Posted on Oct 25, 2012 in Common Cold | 4 comments

People have been using home remedies for various illnesses for centuries and the common cold is no exception. Read on to learn all about them so that you are ready when the dreaded lurgy comes your way.

As one of the most annoying sicknesses, the common cold affects millions of people every year. Most people will admit that they will simply have no idea what to do when they have a cold. If you are serious about being able to cure the cold, you will need to understand that there are some remedies that can really help get rid of the cold. You can fight a cold in two major ways; the first is to learn how to use preventive measures so that you don’t catch a cold. The second is to treat the already present cold with home remedies and cures.

Here are some of the basic and easy to utilize common cold remedies that you can try that have been proven to work.

Prevention

woman with common cold blows nose

You should engage yourself in a regular exercise routine to strengthen your immune system. Exercise improves the functioning of your whole body and with your immunity higher, you will keep the cold-causing virus away.

Naturally fighting colds and bugs with a strong immune system is something you should learn how to do. Your immunity can also immensely benefit from having a rich social life and interacting with many people.

Enough sleep is necessary to keep your immunity at its optimum level. In addition to that, try to avoid anything that brings you stress as stress has been known to drastically affect immunity.

Home Remedies

Steam: The most common and annoying symptom of a cold is a blocked nasal cavity. You can clear the congestion by covering your head over a bowl of hot water. Alternatively, you can take a steaming shower. Both these methods will instantly unblock your nasal passages and allow you to breathe without any problem.

Hot and cold Pack: Another way of easing nasal congestion is by pressing a hot pack or cold pack around your sinuses to soothe the pain.

Cooling the Nose: Also, to ease the pain that results from repeatedly rubbing your nose, you should apply a small amount of salve containing menthol, camphor and eucalyptus on the affected area for a cooling effect.

Foods and Health Supplements

Chicken soup: Good old chicken soup is a good cold-fighting food especially if cooked with garlic. Apart from being delicious, its steam will decongest and soothe your nasal cavities. On the other hand, garlic has antiseptic properties that will clear off the cold. You can even chew the garlic cloves.

Sage Tea: Prepare yourself a cup of sage tea by mixing one and a half cups of boiling water with half a teaspoon each of sage and thyme and a quarter teaspoon of lemon zest. Add honey and lemon juice to the mixture after fifteen minutes and drink the tea. This should bring you relief from the cold symptoms.

Goldenseal: Use five doses of 125mg goldenseal supplement a day to kill viruses and expand your immune system. Repeat for five days.

Astralagus: Astralagus supplement taken in doses of 250mg twice a day will also boost your immunity.

Lozenges: Taking lozenges containing zinc after every two hours will decongest your nasal passages.

These remedies are among the best and effective ways for fighting cold and battling this common health condition naturally and safely.

Common Sense Tips

Drink Plenty of Fluids

This is arguably something that every parent has told their child and they certainly are right. Drinking a lot of fluids is a great way to get rid of the cold and a glass of water or juice will help prevent dehydration. The liquids will also help prevent congestion and moist the throat for less pain. With about 8 glasses of 10 ounces of water will be perfect and if you are able to add liquids like sports drinks, teas and ginger ale, they would work as well. Liquids from a bowl of soup would certainly help as well but beware of liquids like cola, coffee, and other caffeinated drinks.

Inhale Steam

This cold remedy is a great way to get rid of the congestion and also the drippy nose. The one problem that a cold can bring is the sinus congestion and inhaling steam will certainly fix this problem. If you hold your head above a pot of boiling water and inhale through your nose, you will be able to get rid of the congestion. However, you will need to be careful when you do this because you surely do not want to burn yourself. A better alternative is to inhale moisture from a hot shower or from a saline nasal spray. A room humidifier would work as well and will also be very helpful in clearing up your cold.

Blow Your Nose Often

Most people who have a cold will forget to actually blow their nose and this is what causes a lot of problems. You will however need to learn how to blow your nose properly because you simply can’t just blow as hard as you can. The technique for blowing your nose is to press any finger over one of your nostrils and to blow gently to clear the other nostril. Blowing your nose is very important because you will be able to release all the germs instead of sniffing them back into your head. Make sure you do not blow too hard because it can carry the germs back into your ears and causing more problems like earache. For further reading see our page on home remedies for a runny nose.

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Irrigate Your Nose

This can be done in a number of ways and one of the most common things to do is to use a saline nasal spray or your own salt water mix. Salt water surprisingly helps break down the congestion and also help remove the virus particles from your nose. A simple recipe would be to mix 1/4 teaspoon of salt and another 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda into 8 ounces of warm water. You will then use a bulb syringe to put the mixture into your nose. Repeat this process about 3 times and then repeat with the other nostril.

Get Some Rest

The one thing that a lot of people forget is that they need to rest. When you stay warm and rested, you are telling your body that it needs to recover and rest. This will allow your body to focus on fighting virus and avoid using energy towards anything else. Fighting off a cold can be very tiring for your body and so lying down and resting is a great way to fight your cold. Rest is something that is very important and can actually be the reason why you got the cold in the first place. When you are lacking rest, you are more open to getting a cold and so it is important that you are always fully rested.

Gargle Salt Water

This home remedy for cold can do wonders. When you gargle salt water, you will be able to moisten your sore throat and give some relief. This is a great way to feel better almost instantly and can really allow you to feel better. Half a teaspoon of salt should be enough inside of an 8 ounce cup of warm water. Do this about 4 times a day and you will be able to reduce that irritating feeling that you get in your throat. You can gargle with tea as well to help reduce the pain. Another option is to use a mixture of honey as this is also a cold remedy. Make sure that the mixture is about room temperature before you start to gargle.

Over The Counter Medicines

When you buy medication, it has to be the very last option. Some medicines can be bad for children under 2 and so you will need to consult your doctor beforehand. These decongestants can give some relief but it is not a good idea to rely on them. They will not prevent the cold and it won’t shorten the duration as it will merely just lessen the pain. If you use the medicine for more than a few days, it can actually cause more problems. Make sure that these medicines are your very last choice.

Herbs and Vitamins

There are plenty of herbal remedies to help with the common cold too. One such vitamin is of course Vitamin C and a herb proven to help is Echinacea :

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Closing Thoughts

Overall, the process of being able to get rid of your cold is not that hard but you need to experiment to see which methods work best for you. The cold is the most annoying sickness out there today and so you should take action once you start to feel the symptoms. If you are serious about getting rid of your cold, make sure you try these simple common cold remedies so that you can get rid of it soon.

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