Managing Colds Naturally

Having a cold is really annoying, but once you are infected with the virus there is nothing you can do to cure yourself. Your cold has to run its natural course, but there are some things that you can do to manage your cold and help you through it more easily. You don't need any kind of antibiotics, and can usually do without over-the-counter pain killers as well. The following common cold “remedies” will also benefit anyone who has the flu.

Grandma may have thought that going outside without a thick coat and a scarf in the winter is what causes colds, but she was not wrong about everything. Chicken soup may really make you feel better. Any hot drink, including tea or vegetarian soup, could help loosen up all that mucus. Soups are also often rich in vitamins, which help strengthen your immune system. Just drinking plenty of water may reduce your cold symptoms as well, because staying hydrated dilutes all that snot and can keep headaches away.

Placing a plate with chopped onions next to your bed or even under your pillow, wrapped in a cloth, will help you deal with nasal congestion. Depending on your food preferences, you may think it smells horrible... but at least you will be able to smell. Chopped onions are a tried and tested cold remedy in my family, and it does work.

A steam bath with eucalyptus or peppermint oil is another really effective way to get a blocked nose running again. Adding chamomile, which possesses anti-viral properties, is a good idea too. If you do not own a steam bath, sticking your face over a sauce pan with really hot water and covering your head with a tea towel will work just as well. The steam should be as hot as you can tolerate, but you should clearly not burn yourself. Having a shower also gets your nose to clear up a bit.

If you are coughing, thyme syrup will alleviate that itchy and sore throat, while chamomile tea is great to combat inflammation. Honey is another option, and sucking on liquorice or drinking liquorice root tea may soothe your irritated throat too and will work as a dry cough treatment too. Do not use this if you suffer from hypertension.

Echinacea is the most popular herbal treatment for the common cold. This herbal remedy is still controversial, and many medical professionals doubt whether echinacea could possibly effective in treating a cold. Still, a meta-analysis of studies into this topic found that echinacea in various forms found that it contributes to preventing the common cold as well as reducing the total time during which you suffer an already established cold.

Finally, vaseline or other petroleum-based creams can play a very important role in alleviating the discomforts that come with the common cold. My daughter always gets those horrible scratches around her nose when she has a cold because of the constant wiping — sometimes it's so bad that it bleeds! Putting some vaseline on the affected area every time you wipe or blow your nose can keep those little wounds away.