Tis the season of the Cold

This time of year brings colder temperatures, warm fires, family gatherings and the sniffles. I am very prone to colds and I need to take extra care when taking medicines. As I sit here with my tissue box, tea with honey and my pink slippers I believe this is a timely topic. If you have food allergies it is important that you read the ingredients on all medicines (also tissues with added lotions) and call the manufacturer. Your immune system is in a weakend state when you are sick and you need to know what works for you or your child.
I have 2 labeled bags (one for home and one in my car) with safe cold medicines and cough/sore throat drops . Of course, when I travel I bring a bag with medicines for almost any ailment with me. Nothing is worse than trying to hunt down a specific medicine at 11pm at night in a strange city while you are sick. Trust me I know!
Homeopathic remedies are also a great addition to the traditional medicines you find on drug store shelves. A simple search on the web will usually yield a great variety of suggestions for home remedies for almost every ailment you can imagine.
The best advice when you have a cold is still get lots of rest and plenty of fluids. I have chicken soup and bread in my freezer that I keep on hand for when I get sick. I can not have most commercially prepared soups, so I make a batch of my own and freeze it in tupperware containers in single servings to pull out as needed.
As with all allergy issues being prepared ahead of time is always best. I hope these tips will help make the cold and flu season a bit easier to manage!