Bosisto's Echinacea Throat Spray - I discovered this at Priceline when I was stocking up on all my cold and flu essentials. There were three different flavours, I chose honey and lemon, which is very pleasant tasting. This is supposed to help soothe a sore throat and ease coughing. I didn't find that it helped with coughing at all, however it did a great job of soothing my sore throat.
Squeezy tube lip balm - Lip balm is essential when I have a cold, all that breathing through my mouth leaves me with dry, flaky lips. Maybe I'm paranoid, but when I'm sick I don't use pot or stick lip balms because I don't want to get germs all over them. I use a squeeze tube lip balm, squeeze some onto my finger and then put it onto my lips. Some of my favourites are Carmex, Lanolips and L'Occitane.
Little Innoscents Winter Vapour Balm - This is a great, natural alternative to Vicks. Sometimes I find Vicks to be too strong for me. It's great to use on the soles of my feet, but if I put it on my chest it's overpowering. The Little Innoscents balm is all natural and not as strong as Vicks. It's safe to use on babies and children too. I put this on the kids chest and feet and night time when they aren't well and it helps to unblock their nose and stop them coughing.
Kleenex Aloe Vera tissues - These are the only tissues we use, they are super soft and gentle on sore noses. Despite all the nose blowing I've done lately (for reference, I've used three large boxes of tissues in the last two weeks), my nose isn't red or sore at all.
Boogie Wipes - If you ever find these, buy two packets! They are little wipes infused with saline and as the name suggests, they are for wiping up boogie. I use them on the boys when they have a runny nose as they are a lot gentler than tissues and don't contain chemicals like baby wipes do. I get mine from Big W in the section with the tissues, but they aren't always in stock.
In shower hydration - When I'm sick my skin gets super dry so it needs extra tlc. I usually can't be bothered with all over moisturising so I use an in shower hydrator such as Lush Ro's Argan (which has the added benefit of smelling amazing) or a body oil. If you haven't used a body oil in the shower, it's super easy. You just rub it all over yourself, rinse off then pat dry and you're left with super soft, moisturised skin. Easy.
Face oil - Continuing on with the all over hydration, face oils are a must have. Days when I'm not wearing any makeup or leaving the house are great for giving my skin a huge hydration boost so I apply a face oil then put a rich moisturiser over the top to seal it in. I'm using the Franc
Intense Skin Rescue serum at the moment. It's a lovely oil that sinks in quickly and leaves my parched skin feeling soft and hydrated.Hand cream - All the hand washing I do when I'm sick means that I'm constantly slathering on hand cream. It'd be great if we had antibacterial hand creams here. I have one from Bath and Body Works that's amazing, it smells lovely, hydrates and sanitises my hands all at once. Anyhow, I'm using the Aurora Spa Rituals Rose and Shea Hand and Cuticle Cream at the moment. It has a beautiful rose scent, is very rich and is quickly absorbed.
Cough lollies - Anticol and Vicks Butter Menthol are my favourites. Anitcol is very effective at stopping the horrible asthma cough that I get, so I always have a few packets on hand.
Comfy pj's - This goes without saying really, but a pair of comfy warm pj's are a must!
Here's hoping that none of you need these tips! What are your cold and flu essentials?