The symptoms of a cold can make you feel miserable even though you have already rested in bed.
For many people, the first thing they search to ease this common cold is home remedies. But are they effective? Well, there are some that really work and others that don’t work. And keep in mind that home remedies for cold can’t cure a cold. But they might help alleviate your symptoms.
Here’s a list of home remedies for cold that sure will help ease your symptoms.
1. Honey
Honey is known as a popular home remedy for cough and cold. Researchers say that honey can be effective in treating cough by soothing irritated throats and is believed to have antioxidant and antibacterial effects. You should take raw or organic honey that contains high antioxidants to get the most benefit.
Note: Never feed honey to children under 1 year old, as it usually contains botulinum spores. The baby’s immune system is still not able to fight them off.
What you need to do is simply drinking honey in tea with lemon or you can ingest a spoon of honey.
2. Ginger
Ginger is another home remedy that can be used to quickly treating cold symptoms by warming up the body. Ginger is used in traditional India and Chinese medicine as a tonic root for its effectiveness to treat cold and cough.
There is evidence that ginger can prevent cold, soothe a sore throat and reduce inflammation.
Adding a few slices of ginger to boiling water then add tea may help relieve a cough or sore throat. You can also add honey to hot ginger tea.
3. Stay Hydrated
Get enough water! It helps relieve congestion, make your throat moist and prevent dehydration. You can also drink juice, clear broth, electrolyte solutions and eat something like warm chicken soup and stew might help too! Avoid caffeinated soda and coffee which can make dehydration worse.
4. Hot Packs
When the mucus dries, it gets thicker and more likely to clog inside your nose and makes it harder to breathe from your nose.
The best to treat this is by taking a washcloth and put it in a bowl of warm water or you can take a damp washcloth and microwave it for 30 seconds after that put the washcloth on your nose. Don’t forget to test the temperature of the washcloth.
After you do this, your nose will open like you open the windows in the morning and feel a fresh cool breeze wafted through.
5. Warm Bath
A warm bath may help reduce cold and flu symptoms in adults and kids’ because the moisture from a hot shower can help loosen up your stuffy nose.
6. Vapor Rub
Ointments such as vapor rub can help to reduce cold symptoms. Try a small dab under your nose can help open the air passage to relieve congestion, reduce coughing and improve sleep.
7. Humidity
Influenza spread more easily in a dry environment. You will notice your nasal passage become dry in a dry indoor environment which may cause irritation.
Increased humidity in your room can reduce nasal inflammation, making it easier to breathe when you are sick. Temporarily running a humidifier to your bedroom may make you feel more comfortable and your nose moist.
8. Saline Spray
To combat dryness in your nose you can use saline spray that helps break up the congestion from a cold. Nasal sprays also can reduce the duration of cold symptoms.
You can easily make your own at your home and use it on infants, kids or adults.
To make this natural home remedy all you need is 3 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of baking soda and water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and baking soda mixture to 8 oz or 240 ml of lukewarm boil water and mix well until the salt dissolves.
Make sure you use sterile, distilled or previous boiled water to make this remedy. read this to really know how to use it.
9. Rest
Rest is the best medicine when you get a cold. It’s really important because when you got cold or flu It helps your body focus its energy to fight the viruses. You can lie under the blanket to keep your body warm.
Home Remedies For Cold That Don’t Work
Antibiotics are designed to fight bacterial infections. Since the cold is a viral infection, there is no need to take antibiotics because it has no effect on the virus.
How To Prevent Common Cold
Common cold can be caused by more than 200 types of viruses and there’s no vaccine and medicine for the common cold, that’s why there’s no cure for the common cold. However, you can still prevent the common cold. These simple suggestions may help reduce the common cold :
- Wash your hands frequently with water and soap or use sanitizers
- Follow cough and sneeze etiquette
- Keep your distance from an infected family member
- Avoid touching your face if you’re exposed to a person with a common cold with unwashed hands
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, and exercise regularly to stay healthy and boost your body’s energy levels.