Colds and Congestion

Home Remedies for Colds -

Cut a cold short

 Sip a faux hot toddy. Cut a vitamin C-rich lemon in half and squeeze the juice from one half into a cup. Studies show that vitamin C taken before the onset of a cold shortens its duration and severity. Drop the lemon half shell into the cup. Add boiling water and a teaspoon of organic raw honey, an immunity booster that also coats painful throat tissues. Breathe in the healing vapor to open sinuses, and sip a cupful two or three times daily to fight the bug. (To make a traditional hot toddy, add a half shot of brandy.)

 –Expert: Ellen Kamhi, PhD, RN, clinical instructor at Stony Brook Medical School and co-author of Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide to Arthritis andThe Natural Medicine Chest

DIY Vapor Rub

Simply take a small amount of coconut oil or palm shortening (about an ounce) and add a good quality essential oil (eucalyptus, mint or wintergreen or combination)  (7-10 drops or more if needed) to get the strength you want and mix well.  Never use essential oil directly on your skin – always use a carrier oil.  Spread on the chest area or dab under the nose.

I have heard that oil pulling will also help loosen mild congestion, as will salt water gargles, but these are generally less effective than the above remedies.

Foods

Livestrong.com suggests the following foods to help fight sinus congestion:

Pineapple

Omega 3 Fatty acids (found in cold water fish, nuts, eggs, fish oil, cod oil and flaxseed)

Garlic

Fluids (see hot tea)

Spices and Herbs

Vitamin C

Apple Cider Vinegar

The Holistic Herbal suggests limiting the following foods to reduce mucus:

Dairy products

grains

sugar

potatoes and other starchy root vegetables

Hot Tea – Herbal or “Regular”

Hot tea with lemon and honey has been a congestion fighting favorite of mine for years.  Momma always stocked Lipton tea bags, but now I buy my black, green and oolong in bulk, and sometimes enjoy some tulsi (holy basil) tea blends as well.  Lemon is a great mucus clearer on it’s own, and can provide extra vitamin C, and honey is naturally antibacterial, so do include them in your brew.

For extra “oomph”, try herbal tea such as mullein, sage, ginger, peppermint, chamomile, eucalyptus, wild thyme and blackberry. (Source – New York Sinus Center.)

To make an herbal tea, cover 2 teaspoons dried leaves or 1/4 cup fresh leaves with 1 cup boiling water, steep for five to ten minutes, then strain and enjoy.  (For ginger root, use about a 1/2 inch piece of fresh root, or 1/2 tsp-1 tsp of dried root bits.)  I like to steep in a tea pot or cover my tea mug to keep the vapors from escaping.

Steam – With or Without Herbs

A hot, steamy shower is a godsend when you’re stuffed up, but you can sneak in a little relief in a much smaller area by using a bowl of boiling water tented with a towel. Take a large bowl and add fresh or dried herbs such as eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint or New England Aster. (A few drops of high quality essential oils may also be used, or you can skip herbs altogether, but in my experience they do help.) Pour in boiling water. Lean over bowl and inhale as best you can, tenting your head with a towel to trap the vapors.

 Apple Cider Vinegar

Whether you drink it, inhale it, gargle it or squirt it up your nose, Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is another popular choice for treating congestion. For drinking, some folks take a shot of it straight up, others add lemon juice and cayenne, or mix it with water and honey. Popular proportions on Earth Clinic are 6 ounces of water, two tablespoons ACV, two – four teaspoons honey, consumed warm, every 6 to 8 hours.

To inhale ACV, boil some ACV on the stove and breathe the fumes, or mix a drop or two in your saline nose spray. (Make sure not to overdo it, and keep things clean.)  Read more about ACV and sinus congestion at Earth Clinic.

Tomato Tea

From Earth Clinic, a great site for home remedies, the top choice for sinus congestion is a recipe called “Jean’s Famous Tomato Tea“.  This recipe has received rave reviews for its ability to clear congestion. (Follow the link to read more from Jean and all the feedback from others at Earth Clinic.)

TOMATO TEA RECIPE

2 cups V8 Juice

2-3 cloves Garlic crushed (use more if you can)

2 T Lemon Juice

Hot Sauce (the more the better, so as much as you can handle)

Mix and heat in a pan or in the microwave. Sip slowly and re-warm as needed to get the full effects of the fumes. Let it sit in the back of your throat to bathe it. Suck the fumes through your sinuses and also down into your lungs. Its all natural and healthy, so drink as much of it as you want or need until you are SURE the infection is gone. This is past the time when you “feel better.”

This appears to be the best recipe, but from the comments, people often don’t have the right ingredients. Don’t let that hold you back. Use whatever you have available. Below are some substitutes that may not work as well or as fast, but will still help. I’ve listed them by their likely effectiveness:

Substitutes:

V8 Juice – tomato juice, vegetable juice, canned or fresh tomatoes crushed, tomato soup (if really desperate, try another kind of fruit juice, vegetable soup or even chicken soup. You’re aiming for high Vit C content)

Garlic – garlic in olive oil, dehydrated garlic, garlic salt (aiming for the strong anti-bacterial/fungal effects)

Lemon Juice – Fresh lemons, bottled juice, limes, lime juice, oranges, frozen lemonade

Hot Sauce – ANY kind of hot sauce works, fresh hot peppers, cayenne pepper, dried pepper flakes (if really desperate, try horseradish, black pepper or even mustard. You’re aiming for the highly anti-bacterial/fungal properties of capsaicin which is found in hot peppers, and its effectiveness at clearing out the sinuses.)

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DIY Vicks Shower Pucks

Put these in the bottom of your shower when you're sick and let them melt away while you have a hot shower. Leaves you feeling less stuffy and helps to clear up colds faster.

 Ingredients: - ***NOT EDIBLE!!****

 1 Cup Baking soda

 1/2 Cup Cornstarch

 1/3 - 1/2 Cup Water

 2 - 3 tsp Vicks vapor rub

 do not eat!@

 Heat water enough to melt vicks in. Add in baking soda and cornstarch and mix into a thick paste, if you need to add more water. Line a muffin tin with paper cups, fill each cup about half way with mixture. Let dry overnight. Remove from paper cups when discs are hard and store in an airtight container.

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Cold?

Or Sip a faux hot toddy.

Cut a vitamin C-rich lemon in half and squeeze the juice from one half into a cup. Studies show that vitamin C taken before the onset of a cold shortens its duration and severity. Drop the lemon half shell into the cup. Add boiling water and a teaspoon of organic raw honey, an immunity booster that also coats painful throat tissues. Breathe in the healing vapor to open sinuses, and sip a cupful two or three times daily to fight the bug. (To make a traditional hot toddy, add a half shot of brandy.)

–Expert: Ellen Kamhi, PhD, RN, clinical instructor at Stony Brook Medical School and co-author of Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide to Arthritis andThe Natural Medicine Chest

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