As wonderful as it was to spend Thanksgiving with my nieces, those sneezing, coughing, puking stinkers covered me with their germs. And now I’ve caught whatever they had.

It started with rawness in the throat, which progressed into a stuffy nose and a congestion headache. Now, I feel the way it looks outside — just yucky. Rainy, dreary days are always the best ones to be sick, because you’re stuck inside anyway and at least you’re not missing anything outside.

As someone who’s been stricken with migraines for the last half of my life, I’ve probably ingested more ibuprofen than some pharmacies sell in a week. But now I’m trying to avoid chemicals whenever I can and feed my body naturally instead.

Curled up with Nacho on the couch during Sick Day

So my first line of defense was Tazo green ginger tea, which combines the tummy-soothing powers of ginger with the all-around goodness of green tea into one warm, comforting mug. Then, it was the cold-fighting combo of vitamin C and zinc.

For headache, surprisingly, I turn to Bath & Body Works. Their Aromatherapy Pulse Point Headache Relief with peppermint oil works wonders. As it tells you on the tube, “Ancient Romans crowned themselves with wreaths of peppermint to awaken the mind and alleviate headaches.” It’s blended with cedarwood and spike lavender to help “calm the nerves and ease tension” with every inhale. Their headache mask, a disposable patch you stick on your forehead, also works great, but I tore through that package long ago and Bath & Body has since stopped making their Headache Relief products. This Daily Migraine blog covers the products and offers some more current alternatives. 

Then, of course: chicken noodle soup and ice chips (found out the dog enjoys the latter)(found out even later that feeding dogs ice cubes can actually ‘freeze’ their digestive systems). Laying on the couch with mom’s old heating pad plugged in and wrapped around my shoulders. Drinking lots of water and tea and Naked Green Machine, which I just recently discovered. Looks gross, tastes good.

What are your natural cure-alls for a sick day?