When you wake up feeling like...

you might be coming down with something, there's a few things you can do to cut the duration of the cold. Yes, this would be me this morning! Stuffy, achy, and just generally feeling like I'm getting a cold. So what does the herbalist do when she's feeling crappy? Besides making a few cups of my own Cold & Flu Care Organic Tea Blend, here's what I do:

• Emergen-C powder: You can find this stuff almost anywhere now. It's a packet with 1,000 mg of vitamin c. just add water and you have an energy boost to your immune system. I buy the Super Orange, with 32 mineral complexes and B vitamins. I'll take one this morning and another one this afternoon. Your body can't use more vitamin C than that at one time, and the excess will just be excreted.


• Elderberry extract or Syrup: the berries of the Elder tree/shrub are are full of phytochemicals that help boost your immune system. There are several good brands out there, but try to find one without added sugar. I like Herb Pharm's Alcohol-free black elderberry syrup. it's made with vegetable glycerin, and they don't fumigate or irradiate their berries. Your local food co-op will have something, and you can even find Sambucol brand syrup in most groceries and pharmacies. This brand works if you can't find anything else, but it's not organic and they add sugar.


• Peppermint or Eucalyptus essential oil: There are a couple of things that I use this oil for to treat a cold. For achy head and sinuses, I put a drop on each of my temples(well back from my eyes!) and rub in for a minute. If my nose is stuffy, I will put a drop right under my nose in between my nostrils. If I'm really blocked up, I'll add five or ten drops to a hot bowl of water, stick my face over it and toss a towel over my head and the bowl. You wouldn't want to do this before bed because peppermint can be a stimulant.


• Take a bath! If you can take a hot soak with some mineral salts, this can help draw toxins out of your body. It will ease the aches, clear your head, and make falling asleep easier.


• I add rosemary oil to my bath, or you can buy all kinds of bath salts pre-made for achy muscles.


• Take a multi-vitamin and B-complex. If you don't take one every day, take one now! you need all the help you can get! I'm really bad about taking my vitamins, but I will when I get sick.

So these are a few of the things I do when I first feel a cold coming on. There are allot of preventive things you can do to keep the world of colds and flu away, but if you do get sick, this will help. If you already have a cold with a sore throat, and it's settled in your chest , my Throat & Cough Soother Tea blend will help.

I hope this info will help you the next time you start feeling like you're getting a cold. It usually works for me! Now, where did I put that Elderberry syrup...