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I felt a bit out of sorts on Monday, I sneezed through yesterday, and awoke to a sore throat today. Yup, out there somewhere is a few days off with my name on it.

Now, I like having a bad cold. It's like being properly ill but without the inconvenience of permenant injury or death. But a lot of people will do anything to avoid a few days off to swig Benylin and cheap scotch, scoff Lockets and tripping out to kid's telly. And people always have at least one "cure" they insist you must try but that sound as if they've been swigging from a bottle of Night Nurse anyway.

The thing is, they say that if you treat a cold it'll be gone in 10 days. That's good, because if you just let it run it's course, it hangs about for a week and a half.

So, what daft cures for the common cold have your friends and family ever tried to foist on you?

I'm just emerging from the onslaught of a 'summer cold' myself.

Bouts of sneezing, thick-headedness, coughing, expulsion (often involuntarily) of lung-putty, blocked nose, sweats, aches, tiredness...

So, here's the cures which helped me thru it, mostly courtesy of my mamma, but a couple of things I've picked up over the years from where, I have no idea...

1. Olbas Oil. Fantastic decongestant, has 'warming' properties when rubbed on chest.

2. Menthol crystals... head over a bowl of steamy water, towel over head, and sprinkle a couple of these puppies in. Instant bogey softening. ( do NOT over do it, you'll burn your nostrils out )

3. Honey, lemon and brandy. Boil some water, add honey & lemon to cup, and put water in. Stir it up til lhoney melts, and add the brandy. One of these just before bedtime is sure to get you to sleep.

4. Paracetamol rush... Now—so long as you're not allergic to paracetamol, this one's an absolutely fabulous cure—which was originally shown to me as a hangover cure, but works pretty well for colds too.
Take 2 paracetamol tablets (usually the max. 4 hourly dose) and put them in between a folded sheet of paper. Whack them and roll them with a rolling pin (or wine bottle ) until they're crushed.

Now, take the crushed powder in the folded paper, ready to use as a 'chute'.

Take 1 level teaspoon of Andrews Antacid and put it in a glass. Add about an eggcup of cold water, and stir in the crushed paracetamol. DRINK THIS straight down before the fizzing stops.

You'll feel right as rain soon enough!

5. Hot bath... My mum always used to put us kids in a nice hot bath when we had a cold. Not quite sure why, but it seems to stop the aches and pains, and help 'sweat' a bit of nastyness out. It may or may not be of medical benefit, but is certainly comforting...!

6. EAT & DRINK! Another 'mum' thing is making sure you have LOTS of fresh fruit & veg, and HUGE amounts of fresh water—not orange squash or cordials—just pure water.
I guess that is to help replace all the water lost as bogies, sweat and lung putty then. And of course, the vitamins in the fruit and veg help too!

7. Echinacea—a superb herbal immunity booster. Get on a course of these (courtesy of Holland and Barrett) and you'll fight off the lurgie a bit quicker.

8. VASELINE!!!! Eh? What? Well... another Mummy thing... we've always been taught in our household that you MUST carry a hanky with you whether you have a cold or not.
But, all that nose-wiping creates sore, dry skin around the nostrils. A quick dose of Vaseline now and then helps lubricate the delicate nostrils and also helps stop lips cracking and re-moistens the skin. I notice you can now get 'mentholated' Vaseline for this very purpose.

Hmmmm... can't think of any more right now... but put it this way, I've NEVER had a day off with a cold, no matter how miserable I've felt. I just use my arsenal of pick-me-ups to see me thru.

with me it was (and still is)

"get out of bed, it is only a cold, the fresh air will do you good!"

it is a pity it was the air (which carried the virus) that did this to me...

I dont mind having a stinking cold, as it lets me have a very pleasant evening out. Let me explain... My cure is as follows, and it does work...

Visit local Sauna/Steam Room @ local gym/sports center. Spend a good couple of hours there and alternate between the steam and suana with plenty of olbas oil.

After getting suitably dehydrated, re hydrate with a good few pints of cold cold lager preferably Stella Artois, then move onto a local Curry house. Order the hottest curry that you can handle with a good few cobra's to wash it down. When you get home, rub chest and back with plent of Vicks Vaporub, and a good measure of night nurse.

A tried and tested method!

oi veh lashings of chicken soup.

lemsip and a hot water bottle.

valium won't get rid of your cold but you won't care, works with canibis to I'm told.

Well, I'm already getting the old firey sinuses, so this looks like being a good one. As I'm off to the pub in an hour to watch the footy, this is the perfect excuse not to buy any beer, because all my coins will have cold germs on them and, hey, I'm only thinking of the other patrons

Otrivine Nasal Spray.
Clear your nose - take it before you go to bed. Let's you sleep.

Fantastic stuff!!!

forget the hunny and lemon cure!
mead is the thing

and a hot bath and tv but only kid shows and lots of being waited on hnbd and foot

I'm currently going pleasantly dizzy every time I have a coughing fit, but my sinuses are so cavernous after every blow of me nose that me Kenneth Williams impression is coming a long a treat.