7 Items To Have During Cold and Flu Season
It is hard to believe that cold and flu season is upon us once again. With school, work and play the germs are pretty unavoidable. You should always take the steps to avoid getting sick, like washing your hands and avoiding touching your face and mouth often, but if you should get sick here are the 7 items to always have on hand:
I received samples and compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.
Tissues- Pretty obvious, but I can’t tell you how many times me or my kids have wound up curled on the couch with a roll of toilet paper because I don’t have a box of tissues handy. Now I keep a couple extra boxes on hand in the closet, we especially love the kind with lotion, much easier on a runny nose.
VapoRub- Vicks VapoRub™ topical ointment is a topical cough medicine with medicated vapors. It starts working quickly for children two and up as well as adults to relieve cough symptoms. It smells heavenly, my whole family loves it.
Humidifier- Flu viruses thrive in cold and dry places, making winter air the perfect breeding ground for the virus. By keeping humidity levels in your home between 40 and 60 percent you can reduce the survival of flu viruses on surfaces and in the air. We love to use a cool mist humidifier in all of our bedrooms to reduce germs and keep our home comfortable.
We have the Mini Humidifier – which we love. Vicks also recently came out with the Vicks Sweet Dreams Cool Mist Humidifier, which I know my kids will think is so cool. The American Academy of Pediatricians recommends using a cool mist humidifier throughout the winter months to help relieve congestion and cough in children. If we are sick I love to add Vicks VapoPads®, they can be used in conjunction with Vicks Humidifiers to provide soothing Menthol or Sleepytime Rosemary & Lavender scented vapors for up to eight hours of comfort.
Thermometer- Fever can sometimes occur with a cold or the flu. It is important to monitor fever and the Vicks SmartTemp® Thermometer provides accurate readings and is compatible with a free downloadable app that makes it easy to take and track temperature readings for the whole family.
Saline Spray- I never knew about saline sprays until my pediatrician recommended them. They are a life saver during cold and flu season. With noses that are so raw from wiping them over and over again saline does a great job of loosening up congestion and making it easier to tackle those runny noses. 
Sanitizing Wipes- When one person in a family gets sick, it seems to make the rounds through everyone. I always make sure to use disinfectant wipes to wipe down my workspace daily, as well as my telephone, mouse, and keyboard. Doorknobs and shared items like TV remotes and children’s toys are often overlooked, but are so important to keep clean and germ free.
Ingredients for chocolate chip cookies- Let’s be honest, is there anything else to make you feel better than warm chocolate chip cookies?
Such a great items for cold season, Thanks for the great tips
As we move into cough and cold season season this post is quite timely. It is great to be prepared before everyone in the house starts sneezing.
I so needed this post and am running to store now to stock up on these products! I can feel that scratchy throat coming on! Great tips too!
What great items to keep on hand during cold and flu season! I always get sick this time of year so i’ll have to pick this stuff up and stash it away for the winter months!
I think theses are such great tips and take sanitizers with me to make sure to get rid of germs and Vapo Rub is a good product to use when getting a cold!
Yep, I have everything I need to survive the season it looks like. I had to laugh when I saw the cookie ingredients though. lol
I am a huge fan of sanitizing wipes.
Thanks for the information.
These are some really great tips. I will definitely have to get some of these together. I know the flu is coming!
Great tips! Sure hope this season is not so sickly for us this year. Love your list…especially the last tip…makes everything better!
Being sick is no fun. Great list of things to have on hand as we approach cold and flu season!
That app is so cool!! I want to get that on my phone asap.. and your comment about the cookies made me laugh, but you are so right. They hit the spot when you need that comfort food!
These are great items to have on hand for cold and flu season. I always stock up on Vicks VapoRub and tissues.
My kids love to eat Popsicles when they get sick. I always make sure I have a pile of them in the freezer. Vicks VapoRub has a few great ways to use it.
I hate this time of the year when there are so many colds going around. I make sure I have a ton of tissues just in case.
I always stock up on cold medicines for the whole family this time of the year. Vicks VapoRub is a must in our house.
I am stocking up now. These are such great tips, I know the dreaded flu and cold season is coming.
Fall is my favorite time of year; but I hate that is also Cold and Flu Season. Thanks for the great info!
Our weather here in New England went from the 40’s to the 80s. We are all now just getting sick!
I agree with all of these! I’m already sick, and so are my two daughters. This time of year really sucks because we usually always get sick.
Fall is my favorite time of year; however, one of the downfalls that comes with that is Cold and Flu Season. Thanks for the good info.
It’s getting to be that time of year. We also use essential oils to deal with colds.
Great tips. You just reminded me that I need to pick up one of those mini humidifiers, and I must try those pads.
This reminds me that I need to get a new humidifier. Ours stopped working last year… This is a great list. Thanks so much for sharing
This is a great list to have on hand. I love the cookie idea! Thanks!
Perfect list! Never ever underestimate the value of saline solution. Ha- it’s a godsend here!
When my kiddo is sick we always use a humidifier. Ours is getting quite old so I need to look for a new one so I will definitely check this one out. We love vapor rub.
These are great suggestions! I also like to have saltine crackers on hand to eat in case of being too sick for regular food as well as electrolyte drinks to combat dehydration.
Back in the spring, we all got bronchitis and it was horrible. The only relief we got was from on Vicks humidifier.
I mostly have kept many boxes of tissues and cans of chicken soup! The saline spray is good, be very careful if you try making your own, you must boil the water first, there can be very dangerous pathogens if they go up the nose that are harmless if swallowed.
Oh I such great ideas…especially the cookies 🙂 Warm cookies are always the best! We love using the VapoRub…I have never seen those pads though! Those would be so great. We have a humidifier running most nights here, I would love to use those when one of us is sick!