How To Kick Colds

How I kick colds

I've learned the following by experience from what doctors have told me to take after coming in with bad colds / congestion. Typically they don't want to prescribe antibiotics. I have found these fairly effective for me.

Your mileage may vary, always check with your physician first before treating any illness yourself or using any of the below suggestions.

what works for me: (as tweeted)

repeat the following until symptoms go away:

• sleep/rest - sleep in as much as your body feels necessary. blow off any/all morning meetings. seriously, they're not that important. don't even bother to call-in (to even say you will miss them), let go and let your body stay in that sleepful state until it feels like getting up. most meetings are a huge waste of time and unnecessary source of stress anyway, plus you can ask for forgiveness later if necessary. more on that here: My Next Startup: regarding meetings.
• water - keep a cup always full and just keep drinking. dilute in 1:2 grapefruit/orange juice to water if it helps.
• vitamin C - I like the orange chewables from Trader Joe's, they're kinda like massive orange flavored smarties.
• sudafed (helps loosen up and drain congestion) - the real/original sudafed, none of that "PE" crap. generics fine.
• claritin (treats the symptom of a runny nose) - generics fine.
• advil (relieves headache and preempts potential fever) - generics fine.
• soup - would really like to understand why soup seems to work so well. perhaps just helps elevate internal body temp?
• tea+honey (good for sore throats).
• spicy food like Thai or Indian (seems to also help with draining congestion, perhaps spices also have a mild antibiotic/antiviral effect?)

And AVOID:

• caffeine (short term boost not worth medium term drain on your body)
• alcohol (lowers immune response)
• emotionally unstable people (c.f. Kathy Sierra:  Angry/negative people can be bad for your brain)

Others suggestions

These are all people I've met/know:

• Tim O'Reilly: I also find a chinese herb called Gan Mao Ling effective. + black elderberry. Can head off, reduce symptoms.
• Chris Wilson: if u catch it early enough you can head a cold off with zinc.
• Tara Brown: I heard that vodka gets rid of lots of germs.
• • This works purely in a helping to prevent manner AFAIK. Vodka helps kill germs like mouthwash, but if you're already sick with a cold, any alcohol will simply lower your immune response and thus worsen the cold. -t
• Mike Prasad: add wheatgrass shots and 2 ensure shakes.
• Kara Murphy: Updating @t's wiki, telling you that Zip Fizz prevents colds...I swear by it! http://www.zipfizz.com or Costco online for the best deal!!
• Crystal Williams: raw garlic - Best done if you can avoid seeing people for a day or two. Eat a clove of raw garlic (no more than 1, maybe 2 a day, well spaced - this stuff is potent!). Chew well (it will burn on your tongue) and chase with a BIG glass of water. You'll probably want to brush your teeth after this. Works wonders.

See:

If you feel yourself getting sick, I've been able to head off most colds and illnesses with the following three hour trick:

Eat a whole raw clove of garlic, take a shot of vodka or whiskey, 1-2 HUGE glasses of water, a sudafed, and nap.

Got suggestions of your own on how to kick colds? Create your own wiki and write up your own "HowToKickColds" page!

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