How To Feel Better When You Have A Nasty Cold

Summer is long gone for real, so it's time to face the facts: You're going to get a cold. Actually, you're probably going to get colds — plural. The average American gets between two and five colds every single year and these bugs are pretty much unavoidable, unless you live in a bubble.

To make matters worse, there's the fact that the common cold doesn't have a cure. If your symptoms are caused by bacteria, your doctor may give you antibiotics. But most colds are viral, meaning antibiotics won't do squat.

If you're sick of getting sick, we don't blame you. The good news is that the cold is self-limiting, which means it'll only last for a predictable (and short!) period of time. That's because the usual symptoms of a cold — sneezing, runny nose, coughing — are really just byproducts of your body trying to rid itself of the virus, not the virus itself.

And the best news is that there are some science-backed ways to feel better while you're counting down those days. Again, these won't cure or prevent your cold, but they might make your life a little easier while your body does its job.