It may not be flu season, but it is wedding season. And we can honestly say that there are few worse things in the world than waking up the week of your wedding (or just days before!) with a cold. Since rescheduling/postponing isn’t really an option, you have two choices: (1) live with it, or (2) work your butt off to kick it.  If you would choose option (2), then keep reading!

Most methods were derived from this article and tested by me (Breanna)! They work!

Hours 1-3:

First thing’s first.  These remedies work best if you start immediately after the first symptom hits.  Ideally,  the goal is to stop the cold in its tracks, versus actually fight it. So as soon as you feel your throat getting dry, grab a water bottle and start drinking.  When you finish that water bottle, go refill it immediately and start on the next one – you’ll need to do this for the entire 48 hours of cold fighting!  (This is serious business!)

If you’re at work when the cold starts, try to use your lunch break to go to a drug store.  You’ll need the following items:

  • Any type of lozenge, gel, or syrup with zinc in it.  Zicam Rapid Melts are my favorite and, I swear, work like a charm.  (Zinc lozenges are known to zap the virus at the source) – Follow the instructions and don’t stop taking these until your symptoms are totally gone!
  • Nyquil/Dayquil. The Nyquil will help you sleep, and the Dayquil will give you the strength to keep fighting your cold while being a wedding planning machine ;)
  • Cough drops (Because when you have a sore throat, it always feels better when you’re eating or drinking something)
  • Oranges (Vitamin C!)
  • Chicken noodle soup (Studies have shown that the ingredients in hot chicken noodle soup aid in clearing congestion and providing the body with necessary hydration to flush out viral bugs, so your Mom was right all along – Chicken noodle soup will save your wedding life.)
  • Vicks VapoRub (Also to help you sleep)

Hours 3-6:

If you haven’t popped your Zicam & Dayquil, do that now.  Eat an orange, and have chicken noodle soup for lunch!

Keep.Drinking.Water.

Hours 6-9:

Okay, you’re home from work and it’s time to rest.  Make yourself another bowl of chicken noodle soup (eat another orange while it’s cooking) and grab a spot on the couch.  (If you’re anything like me, this is when you start to feel really sick and hopeless)

Keep.Drinking.Water, and feel free to throw in a cup or two of hot tea!

Hours 9-18:

Time for bed. Go to bed as early as you possibly can so you can sleep it out.  I believe that the first night plays a crucial role in recovery and is what can make you or break you.  Before you go to bed:

  • Drink a bottle of water (You’ll likely have to get up in the middle of the night, but that’s good.  Keep hydrated even throughout the night)
  • Take your Nyquil
  • Apply Vicks VapoRub all over your chest and neck
  • Sleep in cold, wet socks. First, soak your feet in hot water while soaking a pair of socks in cold water.  Once your feet are warm, wring out the cold socks, and put them on your feet before bed. (Application of cold water to warm feet causes blood to first flow away from the skin, and then to flood back into the feet, warming them up. This process takes only 60-90 seconds, having in this time stimulated microcirculation throughout the body. More circulation means more nutrients in, more waste products out, and better distribution of body fluids. Achieving this through the microvascular system, rather than by increasing your heart rate, pulls blood into the muscles and skin and out of areas of stagnation—like your clogged up sinuses (via The Nat Path))

Hours 18-21:

You’ll likely wake up still feeling gross, but the chills & body aches should be gone.  I’ve learned that the best way to start Day 2 of your cold is by hitting the “reset” button and taking a shower.  Wash all of yesterday’s gross sickness off of your body and start fresh ;)

  • Chug a bottle of water immediately when you wake up (and a cup of hot tea!)
  • Take a shower
  • Eat a good, healthy breakfast (and an orange)
  • Once you’ve eaten, take your Dayquil

Hours 21-42:

Repeat all of yesterday’s steps.  Drink water, keep taking your Zicam, eat chicken noodle soup & oranges, sleep in socks, rest, repeat. Honestly, you should start to feel MUCH better by the time you hit the 24-hour mark, but it’s important to keep going.

Hours 42-48:

Waking up on the 3rd day, you should feel much, much better.  Your cold won’t have completely disappeared, but you’ll definitely be in “walk down the aisle” shape.  Depending on how close you are to your wedding at this point, stop taking the Nyquil/Dayquil and stick to the water, tea, and chicken noodle soup plan so that you can drink champagne!

Things I’ll Try Next Time:

  1. Apple Cider Vinegar (Germs hate acid, so taking a swig of this potent liquid will help ward them off)
  2. Eat Garlic (Garlic is a powerful antioxidant with antimicrobial, antiviral, and antibiotic properties. It also helps with decongestion associated with colds and cases of flu (via Byrdie)).