10 Items I'm Glad I Had On hand When I Got COVID

I’m so glad I had these 10 items on hand when I came down with COVID. This post contains some affiliate links to these products. I make a small amount off of your qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

Until last week, I had managed to escape getting sick from COVID. What I’m hearing about the newest variant is that this new variant is the more contagious than any before it. US News & World Report Article. So, I guess I was due to get it. The good news is that I had a very mild case. I only had a sore throat and fatigue. Still, I hate to be sick so I’m thankful I had the following items while I was sick.

Insurance COVID Hotline- I checked with my insurance previously to see about our new teledoc feature and saw that BCBS also provides a Call a Nurse just for COVID. We called her immediately when we got a positive test result.
Cough Drops– My throat was sore the whole time I was sick. Cough Drops helped me so much!
Zinc– I’ve taken zinc for years to help with my immunity and lesson the severity of colds or flu. Here is an article put out by the Mayo Clinic on the benefits of zinc.
Finger Pulse Oximeter– One of the first things our nurse asked was if we knew our oxygen levels. We were able to tell her right away by using one of these meters. Our lungs stayed clear the entire time we were sick, but one of these meters would be invaluable if one of us had it in our lungs.
Digital Thermometer– My fever never got over 100, but the only way I knew that is by taking it periodically. I could tell I had a low grade fever, and I’m sure glad I was able to monitor it.
ibuprofen or acetaminophen– The nurse we called after our positive test just reminded us to treat our symptoms. We took ibuprofen and acetaminophen to help with our slight fevers, but mostly for our throat pain. I don’t think we took it after the first day because our symptoms weren’t that bad.

7. Gatorade Powder- Glacier Cherry/ sugar free– This is my favorite way to stay hydrated! I don’t like to buy single use plastic bottles so I put this powder in my reusable water bottles. Glacier Cherry is my all time favorite flavor!! I have many boxes of this powder stocked in my pantry.

8. Sinus Rinse– I have to rinse my sinuses everyday as per my ENT’s orders. I think doing so helps keep me healthy. We told our nurse we were doing this, and she told us to keep it up! It lessens the chance of getting a sinus infection.

9. COVID tests- The government is still providing free COVID tests. Yes, you order them through the US Postal Service. I had been wondering why we still need to be testing. But, after going through this, I still believe it’s important to test yourself for COVID. Dr. T started feeling bad first. We tried to stay away from each other, but as you know, that’s hard to to when you live in the same house. We had a trip planned so when I started feeling bad too. I knew we needed to know what we were dealing with. Had the COVID test been negative, I would have probably gone on to a Dr. to be tested for flu so that I could get on Tamiflu if I had the flu. I also needed to know if this was more than a cold. If it had been a cold, we would have probably been able to go on our trip. In our situation, there were just several reasons why we needed to know for sure what we were dealing with! I’m so thankful we had these tests on hand. I wish we had access to at home flu tests!!

10. Throat Coat Tea– I forgot I had this tea until I was feeling a lot better. A friend swears by this tea, and so I had some in my pantry. She mentioned it to me later in the week when she texted to check on me and found out that my throat still hurt. I drank some that evening and felt better the next day, but I think I was on the mend anyway. She says this tea really helps her when her throat hurts. I sure wish I had remembered that I had it.