How to care for loved ones if they’re sick — without catching their colds

By Brittany Anas

Remember those wedding vows about “in sickness and in health?” Parenthood, of course, comes with those same obligations, too. Taking care of your family during cold and flu season is an act of love — and a test of patience. (Remind yourself of this every time you hear a bell ring from upstairs asking you to turn the heat up, bring more tissues and flip the pillow to its cool side). But, when your loved ones get sick — whether it’s your children or your spouse — you don’t won’t the rest of the household to go down with them and have an orchestra of coughs, sneezes and sniffles reverberating throughout your home, right?

Here’s some ideas for taking care of your loved ones when they’ve come down with a bug — and staying healthy yourself as cold and flu season is here to stay for a few more weeks.

• Make an Emergen-C smoothie: Toast to good health with an Emergen-C smoothie or mix the packet with some fruit juice. Anytime somebody in your house is sick, serve them an Emergen-C mix and drink some yourself. You’ll get an immune boost with the 1000 milligrams of Vitamin C and other healthy antioxidants in the mix packet that help power up your immune system. The folks at Emergen-C have provided several delicious recipes to sneak the fizzy vitamins into — including a healthy mocktail with orange juice and fresh raspberries, a ‘Raz” smoothie, or even Popsicles. (Parents, there’s even a “mojito” recipe). especially great if you have a hard time getting your kids to chug Emergen-C. (Find Emergen-C packets at Drugstore.com, where you’ll get 5 percent Cash Back from ShopAtHome.com). If you’ve never given Emergen-C a try, grab a free sample of it here
• Chicken noodle soup: It’s a comfort food, of course. But did you know that it can actually help prevent the spread of a cold? The medical journal Chest in 2000 published a study by Dr. Stephen Rennard that conducted lab tests to test whether chicken noodle soup can help with colds. (He used his wife’s recipe — which was handed down by her Lithuanian grandmother). He found that chicken noodle soup can help reduce upper respiratory cold symptoms, according to this New York Times article.
• Keep hand sanitizers on nightstands and throughout the house. Stuff mini hand sanitizing gels into jacket pockets. Also, keep lotion out so and remind your family to lather up and keep their skin moisturized. Dry, cracked skin provides an entry point for the flu virus.

Read more articles about Drugstore.com here.

Other articles you might also like: 

• Eat too many sweets in December? Here’s how to curb the addiction
• 5 things you can do to ward off the flu
• How to make your desk the healthiest one in the office