8 home remedies for the cold and the flu.
Don’t you hate when you’re coming down with something? Whether it’s the flu or the common cold, you are likely to get sick at least a couple of times a year. Getting better is sometimes easy – staying home for a few days drinking tea and eating chicken soup; but sometimes it feels like you’ll be sick forever. As these illnesses are caused by a virus, there isn’t exactly much you can do to prevent them, but there are ways to relieve your symptoms and feel better.
Saline drops
If your sinuses feel like they’ll explode and you get excruciating headaches, you can reach for those saline sprays and drops or you can easily make them yourself. Simply boil a cup of water and let it cool until it becomes lukewarm; add half a teaspoon of salt and the same amount of baking soda, and you have your own mixture. The best way to use it is to fill a bulb syringe with fluid and squirt it into your nostril while holding the other nostril closed. Repeat at least three times before moving on to the other nostril for maximum effect.
Gargle salt water
When you have a sore throat and you have trouble swallowing, gargling salt water can help you feel better. Boil a cup of water and let it cool down a bit; add a teaspoon of salt to the warm water, gargle the mixture for a while and spit it out. Kids older than eight and grownups are free to use the technique to relieve pain and the mixture works wonders on sore throats.
Zinc supplements
Zinc is great for your health, and when you’re using zinc supplements in slightly higher doses, you can shorten a cold up to three days. When you’re sick, every day counts, so getting better faster is always your priority, but you need to be cautious. You can take zinc either as a syrup or in the form of tablets (orally), or you can swab it in the nose (so-called intranasal zinc). Be careful with the intranasal form as it can cause the loss of the sense of smell. Too much zinc in your system can reduce good cholesterol and cause copper deficiency, so you might not want to experiment with too much zinc.
Become a couch potato
You should pay attention to your body when you’re sick. Even if you really want to keep up working and exercising, staying in bed for a few days is a much better choice. Lay low for several days, read a book or binge-watch a show on Netflix. Even if you have a lot of things to do, try not to push yourself too hard. Your body needs rest and if you allow yourself to gather your strength and get enough sleep, you will recover much faster.
Chicken soup
For many people, chicken soup and illness are closely connected, and while we’re waiting out an illness, we eat plenty of chicken soup which our friends brought or our family made. Not only does warm soup bring your comfort, but it also helps you get better. Hot and steamy soup can help open up your congested nasal passages and it will warm you up too. Sipping nutritious soup can help when you feel dehydrated and thirsty, and it can make you feel more energetic, so help yourself to another bowl.
Garlic
It gives you pretty bad breath, but it does wonders for your health – garlic is recognized worldwide as one of the most potent natural remedies. Over 5,000 studies have been conducted on the benefits of garlic and its wonderful ability to help the human body recover and strengthen the immune system. Not only is it easy to find, but it’s also inexpensive. You can add it to different dishes you’re making or you can mince it, mix it with raw honey and spread on bread.
Get enough fluids
If you have the flu, you can also experience vomiting and diarrhea, which can leave you dehydrated. Getting enough fluids is imperative, so you should drink a lot of herbal tea, broth, and good old water. Boil water first to make sure it’s safe, or you can use a UV sterilizer to purify tap water. Make fruit juices and get some electrolyte beverages too to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need.
When you get sick, all your plans are put on hold, and even if you feel like it’s the greatest disaster in the world, you should stay home for a few days and get better before heading back to the office. It’s no use stressing over the fact that you got sick; instead of fretting over deadlines and work, focus on getting better and gather strength to tackle all those tasks that will be waiting for you.