There is no virtue in recalling the exact moment it occurred. At this point, it might be better to make acceptance (and tissues) your primary focus.
It’s tempting to imagine how (and when) this stealthy intruder breached the gates of your now apparently wide-open immune system – but it might be more energy efficient to locate fluids. Especially now, that you are no longer human – consisting of a gelatinous substance wrapped in a skin sac.
If it makes you feel any better, holistically speaking, colds are considered a healing reaction. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), they are the body’s way of regaining balance after an onset of stress. Any form of stress: physical, or emotional. Viruses don’t like to place restrictions on themselves.
When we are ill, our fever and the discharge of mucus, is our body’s way of ejecting the disharmony and excess waste within us. Mainly, all we have taken in from the external world – which our body deems a pernicious influence.
According to TCM, colds don’t require a treatment – they are the treatment. Letting them run their course can do wonders for long-term health and the recuperative abilities of our body. Having said that, no one wants a virus dictating their schedule – fortunately, there are ways to accelerate the healing process.
But first, let’s consider circumstances that might welcome this kind of guest.
Perhaps you attend a family gathering, work function, or children’s birthday party – this is a great start. Next, eat everything you can get your hands on, regardless of it’s chemical make-up or origins. Do this until you are well beyond full. Then launch yourself into to a series of lively and trigger-filled discussions, clearly outlining any unresolved emotional patterns requiring your attention. Afterwards, at your car, stand in the wind – without doing up your coat – chatting for a good fifteen minutes. At home, eat a meal for which you’re not really hungry, before migrating to the sofa to watch T.V. and prepare for an eminent pass-out.
All good stuff.
In the holistic reference guide, Natural Healing: Wisdom and Know-How, it’s suggested we try and work with the virus… as we edge it quietly towards the door. A full day of resting, when we need it, and a day of moderate fasting. The act of digesting can be very tiring to the body, using up energy that could be better served fighting viral or bacterial overgrowth. Plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration and also to thin mucus, making it easier to expel.
If you are in generally good health, encouraging a decent sweat can also be very helpful. Drawing a hot bath and sipping warm water with ginger while you relax. Once you begin to sweat, get up, dry off and get into bed. It’s important to stay warm and wrapped up at this point because your pores have been opened, making you susceptible to chills. In the morning, shower and you’ll be rinsing off the toxins in the sweat you excreted during the night.
TCM illustrates a paradigm of health that follows a pretty basic outline. Let’s say we spend most of our time in relative optimal health. Occasionally, we encounter a disturbance in the force (brought to you by that bowl mystery dip at the party, too many late nights and the emotional outburst in the parking lot). Our body reacts with a powerful healing defence – inflammation. When this inflammation is allowed to run its course, we experience some form of ‘discharge’ and return to our typical state of health.
Inflammation is the body’s way of discharging the disturbance – basically taking one for the team and going completely unappreciated for its effort.
When we are ill, we (understandably) try and take away the discomfort and stop the inflammatory response. When we do this – through a method that arrests our natural ability to discharge the disturbance – we are actually suppressing our condition.
Convenient in the short-term; but a wellness expert might recommend natural therapeutics which could speed up the discharge process, returning us to clearer nasal passages.
Nature, Therapy and Beyond 
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