The curse of the dreaded rhinovirus - yes, watch out there's a cold about

With the the rain and floods has come my first cold for almost two years.

I think it is making up for lost time by taking a mallet to my brain and making me look like something off the front of a chill’d Christmas Advent calendar. (PHOTO: iStockphoto.com)

I have also forgotten how rotten the rhinovirus, to give it its technical term, can make you feel.

I must say though, for the “sniff sniff I’ve got the ‘flu” brigade, there is a vast difference between something that makes you feel rotten for a couple of days and something which takes you to the very gates of Hell and back.

Thankfully this is just a cold.

Anyway I have decided to share my misery, and maybe give some advice to anyone else out there trying to boost Kleenex sales.

A plea to the Twitterati this evening for any last-minute fail-safe cold cures brought a few responses.

The red nose, it appears, is here to stay, at least for a couple of days. As for the other symptoms, the streaming sinuses, the pounding head, the aching joints, the depression  from feeling so naff, the solution seems to be hit the booze.

Really, alcohol? something I use only as a hand sanitiser, can bring relief to this misery?

I very much doubt it, and even if it does I think I might go for a less toxic form of pain relief.

Lemsip (and other lemon-flavoured cold remedies) -a mixture of paracetamol and vitamin C, along with a few decongestants for good measure- seem to be the next in line.

I was also recommended whiskey - groan - and orange juice.

But unfortunately no-one could come up with anything wacky or novel that could relieve the symptoms.

So for anyone else suffering with the spring sniffles, here are tips I picked up from scouring the web.

• Inhaling menthol steam for the blocked nose.
• A hot shower or a hot bath to relieve nasal and chest congestion.
• Drink lots of liquids an avoid alcohol (told you) and caffeine (oops).
• Use a humidifier to unblock the nose.
• Rest - liking this one, although not always possible.
• Wash your mouth with salt water- this apparently helps the sire throat.
• Don’t smoke.
• Don’t exercise - it puts a strain on the immune system and makes the cold last longer.
• Garlic, honey, peppermint, vitamin C and zinc are all supposed to help it pass quicker.

I think I might have to sit this one out.