It happens to me several times every year that I catch a cold or my allergies start acting up. So I’ve had some practice at this. Here are some ways you can prepare yourself. These will help you sleep better and wake up feeling less yucky.

1. Buy some good cough suppressant.

Don’t buy cheap stuff that probably won’t work. You don’t want to be up all night coughing. Neither do the people sharing your room or sleeping on the other side of the wall. Delsym cough syrup does the trick for me. Any Mucinex that says “Controls Cough” on the box is usually true to its promise. (Remember to be wary of overdosing and taking different medications with the same active ingredients.)

2. Have something to humidify your room.

Your face will feel so much more open in the morning if your room is humidified during the night. This can also help avoid a soar throat.

A small humidifier works best. (Careful, though. If the smoke detector is touchy, it might set the alarm off. Test it out during the day.) If you don’t want to buy one, there are other ways. Hang a damp towel above (not on top of) the heat vent. If you have an electric water kettle, that’s an easy way to boil some water to get some vapor in the air. You could make a sponge humidifier (Here’s a good how-to article. http://www.ehow.com/how_7766590_use-sponge-humidifier.html). Even a container of water in the room will help increase humidity. The more surface area of the water exposed to air, the faster it will evaporate.

3. Prop up your head and back at night.

You can get pretty clogged up laying flat for hours while you sleep. Raising your head above the rest of your body will keep the congestion from collecting so much. Be careful how you do this, or your neck or back may be sore in the morning. A wedge pillow will work. For a cheaper option, try this. Find a cardboard box. You can ask for one at the cafeteria or the book store. Cut it in half diagonally so that you end up with two wedge shapes. Turn one wedge around and fit it into the other wedge. Put it open-side-facing-down under the mattress on the side where you lay your head. Wa-lah! Totally free back prop!

4. Buy this.

Cold-eeze are zinc lozenges. They help you get over your cold faster. The lozenges aren’t bitter like a lot of cough drops and cold medicine are. They contain zinc, which is the only scientifically proven method for shortening the duration of a cold. It’s a natural remedy, and there’s no limit to how many you can take in a day.

5. Tea! Tea! Tea!

You’ve heard this before. Tea helps clear you up, and the extra fluids are good for you. Peppermint tea works great. Also try medicinal teas like cold care teas from Traditional Medicinal. If your throat is sore, their Throat Coat is delicious and soothing. If you don’t have anything fancy, hot water will do. A little honey will relieve the pain in your throat.

6. Have something to blow your nose.

Again, if you haven’t been to college yet, here’s something to know. High school classrooms usually have boxes of tissues. College classrooms do not. Please don't just snuff it. Some people are a bit annoyed by snuffing...like me. If you're one of those people, you can do what I do and bring extra tissues to offer other students. If that feels awkward, just put a box where people can see it.

I'm allergic to things like corn pollen, and I grew up in a farming community where corn is one of the most grown crops. The cheap tissues the school supplied were not very easy on the nose. My classmates were like, “Forget Rudolf. Meet Lindy the Red-Nosed Girl.

If you’d rather not have that nick-name, try lotion- or aloe-infused facial tissues. However, if you’re like me, you could go through a box or two or six in one round of cold/allergies. Even soft and fancy tissues eventually rub my nose raw. For a more comfortable (and cheaper) alternative, I wet some paper towels, fold them up, put them in a sealable bag, and put it in my backpack. They aren't even nice paper towels, but it feels so cool and refreshing on my skin.

7. Other items to help you out.

With all the different cold symptoms and entire store shelves full of cold medication, it's hard to find the stuff that's right for you. Check out this website for some help on matching symptoms to cold medicines. (http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20456799,0... )

Rub peppermint essential oils on your chest to reduce congestion. One spoonful of apple cider vinegar works wonders for your throat. (I know it tastes awful, but 90% of the time, it helps me feel better instantly.) If you blow your nose a lot, put some facial lotion on your nose before bed to keep your skin from dying and peeling.

Stop by the campus nurse's office. They'll let you know if you need further treatment. You might get some free medicine and snacks, too!

I hope this helps. Here’s to a year of strong immune systems!

One final note — try not to spread the germs.