The cold weather may not only have you feeling down, but it can have your immune system down too! There are a lot of little illnesses that float around during the winter and its tough to stay healthy. With a college student’s busy schedule, getting sick can be a huge inconvenience and cause you to miss out on valuable class time. Being so busy, squeezing in a doctors visit may be tough.

Here are a list of a few drinks to help you feel better:

1. Drink water. Drink a lot of water constantly to flush out the toxins in your system. Not only does staying hydrated keep you healthy, but it benefits your hair and skin too.
2. Hot black or green tea with a little bit of lemon and honey can help prevent cold and flu symptoms. The steam from the tea stimulates the cilia, or the hair follicle in the nose, to clear out germs more efficiently. Honey is soothing and antibacterial and the lemon thins mucus.
3. A quick and easy way to get a surge of vitamin C is to drink Emergen-C. It’s a packet full of essential nutrients, antioxidants, 7 B vitamins and electrolytes that you dump into 4-6 ounces of water. 
4. One of the oldest tricks in the book to help soothe a sore throat is gargling with salt water. Adding a half teaspoon of salt to a glass of warm water can help bring down the swelling and keep the throat clean from bacteria. 
5. If you’re feeling nauseous, ginger ale and ginger tea may help. Ginger is recommended to sooth nausea, because it contains substances that relieve inflammation and digestive discomforts.

Boosting your immune system, washing and sanitizing your hands and getting a good night of sleep will help you stay ahead of the sickness. It’s important to take care of yourself at all times, rather than waiting until you are sick to do something about it.