The common cold and flu are viruses that we face every year. The common cold causes symptoms of sneezing, coughing and a stuffy nose. While the flu can cause similar symptoms in addition to fever, body aches, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Doctors often can’t prescribe much in the way of medications (i.e., antibiotics) for the common cold or flu as they are viruses and not bacteria borne illnesses, so antibiotics won’t help combat either virus. However, certain over the counter medications (i.e., decongestants) and the following home remedies can help prevent an oncoming cold or flu: 1. Using a humidifier or vaporizer The common cold will cause your nose to become congested, which could make breathing and sleeping more difficult for you. If you need some help clearing your nose, you should use a humidifier or vaporizer to clear your sinuses. They can improve the airflow in your nostrils. This makes them ideal to use, especially at night while you sleep, if you feel flu like or cold symptoms coming on. 2. Chicken soup If you want to energize your body to help fight off cold and flu while calming any nausea you might experience from a coming flu, chicken soup can help.

Feeling sad from time to time is a common part of life, but feeling hobbled on a daily basis by nagging depression may be a sign of something more profound. Depression is a state of feeling or mood marked by deep feelings of sadness, isolation, anxiety, or emptiness. Depression may feel uncontrollable and discourage you from doing activities in which you once were involved. Depression ultimately affects everybody. It can be treated and you can live a normal depression-free life. Effectively treating depression requires doing more than taking pills and going to therapy. The more you alter your lifestyle to retain an equanimity of mind and body, the more you will be able to deal with the ordeals of depression. Here are several ways that you can enhance your lifestyle to help enhance your treatment for depression. As always, before making any alterations, check with your physician: 1. Get daily exercise Studies have shown that exercise affects the same parts of the brain as does medications like Zoloft, Ritalin, and Prozac. If you are suffering from depression, you should engage in some form of vigorous exercise like running, swimming, elliptical exercises, or dancing to upbeat music for 30 minutes a day.

Many people are aware of the many negative effects smoking has on their health. Smoking can cause gum recession, increase your risk for several types of cancer, cause lung and cardiovascular disease, and significantly reduce bone density. These are only a few of the ways that smoking can negatively affect your health. If you want to quit smoking for good, here are quit smoking tips that can help: 1. Drink lots of water Drinking more water will help flush nicotine from your system and prevent the cravings caused by withdrawals. If you are looking for an easy way to drink lots of water, try adding fresh fruits (like berries or citrus) or vegetable juices like cucumbers to your water. 2. Sweat it out Nicotine is also a diuretic, so when you stop smoking and try smoking cessation quit the bad habits that go along with it (like having an unhealthy diet high in refined sugars), getting rid of excess fluid is one way to flush nicotine from your system and reduce cravings. You can do this by getting your sweat on with regular exercise, like a brisk walk, run, or bike ride. You can also try using saunas or steam rooms to help sweat to flush nicotine and boost circulation.