What are your favorite tried-and-true home remedies for the common cold?
September 27, 2008 9:09 pm Alternative Medicine
Cleoppa asked:
I have two favorites that most people don’t know about.
1. To cure a cough, eat lots of chocolate. A study found that chocolate is better for a cough than cough syrup http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4032585.stm The sugar in chocolate isn’t good for a cold, though. At first I used baking chocolate. Now I use cacao nibs http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com/cacao_nibs_raw_organic.htm They’re at all health food stores in California, but one health food store I visited in Tennessee has never heard of them. Both taste terrible, but it does wonders for your cough. Doesn’t directly cure my cold but lets me breathe and sleep at night, which definitely lessens my cold.
I have two favorites that most people don’t know about.
1. To cure a cough, eat lots of chocolate. A study found that chocolate is better for a cough than cough syrup http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4032585.stm The sugar in chocolate isn’t good for a cold, though. At first I used baking chocolate. Now I use cacao nibs http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com/cacao_nibs_raw_organic.htm They’re at all health food stores in California, but one health food store I visited in Tennessee has never heard of them. Both taste terrible, but it does wonders for your cough. Doesn’t directly cure my cold but lets me breathe and sleep at night, which definitely lessens my cold.
2. Put hydrogen peroxide in your ears and let it bubble. http://www.mercola.com/2002/mar/13/hydrogen_peroxide.htm I haven’t actually tried this that many times, but when I did it seemed to work really well.
I’m looking forward to everyone else’s remedies!
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Chuck :
Date: October 1, 2008 @ 1:19 am
exercise, and I mean a good 30 to 40 minute session. must be aerobic, like a stationary bike. running would be good assuming your legs can take it.
medicinal remedies are hit and miss, but I find that Airborne or any of its generic versions does work.
ivillage4women :
Date: October 3, 2008 @ 2:39 am
There are hundreds of different cold viruses. What’s worse, many of them routinely alter themselves, posing new threats at every turn. With no cure in sight, the same remedies administered by our forebears remain our first line of defense: chicken soup, hot lemonade, tea with honey. None of these will cure a cold, but anything that eases the agony even temporarily is just what the doctor ordered.
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iltmaemc :
Date: October 4, 2008 @ 9:05 am
Think your cold away. mind over matter.
it works every time for me.
ageless in my 'genes' :
Date: October 6, 2008 @ 2:06 pm
Chicken soup with apple cidar vinegar in it….
sybil_the_soothsayer :
Date: October 8, 2008 @ 9:55 am
I take Chyawanprash and Neem…both East Indian herbal remedies and they shorten the duration of the cold…lots of water and I cook a pot of brown lentils, made very soupy and eat that with rice…some hot tea if it is cold outside…tea tree oil in the ears…
The peroxide in the ears works too…I have tried it…that is good for swimmers ear as well and also good for canker sores in the mouth…
I have a cold right now and oddly, craved dark chocolate the other day….
Bethany :
Date: October 9, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
Homemade chicken soup with lots of garlic
Plenty of vitamin C
Hot herbal tea
Lemonade
Water, water, water
Plenty of rest and sleep
Keep taking your multivitamins
Trekkie Girl :
Date: October 12, 2008 @ 7:07 pm
my favorite is rest!! It will get you out of school/work!
I’ve heard that drinking lots of fluids helps your cold too!
I’m really looking forward to the chocolate remedy! I LOVE Chocolate!!!!!!!!
TONY S :
Date: October 14, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
Homemade chicken soup, advil, alkaseltzer cold plus….a clean bed….good rest….and most importantly, clean your skin with alcohol to kill the germs.
Kaliko :
Date: October 15, 2008 @ 10:24 pm
This is not a home remedy but it is natural. ZICAM nasal gel works miracles. The minute you start getting a cold you squirt the zicam in your nose. WAit 1 minute then blow most of it out. Repeat every 4 hours. Your cold will only last 2-3 days and will not be severe. I have been using zicam for a few years now and totally swear by it. Just a FYI.
Pss you can get it at any pharmacy in the cold section
Sabine É :
Date: October 16, 2008 @ 9:55 pm
Zicam worked for me. I came down with a cold on Sunday afternoon, took Zicam Monday evening and by Wed I was back to doing my thing.
thejanith :
Date: October 18, 2008 @ 3:01 am
Boiled gingerroot will give you your voice back for awhile, and calm throat irritation.
Zinc works really well for about half the population and not at all for the other half. Find out if you’re in the fortunate half and, if you are, use zinc. It shortens colds and/or prevents them entirely. If it does work for you, it’s well worth the cost to take it as preventative medicine all during colds season.
ninique305 :
Date: October 18, 2008 @ 5:30 pm
At the first signs of a cold, drink a glass of lemon juice. Press a lemon to get the juice, put it in a glass, and fill with the same amount water as the lemon juice (so the juice is half water half lemon). do NOT add sugar.
My father swears with that cure for colds, and it usually works if you take it soon enough.
Echinacea is also great.
trenardy :
Date: October 21, 2008 @ 2:13 pm
Lemon Juice and Garlic……..
Every morning throughout autumn and winter, I have a warm lemon drink. I squeeze the juice from half an (organic) lemon, into a mug of warm water and drink it.
Also during this period, I eat garlic everyday. I do not eat it raw, I just crush a couple of (organic) cloves into whatever evening meal I am cooking.
The combination of these two really helps me to mainly avoid colds.
If I do feel a cold coming on, there are a few magic non-home remedies that I use as an extra boost: Vitamin Beta A – C Oral Powder, Liquid Echinacea, A Traditional Chinese Medicine tablet called “GM0087 Clear the Way”. (OR) A Traditional Chinese Medicine tablet called “Astra 8”.
Giving up smoking has also been highly beneficial in reducing yearly bronchitis attacks.
I also LOVE hot toddies – not sure they really work that well but they are really nice and great for a sore throat and thick head.
My hot toddies normally consist of freshly squeezed orange juice with brandy or whiskey, gently warmed up on the stove.
Plently of rest, relaxation and keeping toastie warm also helps.
.
Carpanone Kid :
Date: October 22, 2008 @ 7:30 am
I like the idea of the chocolate one. My nephew takes Vitamin C until he gets diarrhea. When he reaches that state, it’s gone.
mountaingal :
Date: October 24, 2008 @ 7:57 pm
To cure a cold, the best way is to not get it in the first place.
There’s a great way to do this.
At the drug store, buy a bottle
of Kaz. It is the medication
you put in a Vick’s vaporizer to help you breath at night.
Pour a little Kaz on a Kleenex and keep it in a
Ziploc sandwich bag in your
purse or pocket. Anytime you
are around anyone who is
coughing or sneezing, open
the bag and inhale deeply.
How does it work? It has
eucalyptus oil/menthol oil
and camphor oil. This mix
will kill any bacteria or virus
you may breath in.
WARNING; Do not drink or
get in eyes. To drink may kill,
in eyes will burn your eyes.