Cold or Flu | Truck DriversDespite all your best efforts to avoid getting sick, you just can't deny it any longer, the cold and flu season has caught up to you. No matter how you cut it, being sick stinks! 

Your head hurts, your nose is running, you can’t concentrate, and all you want to do is curl up in bed and fall asleep. When you’re sick, it’s certainly not the best time to be a commercial truck driver, a profession that demands unwavering attention to detail.

If you get a cold or flu, how can you kick the sickness fast? Use these simple tips to get yourself healthy faster.

How to Kick a Cold or Flu Fast

Determine Whether It’s a Cold or Flu
First things first. If you get sick, you need to determine whether you have a common cold or the flu. While symptoms can overlap, a cold will generally include sneezing, coughing, and a sore throat, while the flu will bring chills, a fever, and body aches. Once you know which one is causing your sickness, you can move on to solving the problem.

Hydrate Your Body
Experts believe that staying hydrated is the #1 way to kick a cold or flu. Sipping hot liquids like tea or warm water can help relieve your sore throat and stomach aches, and adding honey to the liquid can also help sooth a cough. Ginger drinks also help with stomach aches.

Good, Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup
Eating chicken noodle soup when you’re sick isn’t just an old myth; it’s actually rooted in sound scientific information. Chicken noodle soup holds cysteine, an essential amino acid that is released from chicken when cooked. Cysteine has many benefits, including fighting sickness, and the warm liquids and vegetables in chicken noodle soup are easy on an upset stomach.

Sleep It Off
Everyone knows that rest is vital when you’re sick with a cold or flu. While the daily recommended amount is around eight hours, getting extra sleep while you’re sick can jumpstart your immune system. Sacrificing a few hours for sleep will pay off when you wake up healthy and rejuvenated.

Find Over-the-Counter Medication
Depending on what symptoms you have, there are many over-the-counter medications that can help you get well. Talk with a pharmacist to find the best medications to kick your symptoms.

Know When to Call it Quits
We’d all love to keep working through our colds, but you need to know when to take a day off. There is no shame with calling in sick, so be honest about your symptoms and know when you need a break. If your cold is getting worse or if it has been hanging around for more than a week, it’s probably wise to take some time away from your trucking job.

Know When to See a Doctor
Sometimes staying home isn’t enough. Sometimes you need to see a doctor. If you have a fever above 101.5, shaking chills, bloody mucus, or abnormal shortness of breath, see your doctor as soon as you can.

The Top Trucking Companies Are Waiting for You

There are many trucking companies that need hard-working, reliable commercial truck drivers just like you.

Visit CDLjobs.com today to learn more about our excellent opportunities in the trucking industry. The right position is waiting, so stop by today!

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Authored By:

Kate Williams

CDLjobs.com has been a leader in the trucking industry since 1999, connecting truck drivers with companies hiring drivers. Kate Williams is the company EVP and CFO with over 30 years experience in finance.