Common Cold Remedies

The common cold is a contagious viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system. It is the most common infectious disease in humans and hence the name. It has no known cure.

What are the Symptoms? Some of the familiar symptoms are soreness of the throat, congestion of the nasal passage, a runny nose, and sneezing. Sometimes it is accompanied by muscle aches, fatigue, headaches, malaise, muscle weakness, uncontrollable shivering, loss of appetite, and sometimes, exhaustion. The symptoms can last for about a week or two. It is normally mild and self-limiting but more severe among children.

What are the Causes? Common cold often results from exposure to the virus. Its intensity depends on the state of health of the individual and environmental factors. Most often, low vitality, exposure to cold, lack of sleep, mental depression, fatigue, and factors like sudden changes in temperature, and inhaling dust and other irritants can lead to common cold.

What are the Remedies? Lemon is an important remedy for common cold. It is excellent for treating cold with fever. Vitamin-C rich lemon juice increases immunity and removes toxins from the body. You can take the juice of one lemon, dilute it in one glass of warm water, and add a teaspoon of honey. Drink this mixture once or twice a day.

Garlic soup is an effective age old remedy for decreasing the severity of cold. You can boil three to five cloves of chopped garlic in a glass of water. You can also combine five drops of garlic in one teaspoon of onion juice and dilute in water. Drink this twice or thrice a day. It will open the respiratory passages and clear toxins from the body.

Ginger is also good for treating cold. You can cut a few pieces of ginger in water and boil it. Strain and add sugar or honey and drink it hot. Mulligatawny soup made of tamarind, pepper, and butter is an effective remedy. Soak 50 gm of tamarind with two glasses of water, boil the diluted liquid and add a little butter and pepper while it boils. You can also add freshly crushed garlic and cumin seeds to it. This will clear your nasal passage and throat and bring relief.

Inhalation therapy with eucalyptus oil helps to clear stuffy noses. Boil some water and add a few drop of eucalyptus oil and inhale the vapors. You can do this twice a day. Chicken soup or chicken broth is also a good natural cure for the common cold.