ThisNext Blog

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always gotten sick less frequently than my family members or anyone else around me – apparently, I’ve been blessed with some sort of superhuman immune system, for which I always feel extra-grateful during fall and winter. But there are those times, especially in the midst of the approaching cold and flu season, when something breaks down and I dissolve into a sniffling, sneezing, hacking mess whose only comfort can be found in veggie pho from the nearest Vietnamese restaurant and back-to-back episodes of Freaks and Geeks and/or Sex & The City.

When such dreadful moments arise, I head to Whole Foods and reach for Nature’s Way’s Umcka Coldcare, a cherry-flavored syrup containing some traditional Zulu medicine remedy that helps shorten the duration and severity of colds. I first discovered it during last year’s cold and flu season, and it totally works - without bringing on that spaced-out, crazy feeling you get from downing DayQuil.

Amanda Thompson, however, turns to Alkalol, which she dubs the “best decongestant in the world…nothing else like it.” A blend of purified water, alkaline and saline salts, menthol, eucalyptol, wintergreen, cinnamon, and other natural extracts and essential oils, Alkalol works to make your nose and throat happy again.

For those who care to dabble in a little homeopathy, Kimberly Fowler recommends Boiron’s Oscillococcinum. Indeed, the natural flu medicine relieves fever, chills, body aches, and pains without making you all drowsy.

For an herbal solution to your symptoms, blogger Jodi Brinkman at Redhead, etc. suggests drinking Traditional Medicinals teas such as their Cold Care P.M. formula. Made with elderflower, chamomile, passionflower, and other botanicals, this minty blend helps the cold-addled breathe easy while getting their much-needed ZZZs.

Perhaps just as healing, water is essential for anyone trying to kick a cold or flu. Instead of turning to the tap, choose ThisNext favorite Glaceau Smartwater (picked by eight shopcasters). “Smartwater tastes clean, a benefit of the vapor distilling method they use to filter out all the icky stuff you can’t pronounce and don’t wanna drink,” explains CorporateMonkey. “Electrolytes are added, to speed up nutrient absorption and enhance hydration.” And according to Kyle V., those precious electrolytes just may be the “key to the advancement of human kind.”

If you’re feeling slightly adventurous, you may want to give the Neti Pot a whirl. “This SINGLE technique will keep the sniffing, wheezing and sneezing at bay,” promises Jeremy Reeves at Road to Perfect Health. Here’s how it works:

“To put it briefly, a special NETI POT is filled with warm and saline water. The spout of the pot is then inserted into one nostril. The position of the head and pot are adjusted so that the water flows out of the other nostril. This procedure is then alternated with the other nostril. That’s it. The water drains out flushing the nasal passages and the linings thoroughly. After these the nostrils are dried out through special techniques.”

Of course, good ol’ fashioned garlic is always great for clearing out the sinuses as well. Whenever I start to sniffle, I start pouring Sriracha Sauce onto my stir-fry like it’s going out of style. Both Aida Mollenkamp and our Sean Timberlake have the hots for Sriracha too, with Sean crowning the product “one of the high holy hot sauces of the world.”