Dear readers,

How are you doing? I hope you're all well! I can't believe it's already February (although I say this every month). Time flies! 2020 is already 1/12^th over.

If you're unlucky, you may have caught a cold or the flu this winter season. Our students sometimes have to call in sick at this time of year. So today, I want to share my top tips for staying healthy and coping with a winter cold!

In the UK, whenever we catch a cold or the flu, we don't go to the doctors. Doctors advise that we not go to the clinic or hospital, because we could spread our illness to other people. Instead, we stay at home and rest well with no medicine. For that reason, it's important to know some home remedies for coping with sickness.

Firstly, when you have a cold, your nose, ears and head are usually blocked up. My mum's favourite method for clearing your head when you have a cold is using steam from hot water. You can take a long, hot bath or drink a hot drink. Additionally, you can inhale steam from water in a bowl - this technique works best if you put a towel over your head to catch the steam! To increase the effectiveness of inhaling steam, you can add some menthol crystals to the hot water, either in your bath or in a bowl. The menthol helps clear your nose and sinuses.

Another problematic symptom of a cold is a sore throat. Having a sore throat can make talking difficult. Of course, to help a sore throat, you can use cough sweets. But on top of that, there are so many things you can do! My favourite way to relieve a sore throat is with ginger tea. Ginger is a warming ingredient and works wonders on your throat. My singing teacher used to recommend ginger tea whenever my voice was tired. If you can add real ginger, that's a bonus!

For those of you who aren't a fan of ginger tea, you can opt for honey and lemon instead. Slice some lemon and put it in a mug with some honey and boiling water. The honey coats your throat, relieving the pain, and the lemon adds taste and vitamin C. It's so yummy!

Finally, as well your drinks, you should also choose what you eat carefully when you have a cold. In the UK, hot soup is a common dinner when we're sick. Hearty vegetable soup can give you a lot of vitamins and the heat makes your throat feel nice. For breakfast, we often eat hot porridge (oatmeal). Add milk to oats in a pan on a low/medium heat, and stir until thick. You can add your favourite fruits, like blueberries or bananas, and honey or maple syrup. Nutritious and delicious! It almost makes me happy to have a cold. In Japan, I imagine rice porridge (okayu) works well instead of oat porridge! You can add savory ingredients instead.

I'm actually quite lucky and rarely get sick. I've never had the flu either. But if you happen to have bad luck this year, please try out some of these remedies as well as the usual rest and pain killers. I promise they work well, and they make you feel really relaxed and comfortable! Take a long hot menthol bath, put on some fluffy socks, grab some ginger tea and watch a movie.

Take care and have a lovely week!

All the best,

Sarah