10 Natural Home Remedies to Cure Cold

 

 How can you get rid of a cold without medication?

 

The cold is a common ailment, but it is highly irritating to the patient, as well as contagious to all others around. The viruses of the cold are ejected out of the respiratory system through the sneezes of an infected person and are spread very fast to all healthy people close by. The mucous membranes lining the nose, throat, and lungs are severely affected by these cold-causing viruses. These germs multiply rapidly and further worsen the condition of the patient.

 

The common symptoms of a cold are a running nose or blockage in the nasal passage, frequent sneezes, sore throat, headache, mild fever, and watery eyes. Some patients may suffer from frequent coughs as well. These symptoms usually last for 7 – 10 days; as by this time, the cold germs are destroyed by the natural immunity power of the body. But you need to get relief from the intensity of these symptoms during this period. Hence, all suffering from colds try to buy medicines or use natural home remedies to get relief to some extent.

 

 Luckily, apart from mild tablets prescribed for cold or flu, there are some effective home remedies. These effective steps can improve your physical condition and help you feel better.

 

1. Use of Salty Water  

 

Gargling with warm salty water is an ancient home remedy to cure cough and cold. It can break down the congested mucus in the throat and render a soothing effect to the soreness of the throat. Salty water can also be used in the form of a nasal spray. You just need to gargle with a glass of lukewarm water mixed with one teaspoon of salt, to clear the blockage of your respiratory passage. This salty water can also be used as nasal spray 5 – 8 times a day if you are suffering from a severe cold.

 

2. Drinking plenty of Fluids

 

If you are suffering from a cold, you should drink lots of water, fruit juices, and broths made of some beneficial ingredients. The habit of drinking plenty of liquids will help you flush out the viruses from your body. The infected mucus lining of the respiratory passage is thinned due to the presence of excess fluids. Ideally, you should drink eight ounces of any form of fluids in a day. You need to drink fluids at an interval of two hours, to obtain the best results in curing cold. But any carbonated or alcoholic drink may result in further dehydration of your body cells, thus should be avoided when you are ill. Green tea and Chamomile tea are also highly beneficial in curing cold, due to the antioxidant properties of these special beverages.

 

 3. Consumption of Chicken Soup

 

Chicken soup is full of protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates, obtained from the shredded pieces of chicken, broth, and noodles or vegetables present in the soup. Usually, carrots, beans, celery, and onions are added to increase the taste and nutritive value of this soup. All these food materials will supply energy to your body and make the soup act as a powerful fluid for thinning out the virus-inflicted mucus of the respiratory system. Moreover, these nutrients can reduce the speed of movement of neutrophils, the white blood cells responsible for protecting your body against infections.  

 

4. Eating hot foods with lots of Pepper

 

Foods with loads of pepper can effectively loosen the accumulated phlegm in the respiratory passage, mainly in the case of children. Thus, the intake or inhaling pepper powder can make the virus flow out of your nose, due to the sharp pungent smell of the black or red pepper. Both black pepper and red pepper powder can fulfill the purpose of reducing most of your cold symptoms. Pepper also strengthens the immune system of your body while diluting the mucus of the lungs.

 

 5. Intake of Vitamin C

  

Vitamin C is the most important nutrient that effectively helps in curing the symptoms of cold. This vitamin stops the multiplication of the virus in the body cells and it also increases the numbers of white blood cells. It is also an effective antioxidant that will boost the immunity of your body. Therefore, lots of citrus fruits, like lemons, oranges, strawberries, kiwis, peaches, and tomatoes need to be eaten by a patient who is suffering from the cold. A few beneficial vegetables, like cauliflower, broccoli, bell pepper, and parsley also contain an ample amount of Vitamin C.

 

6. Using a Humidifier or Steam with Essential Oils

 

A humidifier or vaporizer moistens the total respiratory passage and eases the symptoms of a cold. The steam evolving from a bowl of boiling water is also effective in clearing the blockage of the sinus areas of the skull. A few drops of Eucalyptus Oil, camphor, tea tree oil, or menthol oil can be added to this boiling water, for providing excellent effects on curing the cold. These ingredients have antiseptic and expectorant qualities for killing the germs and releasing the phlegm from your lungs and throat.

 

7. Sucking Throat Lozenges containing Menthol

 

The trouble of sore throat can be eased by sucking some medicated lozenges, which contain menthol and camphor. The menthol or peppermint offers a soothing effect on the sore throat while zinc gluconate present in these lozenges helps in curing the cold faster.

 

 8. Use of honey in making home-made cough syrup

 

Honey has high expectorant quality and thus it is used in soothing the irritation of the sore throat. Lemon tea with honey is an effective remedy to cure soreness in your throat. You can mix honey with an equal amount of apple cider vinegar, for making an effective homemade cough syrup to reduce your cold symptoms. The antimicrobial and antibacterial properties of honey will also help you fight colds and coughs quickly.

 

9. Using some beneficial daily spices

 

The usual spices used in kitchens have high medicinal values, which can reduce the severity of cold symptoms. The most useful spices in this regard are cinnamon, garlic, and ginger. Cinnamon is effective in curing the dryness and soreness of the throat; it works best when used in powdered form, with crushed black pepper and honey. Garlic has antiseptic qualities for strengthening the immune system, as well as it helps in driving out the toxic substances from the body, by enhancing the activities of the white blood cells. Hence, cloves of garlic can be boiled in water or crushed and added to soups or other dishes, for fast recovery from the cold. Ginger is another well-known effective remedial substance for colds and coughs; thus it can be eaten in raw, crushed form, or boiled in water; ginger tea is a popular home remedy that is used in many families for curing colds.

 

10. Take sufficient rest every day.

 

As one suffers from a cold, his body system may become weaker. So the patient needs to give enough rest to the body, by staying away from most of the official and household chores. The periodical short naps, apart from the usual 7-8 hours of sleep at night, help increase the immunity power of the body. While sleeping, you can use thicker pillows or may add an extra pillow, to keep your head at a higher level. In this way, your sinus cavities will be partly free from the congestion.

 

However, you need to keep away from others, including your healthy family members, to save them from this infectious ailment. Also, you should consult a doctor if your cold symptoms persist even after taking all these above-mentioned remedies.

 

 

Sources:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-colds.htm#

https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/home-remedies

https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/14-tips-prevent-colds-flu-1