Common Cold - Home Remedies
Common Cold or acute coryza refers to inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, which causes blocked nose, sneezing, sore throat, fever and other similar symptoms. Common cold is very common and takes three to ten days to subside, but not before making the patient’s life miserable.
Common cold spreads through airborne droplets or direct contact with infected individuals or even using objects that may have been infected by the patients touch.
Climate, change in weather patterns, age or immunity levels are factors that affect a person’s chances of catching a cold. For centuries, cold remedies have been a routine part of every household. Every mom has passed on her favorite remedy to her kids and they vouch for its effectiveness.
We have aggregated a list of popular common cold remedies that have been tried and tested since ages:
1. Chicken soup: Chicken soup is probably the most widely used remedy for cold around the world. It not only soothes the throat and nose, but also helps open blocked nose by draining the nasal passage. Being easy to digest, chicken soup doesn’t put any pressure on your digestive system either.
2. Vitamin C: The most common home remedy for cold with fever is Vitamin C. Citrus fruits like orange and lemon etc. increases body’s resistance levels and lessens toxicity. This helps in providing fast relief from the cold. A glass of warm lemon juice with honey taken once or twice daily is very effective.
3. Garlic: Garlic soup, taken once daily, brings down fever by flushing out toxins from the body. Garlic has medicinal, antiseptic and antispasmodic properties. A combination of Garlic oil and onion juice consumed with water also treats common cold.
4. Ginger: Hot concoction of ginger boiled in water taken with sugar is very effective. Ginger tea taken twice daily prevents common cold and reduces fever.
5. Lady Fingers: Lady Fingers or okra is rich in mucilage that reduces pain, swelling and irritation. Boil half a liter of water with 100 grams of lady fingers and inhale the steam once or twice daily for quick relief.
6. Bitter Gourd Roots: A paste made from roots of bitter gourd plant consumed with honey or basil leaf juice, once every night is a perfect medicine for cold.
7. Turmeric: Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder with 30 ml warm milk consumed once or twice daily reduces colds and irritation in the throat. Milk poured on a hot ladle containing turmeric powder and boiled is very effective. To prevent running nose, burn turmeric and inhale its smoke.
The worst thing about cold is that there is no definite cure or vaccination for it. All you can do to make yourself feel better is to manage its symptoms and take ample rest. Hopefully, these remedies will help your manage the symptoms better.
