What is some good wives tales or home remedies for a cold?

Question

Tired of the over the counter meds or prescribed from dr, I'm willing to try ANYTHING to get rid of this stuffy nose, headache, earache, congestion...yada yada yada...whats some home remedies or wives tales that might work? I can't breathe! *sniffle...

Answer 1

Starve the flu, feed a cold!

Also, chicken soup...it is a classic.

Answer 2

I swear this is true and not an old wives tale. Buy some L-Lysine vitamin supplements. Even after it starts, if you take 2 a day, you will significantly speed it up. Mine are always gone right away. Also, whenever it itches, put ice on it. Clean the area and use abreva also. When you clean it, only touch the infected area. Wash your hands any time you touch your face. No caffeine or chocolate either. BTW, did you know that over 70% of the population has the virus that causes cold sores? Some people have a reaction to the virus that causes a cold sore but many don't. Just FYI. Buy some Lysine!

Answer 3

I don't know about an old wives tale but here are some suggestions that help. Vitamin C. You should take 5000 mg spaced out throughout the day. What your body doesn't need you will excrete. A Nettie pot works wonders too. You can find these at almost any pharmacy. This will clear out your nasal passages to reduce cold symptoms.

Answer 4

Peppermint & Eucalyptus, Cinnamon Essential Oils are good for colds and congestion. Peppermint & Lavendar are good for headaches and migraines. The best ear oil I know of is Olive Oil and garlic. Take several cloves smash them and put them in a sauce pan cover with olive oil and cook them down until the garlic get mushy (the point is to cook out as much of the garlic and it's natural oils as possible) do this all over low to medium heat watching it so it doesn't burn. Find a small glass eye dropper bottle to put this in because your next step is to strain off the cooked cloves and retain all the oil for use as ear drops. The next time your ears feel itchy or sore put a couple of drops in, preferably lay on one side to hold the drops in for awhile and then put cotton in your ears. I save all the cotton from my vitamin bottles (good vitamins use real cotton not synthetic). Teas like echinacea, peppermint, spearmint, ginger would all be good for colds. Chamomille has a calming effect if your stressed. Something warm always feels good with a cold. Collodial Silver is a great thing to keep around as well as Wellness Formula and Elderberry all of those things work really well at keeping my family health. There are several homeopathic remedies that work well for colds too. Find yourself a good health food store (not GNC -- products are overpriced for what your get and staff is not very knowledgable), ask for their assistance. Purchase a book called Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis Balch (4th edition). Use it, this book and it's companions are a great, easy to understand resource for all of us interested in healing ourselves and our families.

Good Luck.

Answer 5

Steamer. Purchase one that you can add some mentholated salve to enhance it. Put a towel over your head as a shroud and breath in the steam through your nose. Do this for about an hour and I guarantee your cold will be gone in 1 day.

Also, take 500 mg of chewable vitamin C every 4 hours.

Answer 6

My mother made a brilliant cold and flu tonic (handed down from her mother etc etc)

Two large Turnips (the type with purple skin) slice into about 1cm (1/3 inch) slices.
Put slices into a large mixing bowl and cover with warm water
Sprinkle approx 2 Tblsps of granulated sugar over the top
Cover the bowl and allow to stand for 8 hours or more

Take 1 - 2 teaspoons of the liquid by skimming from the top

It tastes fine and helps sooth your throat, clear the sinus and stop coughs...good luck hope you're feeling fine soon

Answer 7

My Grandma makes her own cold medicine and it works I swear! She takes a bag of horehound candy and puts it in a pot with a fifth of liquor and lets it melt together over low heat. She then puts it in a sealed jar and when someone gets sick she gives them 2 teaspoons of it. It works wonders though I am not sure how.

Answer 8

STUFFY NOSE-Recently I was treating a different problem, but I noticed that when I put a peeled clove of garlic in my nose (for an infection), it wasn't long before my nose started running. You may try this to clear up your stuffiness. Peel a clove of garlic and sliced it in half, then put it just inside your nose. Try to get a piece that, once you slice it, it will be too big to accidentally suck too far into the back of your nose. Do not push it too far back into your nose. If it burns too much at first, let the garlic sit out on the counter for a while to dry up some of its liquid-that is the part that burns your skin. I could only keep it in for 10 minutes at a time because it does irritate your skin. But it will make your nose run. Do not use the garlic like this on a long-term basis because garlic can thin your blood. You may notice a little blood if you blow your nose or clean it with a q-tip. However, this will not be a problem once you stop using the garlic.

HEADACHE: Steven H. Horne, author of The ABC Herbal says that "the fastest way to get rid of a headache is not to take something internally, but to apply something externally and massage the muscles to reduce the swelling and take out the tension. Painkillers simply shut down the nerve messages that tell you something is wrong-they do not solve the problem." If you have some essential oil of peppermint or essential oil of cinnamon, rub some onto your temple where your head hurts. (These are the best oils, but try any kind of essential oil that is on hand, as the massaging may be the most beneficial in spite of the ingredients.) I have also heard that you can sprinkle some cinnamon on buttered toast and eat it. I don't know by experience as I get very few headaches. But these are things I will try when I get one.

EARACHE: Peel a clove of garlic and place it into the opening of your ear (like you would a hearing aide). You could also put a couple of drops of garlic oil down into your ear and massage some oil on your neck around and below your ear. The oil may work faster. I have a friend who says she likes to use the clove of garlic. You can buy commercially prepared garlic oil or make it yourself.
***If you buy it already made, there are a couple of things to remember. If the garlic is still in the oil, you must either strain it out to store it at room temperature or, if you leave the garlic in the oil, you must refrigerate the oil. Then every two weeks heat the garlic and oil to a very hot temperature and place it back into the refrigerator. If you do not wish to go through the pains, then use it as much as possible in the first two weeks and then discard the remaining oil. This is because botulism spores can grow on the garlic that is in the oil. This can not happen if you take the garlic out of the oil-there is nothing for the bacteria to attach itself to. The oil may solidify in the refrigerator, but if you sit it out for a while at room temperature it will soon turn to liquid again. If you would like a recipe for making your own garlic oil, you can Email Me.

CONGESTION: If you have chest congestion and can't seem to get it coughed up, then warm some garlic oil and have someone massage it onto your back and under your armpits. Then massage some onto your chest, being sure to get it under your rib cage. This gets it into your lymph nodes (garlic absorbs into your skin very quickly). I have used this on my girls and it didn't take more than 2 nights to see a difference. (You can also massage your throat with garlic oil to treat a sore throat.)

CAYENNE: Steven H. Horne says that at the first sign of a cold, he takes 2 capsules of Capsicum (cayenne pepper) every hour with a large glass of water. You can get Cayenne Capsules at Walmart or other pharmacies. He also takes an enema and sweat bath.

ENEMA: This may seem the least desirable to you, but The ABC Herbal says that much improvement has been seen "in coughs, runny noses, flu, headaches, diarrhea, sore throats and even earaches when the bowel is cleansed." (That just about touches on all of your symptoms!) The quickest way to do this is through an enema. You can do this with items that you already may have at home. You need a bulb syringe (that you do not plan on using on noses), petroleum jelly or similar lubricant, and an enema solution. Such solutions are garlic tea, catnip tea, peppermint tea, chamomile tea. His suggestion in this book using one syringe dose is mainly for children, so you may need to fill the syringe two or three times to get the desired affect.You could also get a Fleets enema and follow the directions, or empty it out and fill it with your own solution. (If you'd like directions on making the solutions or giving the enema, feel free to Email Me.)

SWEAT BATHs help the body to rid itself of toxins that cause illness. "Sit in a tub of water as hot as you can tolerate. Add a couple of tablespoons of ginger powder, a handful or rosemary or mint leaves, or other aromatic herbs. (It is best to put these herbs in a mesh bag to keep from having to clean out your tub after the bath.) An alternative is to add a quarter teaspoon of lavender oil, tea tree oil, or some other pure essential oil. Drink plenty of water or a fragrant herbal tea before sitting in the bath.

VITAMIN C: At the onset of a cold, take 1000mg of Vitamin C and repeat this dose every hour until symptoms cease.

You asked for home remedies and here you have them! Do It Yourself at its best. I hope this helps.