Sore throat. Stuffy nose. Wheezing cough. When you're sick with a cold or flu, all you want to do is crawl into bed and sleep for a week or two. But your pesky symptoms make it impossible to rest easy. When bedtime finally rolls around, you actually feel worse than you did during the day.

When you have a cold or allergies, congestion worsens at night. "When you lie down, the airways are more likely to become clogged with mucus,” says Dr. Neil Schachter, medical director of the respiratory care department of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, and author of The Good Doctor's Guide to Cold and Flu.

Here's how to stop tossing and turning, and get a restorative night's sleep.

1. Have a tea party.
Before you go to bed, sip a mug of decaffeinated black tea. The antioxidant-rich beverage contains theobromine, which is a natural cough suppressant, and the heat thins mucus. Add lemon to help cut through congestion and honey to soothe the throat.

2. Rinse away congestion.
Wash away gunk that's interfering with your breathing by doing regular nasal rinses. Nasal rinse kits can be found at most drugstores and are easy and painless to use. Essentially, you are rinsing your nasal cavity with a mixture of distilled water and sodium. This helps to clear passages and keep them moist. If you're uncomfortable with a nose rinse, try a saline nasal spray instead. This also helps to flush out the nose, which makes breathing easier, says Schachter.

3. Pamper a sore throat.
"The throat feels sore during an infection because the mucus that is lining the throat is filled with inflammatory compounds," says Schachter. Add half a teaspoon table salt to warm water, gargle for 10 seconds and spit out. Removing the virus-laden mucus relieves both sore throat and coughing. 

4. Darken your bedroom.
It's important to create a healthy environment that promotes quality sleep. Since incoming light tells the brain to wake up, try to block morning light from reaching your eyes. You can accomplish this by hanging dark curtains or by wearing a comfortable sleep mask that covers your eyes. Also, if you have a brightly illuminated alarm clock, make sure it's not facing you during the night.

5. Keep it cool.
In your bedroom, set the thermostat low. When your body temperature drops, your brain goes into sleep mode. The National Sleep Foundation recommends between 54 F and 75 F.

6. Take a hot shower.
Before bed, muster the strength to take a hot shower. When you get out, the drop in body temperature helps prepare your brain for sleep. Bonus: Steam loosens congestion and hydrates your nasal and throat passages.

7. Slip on socks.
Put on a pair of cozy socks before you get into bed. According to a Swiss study, warming your feet helps your body relax and puts you in the snooze zone.

8. Silence symptoms.
Some common symptoms, such as a cough and congestion, can make restful sleep a real challenge when you're sick. Over-the-counter medications can help alleviate these uncomfortable obstacles to a good night's sleep. 

9. Elevate your head.
When you're congested, sleep with your head elevated. Prop yourself up with a few extra pillows or the plump cushions from your sofa. Sleeping elevated helps ease sinus pressure and makes breathing less difficult.

10. Quiet your mind.
Even when you're exhausted and not feeling well, sometimes you can have a mental block that prevents you from falling asleep. To get into the right frame of mind, try one of these calming pursuits: meditate, jot your thoughts into a journal, listen to soothing music or read your favorite book. 

Last but not least, be sure to keep a box of soft facial tissues on your nightstand. That way, you’ll avoid irritating your face during a cold, and relief will be within reach whenever you need it.

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Your little one is coughing, sneezing and asking for comfort. How can you tell a cold from the flu? Knowing the difference between the two is important for any parent.

Although colds and the flu are both respiratory illnesses, they're caused by different types of viruses. The problem is that colds and the flu share symptoms, like coughing and sneezing. But I've listed a few ways to distinguish between the two. Keep in mind that every child is different. If you're worried about him or her, don't hesitate to call your pediatrician.

How can I tell if it's a cold? 
Colds are generally milder than the flu and usually last for about a week. Children typically develop a sore throat. The cold is more likely to cause sinus symptoms -- such as a runny nose, sniffling and sneezing -- followed by a cough. Kids can also present a low-grade fever, which is usually around 100 F. The symptoms of the flu also generally last longer -- up to two weeks -- than the symptoms of a cold, which usually last three to seven days.

How can I tell if it's the flu? 
More severe than a cold, flu symptoms tend to come on quickly: Your child can feel fine one day and horrible the next. The main symptom of the flu, however, is a fever. Kids can get a high-grade fever of up to 106 F. (Click here to learn more about when to call the doctor for a fever.) Other telltale signs include a dry cough, body aches and an overall feeling of fatigue.

What's the best way to treat the viruses? 
If your child has the flu, and she or someone in your home has a compromised immune system -- an infant, a senior citizen, or someone with a chronic illness -- call your pediatrician right away. Your doctor will want to prescribe an antiviral medication, which is most effective when taken 48 hours after onset. This can help prevent the spread of the flu, which can cause potentially dangerous complications, like pneumonia.

Otherwise, you can treat both illnesses the same way: Make sure that your child gets plenty of rest and fluids. You can use a fever-reducing medication, like acetaminophen, to bring down his or her temperature, as well as OTC meds to relieve symptoms.

If your child experiences respiratory problems and has trouble breathing, has a fever that lasts more than three days, or doesn't seem to be getting better with time, call your doctor. You want to make sure that he didn't develop a complication, such as pneumonia or a sinus or ear infection.

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When your little one is sniffling and sneezing, it's sometimes hard to know what to do. While most bugs clear up on their own, sometimes an illness can turn into something more serious. Here are four red-flag scenarios in which you should call the doctor:

If your child has: a high fever. For infants, it's a fever above 100.4 F.  For children over 1 year, it's a fever above 103 F, lasting longer than three days. 

If your child has: an earache, or drainage from the ear. This could be an ear infection.

If your child has: a painful sore throat accompanied by fever. This could be strep throat, which a pediatrician can diagnose with a throat culture and prescribe antibiotics.

If your child shows: flu symptoms -- fever, body aches, cough, runny nose or congestion. The doctor might prescribe an antiviral medication to reduce the severity and duration of the virus. But you must act quickly -- the medication only works within the first 48 hours of the illness.

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Our hands allow us to work, interact and take care of our children -- but they can also make us sick."Hand-to-face contact is the most common way germs are spread," says Dr. Harley A. Rotbart, the vice chairman of academic affairs in the pediatrics department at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, a physician at Children's Hospital Colorado, and the author of Germ Proof Your Kids: The Complete Guide to Protecting (Without Overprotecting) Your Family From Infections. That's why proper hand-washing is the best defense against cold and flu.

Most of us -- 85 percent, an American Society for Microbiology and American Cleaning Institute study says -- hit the sink in public. But Rotbart says the majority aren't scrubbing up correctly. Read on to get the clean truth about how to kill germs with proper hand-washing protocol.

• Take it all off. Before you turn on that faucet, remove your rings. According to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control, ring-wearers had higher counts of bacteria on their hands before and after washing than those who didn't wear them. Afraid you'll misplace your band? Shift it up your finger and clean beneath it.
• Add a squirt. There are dozens of soap options available, but you can keep it simple. "There's no need for an antibacterial brand," says Rotbart."They're no more effective than the standard variety." He also recommends reaching for a liquid form. "The residue in soap dishes can make those bars a breeding ground of bacteria." For the cleanest suds, sterilize your dispenser pump in the dishwasher every other week.
• Scrub thoroughly. "The purpose of washing your hands is creating friction to rub away germs, not to kill them," says Rotbart. Teach your child to clean his entire hand, including the wrists, backs of hands, between fingers and beneath fingernails.
• Time it right. How long you spend washing up is key: A study from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine found that rinsing with water for five seconds didn't remove any germs, but washing with soap for 30 seconds eliminated them all. Experts recommend lathering up for 20 seconds, or the amount of time it takes to sing the"ABC Song" or"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" twice. Then rinse thoroughly; the water temperature doesn't matter, says Rotbart.
• Reach for a paper towel. "When you rub your hands with a towel, you're removing the last traces of germs," explains Rotbart. Since viruses can live on cloth surfaces, make sure each family member has his or her own. In a public bathroom that's all out of towels? Spend a little extra time with the air dryer."Bacteria continues to reproduce on wet hands," says Rotbart. In fact, a study published in Epidemiology and Infection found that when sick people touched someone else with damp hands, they transferred a whopping 68,000 microorganisms.

When to Wash
We all know to scrub after using the bathroom or before dinner, but there are less obvious times when your little one should lather up:

• After playing with animals
• After school and day care
• After playing with someone who is sick, or in a doctor's waiting room
• After playing outside
• After blowing his nose or coughing into his hands
• Before bedtime

When You're Not Near a Sink
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are great when soap and water aren't available. Germs can only survive in moist environments, and the rubbing alcohol in these sanitizers evaporates moisture on your skin, which kills any germs that may be on your hands. Rotbart recommends stashing separate bottles in your purse and kitchen.

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This year has been one of the worst for cold and flu in recent history, according to medical experts (and moms!). But this fact doesn’t mean that your family is sentenced to the sniffles for the remainder of the season.

While it’s impossible to banish the viruses that cause cold and flu, you can limit your family’s exposure to them at home. We sorted through the research to find the smart ways you can protect your clan.

1. Disinfect surprising surfaces.
After someone gets sick, you’re diligent about washing the sheets and spraying down the coffee table, but don’t forget to clean all the common spaces. Scientists at the University of Virginia discovered that some of the most-infected areas in the home included fridge handles, doorknobs, remote controls, light switches, bathroom faucets and dishwasher handles. Since viruses can live on surfaces for up to eight hours, it’s smart to do a deep clean of your home.

2. Choose the right cleaners.
To effectively kill those flu-causing viruses, look for wipes labeled “anti-virus.” According to British researchers, these sanitizing wipes are more effective than the garden varieties. If you’re on a budget, pick up a disinfecting spray. Or whip up a solution on your own from bleach or vinegar, both of which are proven virus-killers. (Just don’t mix the two ingredients together.)

3. Start a hand-washing rule.
It’s no secret that scrubbing up is the No.1 way to fend off the sniffles. Teach your children how to wash up properly with soap and water, making sure to scrub all surfaces (don’t forget beneath nails, between fingers and on the backs of the hands) for at least 20 seconds. Then make sure that every member of your family hits the sink as soon as they enter the home; after bathroom breaks and sneezes; and before meals.

4. Run a humidifier.
Cold and flu viruses thrive in chilly, dry atmospheres, reports a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Running a humidifier adds moisture to the air, which may deter the spread of those germs. Bonus: The added moisture keeps your nasal passages from drying out, so you can breathe easier.

5. Set out the tissues.
Just one sneeze can spray cold and flu infected droplets six feet! To prevent the spread of germs in your home, teach your little ones how to sneeze into their elbows or a tissue. And don’t forget to remind them to immediately toss those used tissues into the trash.

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