This year the flu has been particularly nasty and my home was not exempt. We took our little one to the library and the park a couple of weeks ago and came home with not only some fun books and memories, but a nasty virus. My son was the first to show symptoms with a fever and soon the persistent runny nose and cough followed. We treated him with some over the counter Infant Tylenol (dosed to his size), saline spray, a spoonful of honey and lots of rest.
I however didn’t start showing symptoms until a couple of days later and was completely taken out by this virus. Between a fever that reached as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit, chills, aches, and bouts of nausea that finally decided to just become vomit, I was pretty much bedridden for a few days and homebound for about a week.
Lessons for current students and myself were cancelled and rescheduled. Free trial lessons for future students had to be postponed. All practicing ceased and my main goal was to take care of my son, and take care of myself with the least amount of pain and least amount of effort so we could be well again.
When you get sick, the absolute best thing you can do is REST! Sleep as much as you can. Read that book you’ve been putting off. Binge watch that show you’ve been dying to see. Re-watch all your favorite movies. Whatever you choose to do, just REST! Your body needs all the time to heal it can without having to work harder. Now is not the time to catch up on homework or work in bed. Simply rest, eat, repeat.
Nourishment is another important step on the road to recovery from the flu. If you are nauseous there isn’t a whole lot you can do, but find the foods that you can keep down and eat those. Saltines and ginger ale are excellent nausea friendly options. Eat lots of soup. It doesn’t all have to be chicken noodle soup although there are definitely lots of nutritional benefits to chicken broth, onions, garlic, carrots and celery. If you are feeling like your strength is leaving you and you can’t manage to physically get yourself out of bed, fast food and high calorie options might be your friend.
Now, to take care of that voice of yours. I highly recommend drinking tea and other warm beverages to clear the excess mucus and coat your throat. My favorite go to is a honey lemon tea. You don’t even need to be a tea drinker or have tea at home to make it. It only requires a few ingredients and goes a long ways in helping you feel better so you can sing again.
1/2 lemon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup water
1 Tbsp honey
Simply heat up the water and add the juice of the lemon, and stir in the ginger with your honey and voila! You have a nice warm and soothing beverage to aide your sore throat.
Rest up and get feeling better!
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