It's not your imagination. Cold season is here.

Every fall it happens the same way. The kids go back to school, the weather turns, and a few weeks later it seems like everyone you know has a cold. This year is no different: common colds are on the rise across the country right now. Then the furnace kicks on, the air dries out, and the stuffy heads, scratchy throats and coughs that won't quit settle in for the season. So this Saturday Connie is giving the whole morning to the sinuses and lungs and how to get through fall and winter in good shape.

Start with the air you're breathing. Your nose and sinuses are lined with a thin layer of mucus and tiny hairs that trap whatever you breathe in and sweep it out. That system works best when it's moist. Forced-air heat dries it out, and once it dries out it stops doing its job. Connie will explain why humidity matters, what the right range is, and the simple habits (fluids, steam, a humidifier you actually clean) that keep things moving.

Then the sinuses. Saline sprays and rinses are some of the most useful tools there are, and some of the most misused. Connie will cover how to rinse properly and why the water has to be distilled or boiled, never straight from the tap. She'll also cover where steam and aromatics like eucalyptus and peppermint fit in, and why "stuffy" and "infected" aren't the same thing.

Then the cough itself. A wet cough and a dry cough are doing different jobs, and the right response to each is different. One is clearing something out and the other is just irritation. Connie will walk through the plants herbalists have reached for over generations: soothing ones like marshmallow root, slippery elm and mullein, warming ones like thyme and ginger, and honey, which has better evidence behind it for coughs than most of the syrups on the shelf. She'll also cover elderberry and where it fits in a fall routine.

And when it's time to call the doctor. Shortness of breath. Chest pain. A fever that hangs on. A cough that's lasted more than three weeks. A cold that starts to get better, then turns worse. Anyone with asthma, COPD or a heart condition should talk to their doctor first, as should anyone on blood pressure medication or immune-suppressing drugs before adding herbs, because a few common ones don't mix. Nothing on Saturday replaces your doctor, and Connie will say so first.

This week we're covering

• How your nose and sinuses protect you, and why dry indoor heat works against them
• Humidity, fluids and steam: the unglamorous basics that do the most
• Saline sprays and sinus rinses: how to use them, and the water-safety rule you can't skip
• Stuffy vs. infected: what's going on in your sinuses, and how to tell the difference
• Wet cough vs. dry cough: what each is doing, and why they need different responses
• The traditional cough and chest herbs: marshmallow root, slippery elm, mullein, thyme and ginger
• Honey, and why it holds its own against the cough syrups
• Elderberry and building a fall and winter routine
• Eucalyptus, peppermint and other aromatics: how to use them safely
• Who should check with their doctor first: asthma, COPD, heart conditions and certain medications
• The red flags that mean call the doctor now, not after the weekend

New to our workshops? You're very welcome. Connie starts each one from the ground up, so nothing this Saturday assumes you've been before. Feel free to bring your questions.

Join us Saturday, October 10

⏰ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm CST

In person: Wise Women Botanicals, 1011B Hwy 24 West, Moberly, MO 65270. $10 per person, limited seating — call (660) 263-1033 to reserve your spot.

Online (free): Can't make it to Moberly? Join the live webinar at no charge. Register on our Wellness Workshops page and we'll email you the meeting link.

Our Wellness Workshops happen every Saturday. Sign up once and you'll get each week's topic and meeting link in your inbox.