pee every ten minutes, you need the water to help flush this crap out of your system.

2. It's going to last 10-14 days, regardless of what you do, so suck it up and be prepared for it to last, no matter how good you feel after a couple days of treatment. Just soldier through until you are absolutely sure it's gone, which will be at least a week after the start of symptoms.

3. You should start taking 12 hour Sudafed religiously for the entire period of the cold. No slacking off, no seeing if you feel better on day three and not taking it, you'll only make yourself miserable, so at least relieve the symptoms in a consistent manner.

4. If you feel a tickle in your throat, like something is sticking there, and/or if you're coughing, get thee some Robitussin DM (dextromethorphan and guaifenesin) to clear it up. Last thing you want is the stuff sticking there and breathing it in so it goes to your lungs. Plus the feeling and the coughing will disturb your sleep, not to mention everyone around you.

5. Get a humidifier and run it as much as you can, especially while you attempt to sleep.

6. Take some extra Vitamin C. I don't care what the NIH says, take it. If you piss it out, so what. Even if it does nothing for you, the placebo effect is a good thing. And it's supposed to do good things for your immune system, so there.

7. Hot herbal tea is a good thing. The heat will feel good, soothe the throat, and if you get the right tea, it'll have good stuff to help boost your immune system (echinacea, goldenseal, etc.).

8. Soup, soup, soup. Hot liquids, easy to swallow, nutritious, easily digested. Can't go wrong there.

9. Try to get as much sleep as you can. Naps are perfectly alright, if you have access to a place to sleep during the day.

10. Coworkers are fair game for passing cold germs to, but friends are not. ;-) And don't trick while you're ill, that's just nasty.

11. Hot showers are a must. You'll get clean, which in and of itself will make you feel better after lying in bed all night, plus all the steam will help clear up your sinuses.

12. Avoid caffeine. Do only enough to stave off the withdrawal headaches if you're a regular user, but otherwise you don't need any more stimulants in your system (you've already got Sudafed in there), and it'll just make you shed water at a time when you need the water in your system helping out.

13. Don't snap at your partner. They're not trying to make your life miserable, they're trying to help. It's not their fault you feel this bad. Conversely, if you're the caregiver, don't pay much attention to anything said by the sicky, they're not in their right mind.

14. Regardless of how much you might think that alcohol kills germs, it won't help you if you're drinking it to excess. Lay off until you're well.