Saturday, February 26, 2011

Home Remedies for common cold

Common Cold treatment using Lemon

 It is beneficial in all types of cold with fever. Vitamin C-rich lemon juice increases body resistance, decreases toxicity and reduces the duration of the illness. One lemon should be diluted in a glass of warm water, and a teaspoon of honey should be added to it. This should be taken once or twice daily.

Common Cold treatment using Garlic

Garlic soup is an old remedy to reduce the severity of a cold, and should be taken once daily. The soup can be prepared by boiling three or four cloves of chopped garlic in a cup of water. Garlic contains antiseptic and antispasmodic properties, besides several other medicinal virtues. The oil contained in this vegetable helps to open up the respiratory passages. In soup form, it flushes out all toxins from the system and thus helps bring down fever. Five drops of garlic oil combined with a teaspoon of onion juice, and diluted in a cup of water, should be drunk two to three times a day. This has also been found to be very effective in the treatment of common cold.

Common Cold treatment using Ginger

Ginger is another excellent remedy for colds and coughs. About ten grams of ginger should be cut into small pieces and boiled in a cup of water. It should then be strained and half a teaspoon of sugar added to it. This decoction should be drunk when hot. Ginger tea, prepared by adding a few pieces of ginger into boiled water before adding the tea leaves, is also an effective remedy for colds and for fevers resulting from cold. It may be taken twice daily.

Common Cold treatment using Lady's Fingers

Lady's fingers are highly valuable in treating irritation of the throat and a persistent dry cough. This vegetable is rich in mucilage and acts as a drug to allay irritation, swelling, and pain. About 100 gm of lady's fingers should be cut into pieces, and boiled down in half a litre of water to make a decoction. The steam issuing from this decoction may also be inhaled once or twice a day to relieve throat irritation and a dry cough.

Common Cold treatment using Bitter Gourd Roots

The roots of the bitter gourd plant are used in folk medicine to cure a cold. A teaspoon of the root paste, mixed with an equal quantity of honey or holy basil leaf juice, given once every night for a month, acts as an excellent medicine for colds.

Common Cold treatment using Turmeric

Turmeric is an effective remedy for colds and throat irritations. Half a teaspoon of fresh turmeric powder mixed in 30 ml of warm milk, and taken once or twice daily, is a useful prescription for these conditions. Turmeric powder should be put into a hot ladle. Milk should then be poured in it and boiled over a slow fire. This mixture should then be drunk by the patient. In case of a running cold, smoke from the burning turmeric should be inhaled. It will increase the discharge from the nose and provide quick relief.

Common Cold treatment using Vitamin C

Regular intake of vitamin C-75 mg for adults and 35 mg for children-will prevent the common cold. If, however, a cold has already appeared, large doses of this vitamin will relieve the symptoms and shorten its duration. He estimates that one to two grams (1000 mg to 2000 mg) per day is approximately the optimum amount of this vitamin for this purpose. His advice is to swallow one or two 500mg tablets of vitamin C at the appearance of the first sign of the cold and continue the treatment by taking one to two 500 mg tablets daily.

Home Remedies for Stuffy Nose

Inhale turmeric fumes, for this tie some turmeric in a clean cloth and light it. Boil some water and allow it to cool, now add ¼ teaspoon table salt to it. Put 2 to 3 drops of this solution in your both the nostrils before meals and going to bed.

Treating a Common Cold


First, I’m going to tell you to see a doctor if you want to get rid of a cold. I know, I know: the doctor can’t do anything for you—we’ve been over this. But, common cold symptoms aren’t very different from common flu symptoms.
Antiviral medication won’t help you get rid of a cold, but acetaminophen will help ease your pain. Pain medications like Tylenol, Panadol , and Dayquil are the most common treatments for colds because instead of using Aspirin to treat cold symptoms, they use acetaminophen. Some people say acetaminophen doesn’t work as well as Aspirin, but if you consider the consequences (Reye syndrome) of giving Aspirin to a child when they have the flu, you’ll understand why doctors prefer Tylenol.
Antihistamines are a good cold treatment if you’re having sinus pain and congestion. Antihistamines like Benadryl, Allegra, and Claritin will help keep inflammation of the sinuses and other related cold symptoms down, while decongestants like Sudafed will keep your nose from plugging and dripping so much. There are combination medicines like Claritin D, Allegra D, and Sudafed Plus that contain both antihistamines and decongestants.
Expectorants and humidifiers can help you get rid of a cold. Expectorants are medicines that help breakup the phlegm in your lungs so you can cough it up, and breath easier. Robitussin Severe Congestion Liqui-Gels, Vicks 44E, and Extra Action Cough Syrup are good over-the-counter expectorants. Couple these medicines with a humidifier and some eucalyptus oil and you should start to feel less of the cold in your lungs.
The single most important cold treatment to help you get rid of a cold is fluid intake. Keep yourself hydrated with sports drinks. Every time I’ve been to the hospital or the clinic, the doctor has told me (and my father too) that sports drinks are the best hydrating formulas you can buy. Why? Because they have electrolytes like potassium, sodium, and chloride which help your body absorb the fluids. The sugars also help give your body energy it might be losing from a lack of food.