Common Cold

Created by: Guruji Murugan Chillayah.
Published: 14 June 2016 (Tue)
Last Updated: 29 June 2024 04:30 AM (GMT+8)

Common Cold Treatment

Common Cold:

• Common cold is a viral infection

Symptoms to look for:

• Constant sneezing
• Blocked or runny nose
• In severe cases:

o Sore throat
o Dry cough
o Headache
o Mild fever

Causes:

• Viral infection of the respiratory tract
• It can spread from an infected person to another through sneezing
• Allergic disorders
• Change in weather

Natural home remedy using milk, turmeric powder and black pepper powder:

1. Take 1 glass of warm milk
2. Add 1 tsp of turmeric powder
3. Add 1 tsp of black pepper powder
4. Mix well
5. Drink 2 times everyday

Natural home remedy using carom seeds:

1. Crush 1 tbsp carom seeds
2. Put 1 tsp of this powder in a clean cloth
3. Tie the cloth in a bundle
4. Hold this bundle close to your nose and inhale

Natural home remedy using ladyfingers:

1.Take 100 gm ladyfingers or okra
2. Cut them into small pieces
3. Add them to ½ L hot water
4. Heat for 10-15 min
5. Inhale the steam coming from the mixture
• This gives relief from dry cough and throat irritation

Home Remedies for Cold - Common Cold Natural Treatment

Infection caused by rhinovirus leads to cold. With the mentioned cold virus affecting the nasal lining, body responds to the infection by giving way to a number of symptoms. ‘Inflammatory mediators’ contained in the immune system are activated as a consequent reaction of the infection caused. This in turn leads to sneezing, coughing, and headache which are triggered on as reflexes of the nervous system.

Apart from resorting to the medically bound therapeutic measures, a few homemade options accompanying the same can prove to be equally effective.

Common Cold Home Remedy- Natural Treatment for Cold

■ One such option includes the administration of cranberry soup. The homemade preparation includes heating of cranberries in water until they split themselves open. Having strained the resulting mixture honey can be added for taste. The desired thickening may be added with a dash of corn flour. Apart from being a rich source of Vitamin C, honey with its painkilling property helps to soothe head ache or body ache that may result from cold.

■ You may even go for a decoction made from ginger, lemon, garlic and water. Having boiled the ingredients you need to strain it. The resulting decoction can be sweetened with honey to be sipped hot and piping. Apart from the medicinal contents of the herbs being beneficial in their own way the drink will prove to be energizing and humidifying.

■ Dough made from half a cup of plain flour and a table spoon of dry mustard along with a bit of warm water may be spread out in the shape of a plaster. Placing the strip on the congested chest has been found to be immensely effective in getting rid of chest congestion- another fall out of cold. However if the skin reacts to it, the procedure should be stopped.

■ Chicken soup is another easily accessible homemade remedy to protect you against the devitalizing effects of common cold. Apart from ensuring proper nourishment it plays an effective role in doing away with the phlegm/mucus.

■ Herbal tea enriched with ginger helps in fighting the viral causes of common cold. Herbal tea with proper simmering should be enriched with spoonful of dried ginger. The decoction can be had throughout the day. The anti viral content of ginger will enliven you against the common sneezing symptoms of common cold.

■ Gurgling with herbs such as licorice and marsh mellow which acts against inflammation and mucus formation serves to be as effective as medicines prescribed to cure cough and cold.

■ Without involving any side effects massage of a few herbal oils meant for aromatherapy such as peppermint and lavender can prove to be effective in reducing stress and congestion. Lavender or yarrow with their known benefits in enhancing the immune system can activate a fatigue torn body.

■ Opting a diet rich in Vitamin C in forms of citrus fruits, melons, parsley and bell pepper will not only reduce inflammation and mucus formation with the help of their antihistamine content; but will also activate the functioning of the white blood corpuscles. It is also known for boosting the immune system.

■ To clear the painful effects of congested sinus- fallout of common cold, steam inhaling with boiling water enriched with seven to eight drops of eucalyptus or lavender oil is extremely beneficial.

■ Whenever you are having warm soup to deactivate your body, make sure to have it peppered with plenty of pepper. The capsaicin content of pepper acts as an antidote to cold. Particularly it helps in easing a blocked nose.

■ To relieve yourself from the irritating burden of a blocked nose, a drop or two of sesame oil being rubbed into it will prove to be relieving.

■ A homemade decoction made out of equal measures of honey and cider vinegar will prove to be effective if tablespoonful of the said mixture is taken after every four hours.

■ Yogurt taken regularly serves to prevent from the attack of the cold virus.

■ Garlic known for its multi functional therapeutic roles also helps one to ward off common cold with its immune enhancing potency and antibiotic quality. You can add it to your healthy recipes for soup or you may even go for its natural juice. Garlic added to vinegar may also work out well as a salad dressing.

■ Echinacea, another herb endowed with anti bacterial and anti viral qualities may be taken in the form of tincture to ward you against the sneezing cold and cough.

■ When you fall back upon some of the homemade naturopathic means of cure, make sure to cut down on the caffeine and alcohol intake as they spell disaster on your immunity. Moreover junk food, dairy products and food rich in sugar should be avoided as they add to the phlegm formation. Finally smoking known for contaminating the respiratory and other associated system should be strictly curtailed.

NOTE : The intention of this article is only for information. It is not a substitute to any other standard medical diagnosis. For proper treatment, always consult a qualified Ayurvedic physician.