Sometimes it can be hard to escape that shivery feeling that happens when you get too cold. A good immediate remedy for this is to wrap yourself up in a douvet and stick a hairdryer up it, (making sure the air flow is not restricted) until you feel warmed up.

Colds are the body's escape mechanism. When the whole system is overloaded it crashes. The body stresses out and the immune system drops its threshold. The nose releases toxic wastes in the form of mucous and the body often aches and feels exhausted. Pay attention to what your body is saying because an unchecked cold can become far more serious if you keep it buried.

If you are one of those people who can tell when you have a cold coming on, then it can be stopped, or at least minimised, in several ways. Firstly, rest is essential. There is no way your body will self-heal in a stressful situation. If you have to work, take it easy or delegate a bit more. Lemon juice, rose hips, parsley (not if you're pregnant) and fresh orange all contain vitamin C, so take them.

Some colds can actually be completely stopped dead by gently sniffing a mixture of lemon juice and warm water up your nose, if you are brave enough. Pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds contain zinc which is important in cold prevention so take some of those. Otherwise its time to sweat those built up toxins right out through the skin. Start with a peppermint tea and take some garlic or garlic capsules. Then boil a large onion in milk for an hour, eat it, and drink the milk. Follow on with a steaming cup of lemon juice, honey, cinnamon and grated ginger which will stimulate circulation and sweating. Enjoy it in a mustard footbath which will also warm up the blood - use multiple and layered remedies and take them as an opportunity to treat yourself.

For a mustard footbath, take 1 tsp. yellow powder mustard and one of household soda (if you have hard water) and put them in a deep basin with some water as hot as you can stand. Keep your feet and lower legs in for about ten minutes, topping the bath up with fresh hot (not boling) water. Dry off, put on thick socks and climb into a freshly warmed bed, the earlier the better.