How an Elf avoids a starting cold~

Greetings dear readers,

It is the season for colds, cough and sore throats again, so your Elf has decided to share some of her favourite home remedies to defeat a cold before it breaks out. Maybe, because she has just once again managed to get hold of something that has tried messing with her immunity. *flex*

I personally am not the greatest fan of reaching for medication as a first resort (in fact, I tend to avoid it as much as possible and merely use it as a backup plan) - I prefer to treat the cause and not just the symptom. 

Know the little warning signs and stages:

Is there anything you notice that happens every time before you are getting sick? Most of the time there are small stages that occur the more the cold proceeds.
For me the first warning sign is always feeling cold for no reason (and especially getting ridiculously cold feet), and then, if I don't immediately take care of myself and/or be weak of immune system at the moment, followed by the Apocalyptic riders of the Flu: Sore throat, cough, runny nose, headache, etc.

This is where you have to start working it - and the earlier, the better. Most colds I dodge by putting on very warm clothes, sometimes a scarf - but most importantly: immediately drinking a hot cup of tea followed by many more.
I will leave my special tea remedies at the end of this post if you are interested.

Fresh air and a good mixture of rest and movement
Determining whether you are still in the beginning stage where some minor activity can help you defeat the cold (tidying in the house, short walk with a veeery warm coat and hat...) or if you already feel as though you need some rest. 

Tea.

Tea is a lot more powerful than some people want to believe. Especially in the early stages it does not matter much what kind of tea you are indulging in, as long as you are drinking enough and keeping your body warm inside out. 

My basic tea remedy for the colder months

- 3+ slices of fresh ginger

- Roiboos tea

- one small cinnamon stick

- some honey

This tea does wonders in getting you warm again and depending on what other symptoms I might be having, I add in different ingredients to make my brew even more helpful:

-Sore throat/cough: no cinnamon, exchanging roiboos for Ginseng/Echinacea/Sage/Thyme/Rosemary (one or as many of them as I can get my hands on)

-General sick feeling without fever: Ginger + honey + lemon (+green tea)

-Feeling nauseous: Pure Ginger tea

Bonus: I also love incorporating herbs like thyms, sage and rosemary into my cooking, as well as adding loads of garlic~

Sage and honey have desinfective properties, ginger, echinacea and ginseng are a boost for your immune system and rosemary and thyme are especially good for anything throat related. The cinnamon and Roiboos tea help warming you up from the inside, but I personally find cinnamon to harsh on a sore throat/cough so I use it more in the early stages or as a general autumn/winter drink to stay warm and cozy.~

~*Do you have any favourite ways to beat a cold that is trying to break out?*~