my sniffle remedies

Driving home after our New Year's Eve celebration at my parents' was like going through some horror movie scene. Near-zero visibility. The way the street lights shone through the dense smog was really eerie. I hope this is the peak of the season's allergy triggers, because I'm getting tired of my allergies.

Itchy, teary eyes, congested sinuses, incessant sneezing, sniffing, headaches. I've had them since childhood, you'd think I'd be used to them by now. I first realized it wasn't normal when a classmate in Grade School once asked why my cousin and I had a cold every morning. Those pesky allergies... we react to what -- morning? To absolutely anything from dust to perfume, fresh paint, varnish, something about rain about to fall, mold, and the 'ber months. Many times they lead to an actual head cold, fever, and cough.

I used to take good old antihistamines but decided I don't want to live an anti-histamined life, so I've learned to rely on these top 5:

1. Water. Lots of it. I've learned that rehydration staves off the headache and actually can fool the infection away.
2. Ginger Tea. I make it fresh, even when I feel so bad that it takes so much effort to make. Grate some ginger, boil in a pot of water. Adding fresh mint leaves, a tablespoon of honey (an antiseptic, too), and a squeeze of lemon helps a lot. Allow the brew to steep a bit before drinking. My kids swear this helps them, and ask for this instead of an analgesic or paracetamol when they feel a cold, cough, or fever coming in.
   
3. Badger Winter Wonder Balm aromatic chest rub. We used Liberol when we were kids and mourned the day those tubes were taken off the shelves of drugstores. Super soothing and helpful, especially when going to bed.
   
4. Peppermint oil from GIGA. Suffering a bad case of allergies while walking through Tiendesitas, the GIGA sales lady offered a drop on my palm to inhale. Whaddayouknow -- I was healed, ladies and gentlemen! I'm allergic to vicks, white flower, and all those other inhaled stuff, but this one works.
   
5. Grapefruit tea. I learned this from one of Martha Stewart's shows. Bring to a boil the juice of 1 grapefruit, honey, mint leaves, a cinammon stick, and let steep for a few minutes and drink warm. I forget the exact recipe, but just those I mentioned help a lot.

This particular season, I've been having a lot of the sniffles and sneezes, and thanks to these, I've been sleeping better and actually wearing eye makeup, thanks to less teary eyes.