thyme bath for colds and flu

It's that time of year, and the weather has been frightful to boot. This is my favorite remedy for colds, flus, respiratory infections - even urinary tract infections! This will spike/break a fever, so "check with your doctor" or otherwise make sure you're not applying to someone who might be at risk from an increased temperature or dehydration. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids beforehand.

Thyme Bath
Boil 2 quarts water
Add 2 cups dried thyme
Remove from heat, cover and let steep 10 minutes
Add strained thyme decoction to bathwater that is as hot as you can stand it
Stay in hot bath until you are sweating, as long as you can while it is still hot
Get out, dry quickly, and wrap up in robe, etc. and climb under the covers
This should create a sweat lasting 30 minutes or more

It's my understanding (I'm not an herbalist) that thyme has anti-viral, anti-bacterial properties and the combination of inhaling the bath vapors and soaking through the skin is quite powerful. Plus, fevers are truly quite powerful, useful agents themselves, and this bath sure gets them to do the trick! I've used this for family members and myself with incredible results. I would love to hear if others have tried thyme like this, or something similar.

Wow "bath thyme" sounds like a great remedy! I hope I don't get sick, but if I or my spouse does, we'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip! 

Ha! You're not the first to joke around about a "chronos bath!" And if you do try it, I'd love to know what you think!

I hope I catch a cold soon.  How does thyme grow up here in Western WA? 

Would it be advisable to gargle with thyme & water? I've been having terrible trouble with my throat lately. Been using salt water or hydrogen peroxide. I completely forgot I had a tea tree oil mouthwash. Going to try it too.

Hi Gwen,

Did you try gargling thyme? I don't know anything about using it as a gargle. The kim chi sounds like an awesome option, too.

Maybe, hopefully  , your sore throat is all gone by now!

J.

Thanks for the well-wishes, Jocelyn. Apparently whatever I had needed an antibiotic, because it did the trick. By the time I posted about the thyme, I was just about gargled out, but I made myself use of the rest of the tea tree oil mouthwash, just because I already had it. I'm doing much better now. Will try it another...thyme! 

People are talking about swine flu everywhere. Has anyone else but me tried this bath? I'd love to hear others' tips or tricks.

another great herb is sage...when i had throat surgery sage tea was the only thing i could drink

What kind of thyme do you grow for this? 

Thanks

Hi Jami, I have an old thyme bush, that is the regular, upright thyme - don't know the variety other than that - and it does work for this (as opposed to the trailing, creeping or woolly types). At the moment, I'm not exactly set up to dry large quantities of herbs, so for the bath, I usually buy dried thyme in bulk. It's so much easier to have on hand before you get sick... I once tried to substitute fresh thyme instead of dried, and even though I quadrupled the quantity (I think I used about 6-8 cups fresh - it's been a while) it just did not have the same potency.

Brenda - good tip about the sage tea! I'll have to try that one!