I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on TV. But I can’t afford to get really, really sick, because there are people to feed and drive around and jobs to do. In fact, somewhere along the way to parenthood it became illegal to be sick — if my husband is sick, rather than feeling sorry for him, I’m usually annoyed. So here’s my strategy for not getting really sick. It’s ok to be a little sick — that is, you’re still functional but have a slight cough or congestion — but the type that gets you laid up in bed hiding under the covers is pretty much unacceptable once you have kids.

• As soon as you feel the tiniest inkling of getting sick, like an itchy throat or general malaise, or if you’ve been near sick people, take some Cold-Eeze. I’ve tried both Airborne and Cold-Eeze (I’m sure the generic zinc lozenges work just as well) and have had better success with the latter.
• Keep taking it every 4-6 hours til the feeling subsides.
• Sleep a lot. If I feel something coming on, I try to go to bed shortly after the kids do. When I used to travel a lot for a demanding job, I found that sleeping was the best way to prevent illness (as well as recover from it). I’m willing to bet this is actually the silver bullet when it comes to mitigating a cold.

I also pop multi-vitamins regularly if I feel like I’m fighting something. It’s been years since I’ve been so sick that I can’t do anything, so I think I’m on to something here. Give it a try — your family will thank you (or at the very least, they won’t resent you).