COVID, Cold & Flu Essentials
Stay Stocked On Everything You (And Your Home) Need To Fight COVID-19, Common Colds & The Flu.
What’s worse than being sick?? Being sick, without being fully stocked up on cold & flu essentials. To stay prepared during the pandemic and cold & flu season, make sure you check out our list of essentials for both you and your home to help keep things comfy and clean.
For You
SOUP: Stock up on brothy stocks and your favorite soups. Often with cold, flu and COVID-19 symptoms you’ll find you have a sore or scratchy throat. Soups are the perfect “sick day” food because they can be both warming and soothing. Soups can help your congestion, open your respiratory tract, keep you hydrated and even boost your immune system!
TEA: Skip the coffee, soda and energy drinks they’ll only dehydrate you and everyone knows the #1 rule when you’re sick—always stay hydrated. Teas (especially herbal varieties), like soup can help break up congestion, soothe sore throats, and help keep your hydration levels up!
CANDLES AND ESSENTIAL OILS: When you’ve caught a bug, keeping cozy is key to helping you feel better, both mentally and physically! When you’re sick, sometimes the last thing you want is to be surrounded by harsh lighting so, candles are a great way to bring a little warmth and light to a room! To ease cold symptoms, the essential oils of aromatherapy may be rubbed on the body, inhaled with steam, diffused into the air, or poured on a cloth to be used as a compress. Try rubbing diluted eucalyptus oil on the chest as a decongestant, or inhale eucalyptus or peppermint oil to clear stuffiness. Adding lavender, cedar, or lemon to steam may also soothe nasal passages. Inhaling menthol not only provides relief from nasal congestion, but might help inhibit infection as well. Rosemary, thyme, mint, basil, and tea tree oils can also provide relief from symptoms of a cold.
HONEY: Packed full of antioxidants, honey is your best friend when you’ve got a sore throat! Honey can help boost your immune system and it’s extremely viscose so it’ll coat that irritated throat and soothe your symptoms, perhaps even better than any other over-the-counter medication out there.
HEATING PADS AND WEIGHTED BLANKETS: Using a heating pad can help relieve sore muscles, body aches, chills, chest pains and other symptoms associated with COVID-19, the flu and common colds. Weighted blankets can keep you extra warm and cozy when you’ve caught a cold, they’re also proven to help reduce anxiety and stress—which are two things no one wants to deal with when they’re feeling under the weather!
WATER BOTTLE: We can’t stress this enough— staying hydrated is so important, especially when you’re sick! To help you keep your hydration up and reduce plastic waste, invest in a good reusable water bottle to keep by your side as you battle your bug!
SOFT TISSUES: If you’ve ever had a runny nose, you know it’s not only one of the most annoying symptoms associated with being sick but it can also do a serious number on your nose and the skin around it. To keep your nose from getting dry and irritated as you constantly blow it, make sure you’re stocked up on soft tissues. You can even look for tissues that contain essential oils or soothing scents to help break up the stuffiness!
THERMOMETER: A working thermometer is important to have handy when you’re sick. While fevers are common symptoms of most colds, the flu and even COVID-19, keeping an eye on your temperature is necessary. Fluctuations in temperature are common, but extremely high or extremely low temps can indicate a more serious infection, that might require additional medical assistance! It’s recommended to check your temperature a few times a day, if you are sick or feeling sick. This will help you measure the severity of your illness and can even help you monitor where you are in terms of healing!
BLENDER: Why would you need a blender when you’re sick? If you’re battling a cold, the flu or COVID-19, you know sometimes you lose your appetite, sometimes you have to deal with nausea, and sometimes your throat hurts too much to swallow solid foods—that’s where a blender comes in! Blenders make it easy to pack your body with the protein, vitamins and nutrients it needs to heal, especially if you’re dealing with symptoms that make eating difficult. Smoothies are a great way to fill up on cold and flu fighting fruits and veggies, plus they’re easy to consume and can even soothe your sore throat!
For Your Home
DISINFECTANT (SPRAY AND WIPES): Boulder Clean’s disinfecting spray and wipes are perfect for keeping your home squeaky clean during COVID and cold & flu season. Using plant-based ingredients they powerfully eliminate over 99.9% of viruses* and bacteria! If you’re sick or someone in your home is sick, remember to regularly disinfect high-touch surfaces. Doing this can help stop the spread of germs.
HUMIDIFIER: Dry sinuses, bloody noses and cracked lips — the Mayo Clinic suggests humidifiers can help soothe these familiar problems caused by dry indoor air. In addition, cool-mist humidifiers may help ease symptoms of a cold or other respiratory conditions.
LAUNDRY DETERGENT: While you’re sick (and especially after), it’s important to wear clean clothes, use clean towels and sleep in clean sheets. There is nothing worse than sitting in your own sickness, so keeping your laundry clean will truly help you feel better! Use a laundry detergent with a nice scent and powerful stain lifting abilities to keep you and your home feeling extra fresh and clean!
CLEANABLE TRASH CAN: An easily cleanable trash can seems like a small and pretty random essential, but if you get one, we promise you’ll thank us later. If you’re constantly tossing used tissues, cough drop wrappers, food and more into your trash can, you’re essentially piling on the germs. Trash cans are hotbeds for viruses and bacteria— especially salmonella, e.coli, listeria and flu viruses. Cleaning your trash can with soap and water or disinfectant can help stop the spread of illness, and can ultimately keep you and your family safer and healthier.
ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER: A clean house is a happy house and a healthy house! Cleaning your house often, can keep germs, dirt and grime to a minimum. While we recommend disinfectant for high-touch areas, especially if you or someone in your home is feeling ill, you can tackle all of your other messes and low-touch surfaces with an all-purpose cleaner.