With fall almost here, cold season isn’t far behind! Rather than waiting until everyone is already feeling like crud, take a few minutes not to update your supplies so you’re ready when those nasty bugs hit! Trust me, it’s a lot better to be over-prepared ahead of time than to have to drag your tired behind out of bed and to the store when the house is in the throes of sickness! I’ve put together a quickie checklist of a few things I like to keep on hand during the season. Check it out!

5 Things to Keep on Hand for Cold Season

Get ready for cold season before viruses strike! Shop now for these 5 things (aside from meds) that will make you more comfortable!

*I received the Instatemp Thermometer mentioned below in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Aside from the usual medications, like fever reducer and cold meds to alleviate your symptoms, it’s a good idea to also check your supplies and make sure you these other items. My list includes:

Feel Good Essential Oils

I’m all about using essential oils in my home. During the cold season, I go through a lot of peppermint and eucalyptus EO. I add both to my diffuser to zap that “sick smell” feeling from the air. Plus these oils help open up my sinuses. I also make cold care bath salts for everyone in my family. Soaking in a tub with the aroma of tea tree, eucalyptus and mint is just heaven when you’re feeling cruddy!

Cold Care Bath Soak Recipe with Apothecary Extracts Tea Tree Oil

Throat Soothers

I stock up on a multitude of throat-soothing supplies to ease the discomfort of a scratch throat. My must-haves include plenty of tea bags (everything from regular black tea for the morning to herbal lemon tea for night time), cough drops, and hard sour candies (the sour flavor makes you salivate more, which in turn lubricates your dry throat). You can also keep thinks like bouillion cubes or instant soup mix on hand. By keeping these things on hand during cold season, I don’t have to worry about waking up in the middle of the night feeling scratchy and having nothing to soothe me.

“Sick Day” Activities

Being sick is no fun, but I remember whenever I felt miserable, my grandparents would pull out new coloring books, Colorforms (remember those?) and other activities to make the time pass a little faster when I wasn’t napping. Next time you’re shopping on Amazon or at the store, pick up a few puzzle books, coloring books, etc to stash away for a sick day. Don’t forget to get yourself a little something! Adult coloring books are all the rage right now, so you’ll be able to find some really neat ones.

Need a little relaxation time for yourself? Grab five free printable adult coloring pages from Skyhorse Coloring Books

A working thermometer

arc-instatemp

I have probably a dozen thermometers in my house, but for some reason when I actually need one, I either can’t find it or I discover that it just doesn’t work anymore. This cold season, I’ll be turning to my new ARC Devices InstaTemp thermometer.  I really love this thing! It can take your temperature without even touching you. Just hold it slightly away from your head (between .5 to 1.25 inches away), aim and click. Voila, temperature! It has an LCD backlight so you can even read the digital display in the dark. I love it because since it doesn’t actually touch your skin, you don’t have to worry about cross-contamination.

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The thermometer is accurate without about .2 degrees but do keep in mind that your temperature is different depending on what part of the body used to measure it. For example, when I take my temp with the InstaTemp thermometer, it usually comes up at 97.6. I get the same reading with the thermometer that you swipe across your forehead. However, when I take it orally, it’s closer to 98.6. This is normal, it doesn’t mean that it’s not working right. WebMD has an excellent conversion chart to give you an idea of what your temp would be if you took it via different methods.

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The ARC Devices InstaTemp retails for $39.98. You can grab it from their website or on Amazon. It even comes with a 2-year guarantee!

Heating pad AND cooling packs

I always make sure that I have enough working heating pads for the entire family AND keep a supply of cool packs in the freezer. The heat really helps when I’m dealing with an ear ache. The cold packs are perfect for headaches or those days when you’re just feeling overheated. When it’s too hot out for a heating pad I go through those cool gel packs like crazy!

Of course, I also keep all the other essentials, like medications and comfort foods on hand during cold season, but I wanted to try to give you a few things that you might not automatically think of when you’re stocking up.

Do you have any other “essentials” that help you get through cold season?