As winter rolls on in the frequency of hearing a poor soul behind you on the bus, in a lecture or just in the queue for that much needed coffee, attempt to cough out one or more of their lungs is definitely on the rise. For the lucky people who hardly ever get ill -the majority of this post is irrelevant- but I suggest you read it just in case you or one of your future housemates gets slam dunked by one of the bacteria or viral species flying around.
I’m going to start off with saying that if you haven’t got these items in your possession already then you need to acquire them while you are still well because trust me hiking to Aldi or catching the bus when you feel like you’re on death’s doorstep just isn’t going to work out; the reality of it is that most of us struggle to get out of bed for 9am lectures when there is absolutely nothing wrong, so going to the shops to get supplies when you’re sick is out of the question.
ESSENTIAL ILLNESS MANAGEMENT STOCKPILE:
1. Soup (go for tinned because it lasts longer, but if you want to make a batch and freeze it then that’s definitely a more nutritious option)
2. Throat sweets– everyone knows having a sore throat is the worst thing and usually the symptom that drags on the longest, then it’s a tickly cough and a sore throat, you get my drift
3. Glycerin cough syrup – Tesco sells a honey and lemon flavour that is ‘enjoyable’ but I tend to stay away from cough syrup with alcohol in as it hasn’t been proven to work any better than honey and lemon
4. Paracetamol/ibuprofen/cold and flu tablets – my personal recommendation here is to get the lot and then just keep what you don’t use for headaches or other housemates who fall prey to the lurgy. Where cold and flu tablets are concerned I usually stick to the Beechams caplets because they’re easy to swallow if your throat is all scratchy and inflamed
5. Herbal tea – I know lemon and ginger is my mum’s go to but I prefer the berry flavours
6. Energy bars/energy drink – just in case you really have to leave your bed to do something important and you don’t think your legs will quite carry you all the way there.
7. Soft tissues – blowing your nose all day warrants spending a little extra for soft tissues and a little tip if you want to ensure that your nose doesn’t get raw, pop a little Vaseline on them before you use them or Vaseline on your nose.
Make sure that you tuck all these things away somewhere in a box so that you won’t use them before the time has really come and when you feel your nose creep into bunged up mode you have all the things you need to get better in one place. Getting a hot water bottle wouldn’t be a bad idea too.
So when the bitter fury of a cold consumes you make sure you hit the herbal tea hard, cold and flu tablets as the dosage describes, tissues in suitable vantage points away from your bed and on your person at all times and soup for dinner.
If you feel like you need a bit more help with taking care of yourself you can always ask a housemate to make you a little extra food when they cook or make an appointment at the medical centre for a full check over.