The Cold Truth And Why I'm Always Coughing At Christmas #Sponsored Post

In childhood pictures of me at Christmas time, I was the quintessential ruddy cheeked smiley child. With my blond hair and almost permanent grin, I was just like those little cherubs you see hanging around the manger of the Baby Jesus. What you didn't see, just out of shot is the bottles of cough medicine and baby paracetamol and various other items that my Parents, Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles would buy for me in order to get me through the day. For every year, without fail I was ill at Christmas. Somehow, the children have skipped most of my cold at Christmas genes, well Top Ender does have a cough and BB is currently laying on the sofa feeling incredibly sorry for himself...

Big Boy asleep and poorly on the sofa

According to decongestant experts Olbas and some research they and others have done today, Monday 15th December is the most cold ridden day of the year.

Great.



Apparently, the amount of stress, the amount of social events and the bitter weather in the run up to Christmas factor into why this is and Dr Sarah Jarvis believes that with everyone focusing on getting ready for the big day that they forget to take care of themselves and lack of sunshine also has something to do with it. Dr Jarvis also said

“At this time of year, we’re not only huddled inside at home, but we’re also coming into more contact with crowds as Christmas shopping fever gears up. Add to that a combination of cold weather and central heating, and it’s not surprising that mid-
December is peak sneeze period!”

 I knew online shopping was a good idea.

The good news for me is that you can't catch a cold because you go out in cold weather with wet hair, almost all coughs and colds are caused by viruses, which when you breathe in and means boom you're infected.

As I've found out this past weekend, Children are great at spreading germs. It seems every child BB knows at School is off today with a rather unpleasant bug (and is why I'm very worried BB and I might be heading off to hospital any moment). Unfortunately for Daddy, he'll be the one most likely to catch this bug from BB as he was the one being sick nurse, whilst Top Ender and I went to do our Nativity with the children from Church at a near by Old Folks Home, and went to Church on Sunday (I was teaching, so I kinda had to go!).

Then again, BB is still not feeling good and I still might catch it. Luckily for me being ill the week before Christmas won't change anything, other than I might miss Top Ender's Carol Concert as almost everything else is done... but that's not the case for a lot of others, as over the holiday period a lot of people have really hectic schedules meaning that they can't veg out on the sofa, or in bed to take time for their bodies to get better.

Nikki Kerrigan, a spokesperson for Olbas explained:

“What we’ve seen is a clear peak just before Christmas when people are suffering the most from colds and it’s no surprise that most people feel worse on a Monday. It’s possibly the worst timing of the year! At a time when you want to be fighting fit, dealing with a cold can put a dampener on the long awaited Christmas holidays. Olbas makes it easy to treat cold symptoms so that you can enjoy the festive season with family and friends.” 

So this year whilst a cold might already be upon you, or you might know you're going to be coming down with one then there are a range of Olbas products to help you and the family and here are some tips from Dr Sarah Jarvis on keeping colds at bay and some ideas on how to help if you're already ill!

• Stick to your side of the bed You’re much more likely to catch a cold by spending hours in close contact with a sufferer. They may want to be cuddled all night if they’re feeling sorry for themselves, but it’s a sure recipe to leave you bunged up too.

• Once you’re sneezing, it may be too late Colds are probably at their most contagious during the incubation period – the two days or so between being exposed to the virus and getting symptoms. Once you’re sneezing, it’s about symptom relief rather prevention.

• Being congested is no laughing matter 1 in 3 of us find congestion the worst part of having a cold. Aromatic oils containing eucalyptus or menthol can relieve stuffiness in the nose and let you breathe easy.

• You need propping up – literally! Coughing is often worse at night – when you lie down, mucus drips onto your soft palate, stimulating your cough reflex. Make yourself a nest of pillows to avoid being up all night coughing.

• There are some benefits in getting older! Kids get up to a dozen colds a year – in adults, it’s about 2-4 a year and in older age it may be only one, because your immune system has come across most of the viruses responsible and can fight them off. However, older people are more vulnerable to complications such as serious chest infections which is why it’s important to fight a cold head on with over the counter remedies, hot baths and rest!

Infographic about colds from Olbas

This is a sponsored post, but trust me my medicine cabinet is full of Olbas remedies as they are natural and I find them to be a great help.