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what's everyone's favorite natural home remedy for common cold?

Posts: 7

Location: SW Scotland

posted 1 year ago

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Another vote here for one passed down through the generations: the mustard plaster. Unbeatable for a chesty cold. 1tbsp hot mustard powder, 2 tbsp flour, mix to a paste with a little water and spread on a piece of cloth, cover with another piece of cloth and place the whole on the chest. Cover over with bedclothes or whatever and enjoy the heat but do take care not to leave it on too long - it can raise blisters!
Also, gargling with apple cider vinegar (then swallow). Surely the benefits of this stuff are too well known to require elaboration?
I can’t quite believe that no one has mentioned neti/nasal irrigation (sorry if I missed it)! It sounds weird but this really works. Basically, you pour a warm saline solution in through one nostril (leaning forward with head tilted over the sink). It fills up the sinuses and then drains out through the other nostril, clearing clogged sinuses and washing away virus particles as it goes. Switch nostrils and repeat. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it, this one’s a game changer. A ‘neti pot’ is the easiest way to do this, look it up.
Stay well everyone.

Cécile Stelzer Johnson

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posted 1 year ago

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jeff Swart wrote:

For croupy type congestion:
- One of granny's remedies was whiskey and honey, plus helped you get to sleep. Dose: about one tablespoon at a time. Oh yeah, and then there were mustard plasters applied to the chest - OUCH! (dunno how the mustard paste was prepared...)
… from my current perspective a worthy alternative may be a CASTOR OIL PACK on the chest
good health and wellbeing to one and all

The mustard cataplasm was quite plain: Mustard on cheesecloth. Leave it as long as you can stand it. For me, it was 15 minutes. When mom kept it for almost and hour, the skin came off with it.
Mom had another one for congestion, that I quite preferred: "ventouses", AKA suction cups.
They are small glass containers [like the " Oui" yogurt jars, like 4 oz. rubbing alcohol and a flame]
Swab the inside of the little glass jar with rubbing alcohol and ignite. Immediately turn it face down on a person's back. The lack of oxygen causes the fire to go out pretty fast, and as the air inside cools off, a vacuum is created. the vacuum pulls the blood toward the surface of the skin, providing relief from congestion. You cannot use this if you have a very hairy patient, though. ;-)
One or two won't do the trick but if you can put 15 or 20, it adds up and you do get relief.

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jeff Swart

Posts: 37

Location: SE Ohio

posted 1 year ago

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Jim Brodie wrote:
Also, gargling with apple cider vinegar (then swallow). Surely the benefits of this stuff are too well known to require elaboration?

Good tip Jim
Reminds me of another tip my dad taught me that works great for scratchy throats - gargling with very salty water - spit out...

Suzanne Jabs

Posts: 52

Location: Willamette Valley, OR

posted 1 year ago

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Steven Feil wrote:Heat destroys the medicinal properties of garlic, ONLY USE IT FRESH. Probably the same goes for ginger. I actually hate putting heat on ANYTHING medicinal except were absolutely necessary (barks mainly).

I was just reading Eating on the Wild Side. Can't remember all the exact details, but the gist is that she says crush garlic and leave for 10 minutes before cooking with it to retain those benefits. Garlic has 2 components that need to combine to awaken all those good properties. If you're eating raw, chewing will do it, so no waiting required.

I haven't had a chance to research this yet, but it's worth looking into.

Kelly Craig

Posts: 367

Location: Eastern Washington

posted 1 year ago

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YEARS AGO, my daughter came back from her mother's house with a nagging cough, which just would not go away. I knew nothing about any type of pneumonia. Still don't know if it was, but it was a hoarse cough.

To deal with the cough, I set up an ultrasonic humidifier by her bed. I added about 1/8th cup of 12%, food grade hydrogen peroxide to the gallon of water and ran it. Interestingly, her cough was gone the next morning.

Probably just coincidence [wink].

Cj Picker

Posts: 51

posted 1 year ago

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Fermented honey/garlic is the best efficacy/kids-can-choke-it-down ratio for us.

Carla Burke

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posted 1 year ago

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I have several ways to fight cools & flu. I usually start with a mulled elderberry oxymel*, as soon as I know of exposure or at first sign of illness. Then, increased alliums, primarily garlic, in almost any form - fermented in honey, minced into soups, etc. Good ol' home made chicken soup, with nettles, spinach or lambs quarters, garlic, onion, turmeric, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. Fire cider as/in salad dressings, added to soups, stews, or taken as shots, if it's really bad. Plus, if it's bad, a strong night time hot toddy.

*Carla's Mulled elderberry oxymel (big batch lasts forever, and I often share with local family & friends):
1gal organic raw apple cider vinegar with Mother, divided (after this, referred to as acv)
6 whole cloves
3 whole star anise
A large-ish knob of fresh ginger, minced
1 whole nutmeg, grated
4 -6 sticks of cinnamon, crushed, but NOT ground
3/4 cup dried elderberries
Raw Honey to taste
Combine spices, elderberries, and 3 cups of the acv in a non-reactive (think enamel or small,2qt crockpot) saucepan, bring to a gentle simmer, and keep at that simmer for 30 - 45 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature, and combine with remaining acv - it won't all fit back into the jug the acv was in, so I blend it in a large enamel stockpot, and I don't strain it, because the strength of the spices improves with time. This mixture will keep indefinitely, though I typically make a full batch per year. As the season begins, our someone gets sick, strain & blend an appropriate amount for your current need with honey, and decant. I sometimes give it as gifts, so, I'll blend it 50/50 with honey - your milage may vary, pour it into bottles (usually 8 to 16 ounce bottles), and add nice labels, depending on how many people will use it. I keep a bottle going for us, year 'round.
To use:
Maintenance/prevention: 1 Tablespoon 2x/day
At the first sign of illness or when we know we've been exposed to something nasty, we do 3 shots each, spread out through the day, for a week.

To simply enjoy (including for dosing it!) - mix with your favorite oil(s), to make a vinaigrette for salads or as a veggie dip; pour it over ice cream, or on pancakes, waffles or hot cereal; stir into Greek yogurt, sour cream, or even marshmallow creme, to use as a fruit dip; pour a shot into a 12oz glass, and fill with water or club soda and ice.

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G Fischer

Posts: 11

Location: Bouncing around the US

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posted 1 year ago

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I like my teas, and eating healthier. I have worked outdoors most of my life, and I might get a cold from being around groups every 3-4 years, that dissipates very quickly. I DON’T care for anytime I’m off my game, more than many.

I drink ginger tea with echinacea, with a splash of elderberry, about 2-3 times per week.

Different Chai s with additives. Echinacea, splash elderberry, ginger, taken with zinc. What ever floats your taste at the moment.

Another favorite White Pine needle tea with honey and lemon, for big doses of vitamin C, about 6-7 in a week.

I never made it to being part of coffee generation. Grew up around an entire tea family.
I take good vitamins. And zinc about 2-3 times per week. Always seem to be cooking with fresh garlic or in salads.

These and outdoor work, including shoveling, here in the north, keep me going well through the years. And seems no reason to change this routine. I don’t do store bought cold fixes, other than vitamins and zinc. Different strains will come and go. You visit through them, you usually get more immune. My two cents?

To your health! Hope you feel better.

Tina Wolf

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Location: Zone 8b North Texas

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posted 1 year ago

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I eat ginger daily. Plus, I drink garlic tea. 1 grated clove of garlic added to boiling water and honey added too.
Cures what ailes me!

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jeff Swart

Posts: 37

Location: SE Ohio

posted 1 year ago

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Am Pohlacker wrote:

I was just reading Eating on the Wild Side. Can't remember all the exact details, but the gist is that she says crush garlic and leave for 10 minutes before cooking with it to retain those benefits. Garlic has 2 components that need to combine to awaken all those good properties. If you're eating raw, chewing will do it, so no waiting required.

I haven't had a chance to research this yet, but it's worth looking into.

I came across this idea awhile back and have yet to do the research, too. If memory serves, it has something to do with allowing the garlic to combine with the air. Since then I've been more attentive to getting garlic 'ready' before adding to food (or mouth), and then only add it at the end of any cooking process.

Well, OK, sometimes I'll add some of the garlic early in a cooking process for the 'flavor' then add more 'raw' at the end - stemming from when I was learning Chinese cooking where garlic and ginger were usually added to the cooking oil (e.g., stir fry) before adding other ingredients - and, hey, a trillion people can't all be wrong

- came across a punny quote along the way saying "The Chinese speak of ginger and garlic in the same *breath*"

Barney Berry

Posts: 13

Location: Quitman, United States

posted 1 year ago

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Horehound herb as a tea, which regulates the quality and quantity of mucus secretions.

Kathy Vargo

Posts: 104

Location: Meriden, NH

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posted 1 year ago

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Yes, I take extra vitamin C, when exposure risk is high like traveling on an airplane. I like a hot toddy- decaf tea with juice of 1/2 lemon, honey to taste and 1oz. whiskey. One or two of those and you are ready to sleep.
But the weird thing is that an hour long sauna seems to stop a respiratory infection cold if you catch it in the scratchy or sore throat phase.

Cécile Stelzer Johnson

pollinator

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Location: zone 4b, sandy, Continental D

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posted 1 year ago

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Kathy Vargo wrote:Yes, I take extra vitamin C, when exposure risk is high like traveling on an airplane. I like a hot toddy- decaf tea with juice of 1/2 lemon, honey to taste and 1oz. whiskey. One or two of those and you are ready to sleep.
But the weird thing is that an hour long sauna seems to stop a respiratory infection cold if you catch it in the scratchy or sore throat phase.

And if you can't afford a sauna, a very warm soaking bath will raise the moisture that you breathe in. This really helps with the throat. It also helps you sleep like a baby.
I'm also right with you on the hot toddy. I may add a bit more whiskey, though.

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Cody Gillespie

Posts: 49

posted 1 year ago

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I've noticed when I start coming down with something, it usually coincides with periods that I havnt been eatting my fruits and veggies. I have definitely had success doing things to kick bugs out but not every bug responds to the same treatment. Wormwood had worked on some but not others, and the same for sweet annie. These are in teas. Recently I had a nagging cough for a month which I got rid of in one day by smoking mullen.

jeff Swart

Posts: 37

Location: SE Ohio

posted 1 year ago

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Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:

Kathy Vargo wrote:
And if you can't afford a sauna, a very warm soaking bath will raise the moisture that you breathe in. This really helps with the throat. It also helps you sleep like a baby.
I'm also right with you on the hot toddy. I may add a bit more whiskey, though.

Another option is to use vaporizers where you live and breathe - also helps keep static electricity at bay.

Somewhat off topic, but certainly health related - vaporizing/boiling vinegar outside helps disperse chemtrail (er, uh, geoengineering) fallout in your vicinity !!
Weird Huh!?!? - after hearing an increasing number of positive 'reports from the field' this past year, I've done it several times, evidently with great success. Other reported methods include eliciting assistance from earth elementals (?vinegar spirits?) and simply vocalizing our God-given rights demanding unimpeded access to sunlight... just sayin'

Ara Murray

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Posts: 187

Location: Northern UK

posted 1 year ago

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For prevention, I take vitamin C and zinc. If I succumb to the virus (increasingly rare as I get older) I like to drink hot blackcurrant juice but admit it's shop bought.
As children, if we had an irritating cough keeping us awake, our parents would give us a teaspoonful of butter dipped in sugar to soothe our throats. I suspect the fact that our parents smoked (just about everyone did in my youth) caused our coughs to get worse as my children, living in a smoke-free house, rarely developed coughs with colds.

Anita Martin

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Posts: 887

Location: Southern Germany

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posted 1 year ago

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Many of my favourites have been mentioned already.

My go-to remedies:
A lot of sleep, when feeling cold with a hot-water bottle.
Homemade chicken broth.
Kimchi (probiotics, ginger, garlic, cruciferous vegetables all in one)

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. (E.E.Hale)

Sarah Flanagan

Posts: 13

posted 1 year ago

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David Livingston wrote: Hot lemon juice , honey diluted with Irish whisky oh and going to bed with a book alone

David

I'm found of a hot Irish whiskey with a slice of lemon too when I feel under the weather.
Not sure it tackels the cold but it definitely makes me feel a lot better.

Matt McSpadden

gardener

Posts: 2212

Location: Central Maine (Zone 5a)

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posted 8 months ago

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I know cold/flu season is about over in this part of the world, but there are many good ideas here. I agree that keeping up on vitamins and minerals in general will help overall health. Specifically I take elderberry syrup. Here is the recipe. It is an adaption of the one from Wellness Mama.

3 1/2 cups water
2/3 cups dried elderberries
2 tbsp fresh ginger (shredded, chopped, or whatever)
1 tbsp cinnamon (add more than normal, cause I like cinnamon)
1/4tsp of cloves (healthy, but I hate the taste)
1 cup of raw local honey (if possible, I've used store bought before)

Pour water, elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves into pan.
Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer until its reduced by half. Depending on your simmer, this could be 45-60 minutes.
At this point you should let it cool for a while, but I don't. I find the honey mixes better into a hot liquid. So I use a fine strainer or cheesecloth or something to get out all the chunks and let the liquid out into a clean jar.
Stir in honey until the consistency is even throughout.
Store in the fridge.
People seem torn about how long it lasts, but I generally aim for about 3-4 weeks.

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Timothy Norton

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Posts: 4305

Location: Upstate NY, Zone 5, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall

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posted 1 month ago

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This thread is great!

I've had a non-productive cough for a few days now as a variety of illnesses are sweeping through the area and conventional medicine isn't really touching it. It isn't something that worries me enough to go to a doctor but it makes sleep a pain. I'll have to give a few of these things a try.

My biggest lesson here is that I need to forage and store more medicinals when they are growing because when I need it, I don't have it!

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