10 necessities for fighting the cold and flu – National

f you splurge on just one thing to combat your stuffy, runny nose, it should be tissues. Puffs Plus Lotion may be pricey, but they’re the best way to avoid getting dry, red, flaky skin around your schnozz from all the blowing and wiping. This pack of three family sized boxes ought to be enough to see you through to the end of your cold or flu.

Fevers are bad news. Get ahead of rising temperatures with a digital infrared thermometer. No more fighting with your sick kids to get them to stay still for 30 seconds as you hold a metal-tipped stick under their tongue. Just point this thing at their forehead and press the trigger to receive a clear, accurate measurement in a split second. Viproud’s thermometer saves the results of up to 35 tests so you can track the fever as it rises and falls.

If you’re feeling sick but can’t tell if it’s a cold or a flu, this is your best way to mount a defense. You get 10 daytime tablets designed to fight fever, aches, coughing, and congestion, plus 10 nighttime tablets that add a runny nose-fighting agent to the mix so you can fall asleep without dealing with post-nasal drip. One pack should be enough to help you power through to the other side.

This is the one humidifier to rule them all. Powerful enough to moisten up the air of a 750 square-foot living space, this ultra-quiet air moistener can pump out both warm and cool mists, dispersing the contents of its 6 litre, top-fill tank evenly across the whole room. You can control it with your smartphone, and even add pleasant aromas via the built-in essential oil diffuser.

When rough and tumble fisherfolk have been using a cough remedy for nearly 160 years, you have to think there’s something to it. These eye-poppingly strong lozenges both numb and soothe your throat, easing the soreness and preventing coughs while also aiding in the clearing of congested sinuses with each breath. This is a box of eight packages with 22 drops per pack—perfect for any cold-suffering family.

Ever wonder why showers and baths help you feel a little better when you’re sick? It’s the heat. Helps to soothe aching muscles. Sadly, once you’re out, the soreness tends to come back. A good heating pad—like this jumbo sized model from PureRelief, which has an easy-to-use remote and safety features like an automatic shutoff—can provide a little warming relief on the sofa or in bed. Just remember: Don’t use a heating pad if you have a fever!

Pills and sprays work well, but there’s something about a nice, steaming drink that just puts you in the right mindset for a good sleep—especially when it drops a pain reliever, decongestant, and antihistamine into the mix to help clear your nose and dull your aching throat. NeoCitran’s standard lemony flavour is fine, but we recommend adding a couple drops of honey to help cover the medicine-y aftertaste.

If your primary source of suffering is blocked and achy nasal passages, Drixoral is the solution. Two to three shots up each nostril will moisturize and soothe your sore sniffer for up to 12 hours, hopefully keeping you from joining the ranks of the dreaded mouth breathers. And when your cold or flu is over, keep it around to help with hay fever and allergies.

Down on drugs? NeilMed’s Neti Pot could do wonders for your congestion. It’s a med-free, doctor-recommended means of irrigating your nasal cavities using nothing more than a saline solution. It feels super weird—you might cough or gag a bit the first few times you try it—but plenty of people swear by Neti Pots as an all-natural way of clearing up painfully blocked passages.