5 Self-Care Tips to Help You Get Over Cold Symptoms

There are over 200 viruses that can cause the common cold, and they come out in full force during cold and flu season. The average person gets two to four colds each year. And most colds last between 7 to 10 days. That adds up to a lot of sick time during cold and flu season. 

There’s no cure for the common cold (and there probably never will be). But a combination of home remedies and self-care can help you feel better faster. Here are five common cold self-care tips you can use the next time you’re feeling under the weather. 

1. Get some rest

There’s a reason rest is our first self-care tip. Getting plenty of rest is the best thing you can do for your health when you have a cold. 

You may be tempted to push through your cold and keep up with your usual routine, but it’s best to take it easy.

During a viral illness, your body needs to direct as much energy as possible to fighting off the infection and recovering from damage caused by the virus. Any additional stress you put on your body will only take away important resources from these important tasks. 

Try to stay home and rest during the first 2 to 3 days of your cold. You don’t have to stay in bed all day, but avoid moderate and strenuous activities, including exercise and household chores. 

You’ll want to take a mental rest, too. That means taking a break from work duties and school work. Your brain uses up a lot of your daily energy to complete mental tasks. Rest and extra sleep will boost your immune system and help you recover faster. 

While you’re taking it easy, consider keeping a hot water bottle or (non-electric) heating pad nearby. The warmth can help you drift off to sleep and ease any aches and pains you may be experiencing. 

Staying home and resting helps you feel better faster and also protects those around you. You’re most contagious with a cold during the first 2 to 3 days of your illness. If you’re resting at home, you’re much less likely to spread your virus to others.

2. Drink plenty of fluids  

Drink plenty of fluids when you have a cold. Aside from getting rest, staying hydrated should be a top priority when you’re feeling sick. 

Every time you blow your nose, you lose a bit of fluid. Over the course of the day, the fluid you lose because of a drippy nose adds up. You’ll lose even more fluid if you have a low-grade fever or loose stools. That fluid loss can be enough to cause dehydration. So it’s important to drink plenty of fluids when you have a cold to prevent dehydration. 

Dehydration can make you feel worse than you already do. People with dehydration are more likely to experience symptoms like: 

• Weakness

• Fatigue

• Dizziness

• Lightheadedness

And dehydration can lead to thicker secretions, which are harder to clear. These thick secretions can build up in the back of your nose and block your sinuses, causing headaches, sinus pain, and tenderness. 

Adults need between 90 oz to 125 oz of water each day. If you’re sick with a cold, try to drink at least this much fluid each day. Opt for water and low-sugar electrolyte drinks. You can also try chicken soup, which provides hydration from broth and may also give your immune system an extra boost.

3. Turn on a humidifier  

Resting and staying hydrated are well-known self-care treatments for a cold. Humidifiers may not be as popular, but using one can also help when you have a cold. 

When it comes to relieving cold symptoms, no one type of humidifier is better than another. Just make sure to take your humidifier with you as you move from room to room. So choose one that you can move easily. 

Warm air humidifiers or cool mist vaporizers add moisture to the air. Extra moisture helps thin your mucus, making it easier for you to clear your nasal passages when you blow your nose. The extra moisture also helps mucus drain so it doesn’t block your sinuses. This may be especially helpful when you’re lying down. That’s because gravity can’t help mucus drain out of your nasal passages.  

So a humidifier can help ease congestion and sinus pressure and also help you sleep better at night. And that can help you get the rest you need to recover. 

4. Drink warm tea 

Warm tea is an important item in your self-care toolbox. It helps replace lost fluid and fight off dehydration. But warm tea does much more than that. That’s why it gets its own mention separately from other fluids. 

First, warm tea creates steam that you breathe in as you drink from your mug. This acts like a mini humidifier, thinning out your mucus so you can clear your nasal passages. The steam will also soothe any throat or nose irritation and ease postnasal drip. 

And, importantly, the steam from tea isn’t too hot. Steam that’s too hot will irritate nasal passages and cause more inflammation. But that won’t happen with a mug of tea. Anything too hot won’t be drinkable, and you’ll end up putting that mug down until it reaches the right temperature. So, by the time the steam meets your nose, it will be just the right temperature to ease symptoms without causing further damage. 

Another benefit of warm tea is that you can add things to it that can also help relieve a cold, like:

• Honey: Researchers have found that honey works better as a cough suppressant than most cough medicines.

• Ginger: Some cultures have used ginger for centuries to help treat illness. A research review showed that ginger has anti-inflammatory properties.

• Lemon juice: Lemon juice can help soothe a sore throat. It also contains vitamin C, which researchers found may help reduce cold symptoms if it’s a regular part of your diet.

5. Try a saltwater gargles

Saltwater gargles can soothe a sore throat from a cold. They can also loosen mucus that tends to build up at the base of your nose. And this can relieve that feeling of something being stuck in the back of your throat. Saltwater gargles also draw fluid out of inflamed tissue in the back of your throat, making it easier for mucus to pass out of the base of your nose. 

You can make saltwater gargles at home by mixing ½ tsp of table salt in a full glass of warm water. Take a mouthful of the liquid and swish it around your mouth so that it hits the back of your throat. Spit out the mixture after a few seconds. You can swish and spit with more mouthfuls until you feel relief. 

When should you see a healthcare provider about a cold?

See a healthcare provider if your cold symptoms aren’t getting better after 3 days or if you experience serious symptoms, like:

• Fever

• Trouble breathing 

• Rapid breathing

• Shortness of breath

• Trouble keeping down fluids

These are signs that your illness is more than just a cold. You may need testing for other viral infections, like COVID or the flu, or lower respiratory tract infections, like pneumonia or bronchitis. You may also need prescription treatments to help you fight off these infections.  

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Written by:

Brian Clista, MD

Dr. Clista is a board-certified pediatrician who works in private practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He previously served as a National Health Service Corporation Scholar in the inner city of Pittsburgh for 11 years.

Edited by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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