How to Self-care When You’re Sick – A Simple Guide
Everyone gets sick sometimes, from a cold, flu, covid, or something of the sort. Since flu season is just around the corner, knowing how to take care of yourself with these tips is important. Self-care when you’re sick is just as important as self-care when you are healthy!
Keep reading to find out how these simple changes can help you get better and feel better quickly. Prepare things in advance and be ready to fight off any flu fast! Learn how to practice self-care when you’re sick, and why it’s so important for you to take time off from work to ride out being sick!
How to Self-care When You’re Sick
Getting right into it, here are 5 simple yet effective easy to self-care when you’re sick. It’s always nice to have someone take care of you, but if you need to quarantine or are on your own, these tips can help you feel better faster. Plus, you can use them to prepare just in case you catch something this flu season!
1. Make Teas Often
One thing for certain, you’re going to want to hydrate well. Not only does being sick feel terrible on the body, it may cause you to become dehydrated. When you have a fever, you tend to sweat. You may vomit or have other bodily reactions that cause you to lose water quickly. Being dehydrated has grave consequences which are intensified when you’re sick.
Try to stay hydrated and take care of yourself by making tea often. Teas are soothing, warm, comforting, and easy to make, especially if you have a kettle! You may want to add some honey or lemon in for a boost of electrolytes and hydration as well. Teas are usually warm too, which can help soothe the throat and break down fingerling mucus. If possible, take a moment to breathe in the steam from the cup of tea to further help out your breathing.
2. Drink Soups and Eat BRAT
Maybe you have a sore throat, maybe you lost your sense of taste, or maybe you just have no appetite. Liquids are usually a good place to start. This can be a clear broth made out of vegetable or chicken stock. All you need to do is buy a premade batch in a can or box and keep it until an emergency strikes. While it’s important to eat whole foods, it’s also important to know you aren’t going to feel up to cooking a soup for 8 hours to let the ingredients boil. In the future, you can save your vegetable scraps or extra chicken, freeze it, and then make soup with it. Freeze that soup and have that be your emergency batch for when you’re feeling sick.
You can also try plain white rice, another thing you can make extra of and freeze, as this is easier to digest than brown rice. Other options for an upset stomach especially include applesauce, bananas, and toast, all part of the BRAT (banana, rice, applesauce, toast) food list for an upset stomach.
3. Temperature Control
Being comfortable and practicing self-care when you’re sick can simply mean making sure you have a nice fluffy blanket to doze off under. This is something you need to prepare, so treat your future sick self to a good warm blanket, soft cushions, and anything else you might need to feel comfortable when you get sick.
On the other hand, your internal temperature may be high, and maybe you have a fever, so therefore it’s important to practice temperature control with your surroundings too. Take fever-reducing medication as needed and instructed by professional opinion, and get a cold object to press to your forehead. You can also place a cold towel on your neck or cool off with a shower if you’re feeling up to it. Usually, you’ll want to take medication such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen when your fever is about 102 F (38.9 C). Your eyes may hurt, so a damp cloth may do wonders to soothe.
4. Minimize Skincare
There is no way a 12-step skincare routine is in when you’re sick. Therefore, simplify the heck out of it. Do the bare minimum, wash your face when you wake up, and slap on some moisturizer to help your skin keep from drying out. Do what I do when feeling lazy and mix your serum, your facial oil, or any other ingredient with your moisturizer and make a quick skincare mixture that is on in one go.
At the very least, try to wash your face. You don’t want to keep any germ from blowing your nose or coughing anywhere near your face, so do what you can, and appreciate that you are making the effort to do so even when you are sick. Remember some chapstick too! All that coughing, sneezing, and mouth breathing is sure to cause a serious case of dry, chapped lips. Just try and toss the tube after you get over your cold!
5. Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
There is nothing better for the body when you are sick than sleep. Sleep is medicine for the body. When you’re sick and you sleep, your body is putting maximum effort into fighting the infection and getting you back to normal again.
Go to bed as early as you can, nap when you need to, and rest as much as possible. Relax and watch your favorite shows, but don’t stay up late trying to binge them when you’re sick. Prioritize yourself and your wellbeing by doing the number one action that takes little to no effort; sleep.
Reasons to Stay Home When You’re Sick
There’s a good reason to stay home if you’re feeling ill. You need time and energy to recuperate and should not be trying to force yourself to work. Furthermore, going to work will only spread the germs that caused you to get sick in the first place! Protect yourself and protect others by taking the time you need to get better. If possible, take time off from work, even if you work remotely! The best thing you can do for yourself is rest, relax, and focus on recovery.
The Takeaway
Self-care when you’re sick can be as simple as practicing basic skincare and making yourself some warm tea. Provide yourself with extra comforts like hot soup, and a fluffy blanket, and allow yourself to rest and recover.
Remember that health comes from within. Eat nutrient-dense meals, exercise when you can, at least 3 times a week, and take care of your mental health. Daily habits become the building blocks for emotional, mental, and physical health. Take care of your gut health too! Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here.
