Cold Remedies for the Busy Individual

One of my favorite books when I was little was called Elmo Says Ah-Choo. The title is basically the plot of the book--Sesame Street's Elmo walking around town sneezing. I have no idea why I loved it so much, but I still enjoy medical dramas. Half of my YouTube recommended list is comprised of clips from House, M.D.
Reading about colds is well and good. But having them? Not so much.
"Stay home and rest," the internet tells you. "Have some soup," says Grandma. "Sanitize your hands every time you blow your nose," says some germaphobe on WebMD who's obviously never lived in real life. Meanwhile, I'm trying to juggle school, work, church, and household chores with a nose that's running at 2 KPH (Kleenexes per hour). What's a college kid to do? And you, dear reader, with cold and flu season at its peak, what are you to do when the sniffles hit?
It depends on what kind of person you are.
Rest, yes, is good when you can get it. For example, I've stopped using the bicycle desk at the college, and I've only been to church once this week (compared to last week, where tonight would be the third night in a row). While I normally don't advise skipping church, it was the best option for me this week. Especially since I'll be there all weekend for the women's conference.
Now for my favorite part of cold cures: natural medicine.

You've probably heard that there is no cure for the common cold. And that is, unfortunately, accurate. But there's a lot of things you can do to shorten a cold's duration or lessen its symptoms. When I feel sniffles coming on, I immediately start taking Emergen-C and mullein tincture.
Mullein is an herb that's good for your mucous membranes--so your sinuses, lungs, throat, and mouth. My mom's used it for as long as I can remember. I make my own, but it's much easier to buy a bottle at your local health food store. They might even have some at Walmart. Another tincture I recommend is yarrow. I'm sure you've heard me blabber about yarrow before, so I'll remind you of its cure-all properties and leave it at that. Two dropperfuls of each in a bit of water and you're on your way to recovery.
Another good tincture to take is echinacea. In February of 2017, I caught a cold on the day of my grandmother's funeral wake (visitation, for those of you without Catholic relatives). This was not a "just grab a Kleenex, I'm fine" cold. This was a "the thermometer's lying, I have a fever and I just want to lie in bed all day" cold. But we grabbed some echinacea on our way to the funeral home, I took some every 2 hours, and I was feeling about 75% better the next day.
And soup? There's nothing wrong with soup. Speaking of which, Mom made some turkey soup the other day that wouldn't hurt my cold one bit. And it's lunch time...
What's your go-to remedy for a cold? Let me know in the comments below! God bless you, dear reader, and don't forget to check us out on Amazon Kindle!