There is no treatment for a common cold. However, you can ease the symptoms of a cold fast and naturally.
Cold symptoms indicate that your body is fighting a virus. You have to just let it pass. Your body will build antibodies that will protect you from catching a cold (from the same virus) in the future. That’s how you build immunity.
But this process of acquiring immunity can make you unwell.
You have two options, either you take over-the-counter medication to get some symptomatic relief, or you can take a natural approach that has been handed down from generation to generation.
Home remedies are effective and cheap ways of treating several problems. Historically, herbs and spices were mainly used for many common health issues. A common cold is one of them.
The healing properties of some natural ingredients are proven by science and others may have just a placebo effect.
Placebo or not, if something makes our body healthy, that is a treatment.
The approach of self-treatment with natural herbs and spices require some trial and error.
There is no one shoe fit all policy. You have to figure out what works for you. And where to draw the line. If not sure, speak to your doctor.
I think everybody knows one or two home remedies for cold. Here are my tips to treat cold fast.
Use essential oils
Essential oils can soothe the throat, fight germs and reduce inflammation.
The two most recommended essential oils for curing a cold are eucalyptus oil and tea tree oil.
As a kid, we have used to carry small sealed pouches of those tiny, dried, yellow flowers of eucalyptus. When congested, just crush flowers inside with your hands and sniff. Sooo fresh!
Anyways. Back to the point.
Add a few drops of essential oil to a diffuser. Or you can sprinkle some on a cotton pad and keep it next to you. You can also add a few drops to your steam inhaler.
Eucalyptus essential oil is an active ingredient in many over the counter cough and congestion treatments (for example Vicks Vaporub).
Tea tree leaves are used by Australian aboriginals to treat cough and cold for a very long time. This oil has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antifungal properties.
Sweat it out
Not through the physical exertion or sitting in the sauna room though. Exercises can deplete your energy and the sauna can dehydrate you.
I am talking about something else here.
In India, the elders usually recommend this method to sweat it out.
Drink something warm like a big bowl of winter warming soup right before going to the bed. Immediately slide under your quilt or duvet covering your face. After a few minutes, you will start sweating. Stay in there as long as you possibly can. When you are done uncover your face and let your body come to the normal temperature. If it’s too sweaty use a towel to wipe yourself. A good few hours of sleep is highly recommended after this. That’s why this treatment is done right before bedtime.
A few tips to make this process work
- During the sweating treatment, uncover your face as and when needed, but do not let too much heat escape.
- You might wanna spread a thick towel on your bed before doing this. Nobody likes a sweaty bed.
- Keep a bottle of water next to the bed. After sweating you will feel thirsty. Stay hydrated.
- Drink lukewarm water afterwards. Avoid giving any more shocks to the body.
- Do not leave bed immediately afterwards. Stay warm and rest.
- A good few hours of sleep will do wonders.
- Do it as soon as you realise you are catching a cold.
- Once or twice a day is enough. Don’t overdo it.
- It’s not easy or fun like a sauna. It’s uncomfortable.
- Do not do it if you are running a high fever. Do not try new things when you are too poorly. Get medical attention.
I and everyone in my extended family have done this all our lives and generations before us. This is done on the very first day to reduce the intensity and duration of cold symptoms.
Now you have it. Age-old treatment to cure a cold before it starts.
Do you know that fever is an evolved defence system of our body?
The heat of fever augments the performance of immune cells, induces stress on pathogens…
Sylwia Wrotek, Edmund K LeGrand, Artur Dzialuk, Joe Alcock, Let fever do its job: The meaning of fever in the pandemic era, Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2021, Pages 26–35, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaa044
So popping pills for the slightest change in body temperature may not be the best idea. A very high temperature for a long time is also not good. Speak to your doctor and find a safe balance.
Take Rest
Stress and exhaustion are linked to poor immune response. When you are sick with a cold and fever your body is hard at work to fight off the infection. Getting good sleep and frequent rest means keeping your body’s immune system in prime condition to remove cold viruses from your body.
Sip warm water
Sipping warm liquid will thin out mucus and help you breathe easier. It can also soothe your throat and relieve the pain. Continuously sipping warm water will keep you hydrated as well.
Take a hot shower and inhale steam
If you are feeling congested take long warm showers to loosen the mucus in your chest and swelling in your nose. If that’s not an option, then try inhaling some steam, you can add some eucalyptus oil or Vicks Vaporub in the boiling water for better results.
Exercise
Staying in bed all day can be challenging and it’s hard to sleep well with a stiff body. Doing some basic stretches to open up your joints can help. Walking can make your back and legs feel better. If you are feeling strong enough, particularly in your recovery phase, try some light aerobics. Exercises generate heat in the body, help you breathe easy.
Gargles
Sore throat is a common nuisance during cold. It’s painful and annoying. Gargling for about 15-20 minutes with warm salty water can soothe your throat. I do it three times a day. After brushing my teeth in the morning, after lunch in the noon and before going to bed at night. You will notice a difference within a day or two.
Give rest to your sore throat
Besides soothing your throat with warm water and gargles, give it some rest. Speak less, if necessary keep your voice low. Your throat is sick, give it some rest.
Moisturise nose skin and lips from day one
Runny nose, and breathing through the mouth can make the skin of your nose and lips dry and painful. Keep an oil or cream-based moisturizer handy and apply it every time you wipe your nose.
Eat well to keep energy levels high
You might have heard it so many times that “eat well when sick, you will recover faster”. But that is not the complete advice, you should eat easy to digest nutritious food. In the case of cold, warm soups, stews and porridges are the best. They are easy to digest for your tummy, and warm liquids soothe your throat and keep you warm. It is like killing two birds with one stone. I would avoid all dry, citrusy, spicy food that can irritate my already tender throat.
Take Supplements
Vitamin C
let’s start with the most common supplement – vitamin C. There is conflicting evidence around the benefits of taking vitamin C to treat or prevent a cold. But there is some evidence that shows that vitamin C boosts the immune system and prevent cold in people exposed to cold weather and perform extreme exercises. In winters vitamin C rich fruits and vegetables are abundant and you can easily get your daily dose of vitamin C.
Government dietary recommendation for vitamin C in UK (2016 publication) is:
- For 1 to 10 years old male and female – 30 mg per day.
- For 11 to 14 years old male and female – 35 mg per day
- For 15+ male and females – 40 mg per day
- See the full government dietary recommendations (PDF, 148kb) for levels for children and older adults.
- It doesn’t say, how much for pregnancy but In 1991, COMA(Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy, UK) recommended an RNI (Recommended Nutrient Intake) for ascorbic acid of 40 mg/day for adults, with an increase in pregnancy to 50 mg/day, and during lactation to 70 mg/day. And if you are on Vitabiotics Pregnacare plus then it provides you 70 mg of vitamin C/tablet. So don’t miss your supplements.
Vitamin D
A report published in 2017 states that vitamin D supplements can reduce the onset of cold and flu. Public Health England recommends adults and children over the age of one should take 10 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D, during autumn and winter.
Public Health England recommends adults and children over the age of one should take 10 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin D, during autumn and winter.
Zinc syrup and lozenges are other popular treatments for the cold.
Echinacea is a very popular herbal remedy but there is conflicting evidence if echinacea helps in preventing or treating cold and flu. It also has side effects particularly for people with bronchitis and asthma.
There are other supplements as well such as garlic tablets, ginseng, elderberry extract etc.
Avoid Over-the-Counter (OTC) medicines
Avoid over the counter medications if possible. And there are two reasons for that, first, I believe our body has the magical power to heal itself. My “Plan A” is just to rest and use some basic home remedies, and see if my body heals itself. And second, there is no recommended treatment available in the market to treat cold. OTC is mainly just painkillers or to suppress the symptoms. Also, I have observed that after an initial temporary relief they make you feel worse.
Self-isolate
Cold is contagious. Everybody can catch cold in the house one after another.
Maintain good hygiene and a safe distance to protect your family and friends.
if you are a mum, complete isolation is not possible. yet do what you can. No kisses. Wear mask. No food sharing. wash hand very often. Bin used tissues immediately and wash/sanitize your hands. etc.
On the more positive side, if you are a busy mum, a self-isolation period can give you a much needed time to relax and recover.
Sleep
Sleep as much as you can. Some daytime naps and a good 8 hours of sleep at night would be ideal. but breathing problems during the cold makes it hard. So try taking a hot shower, or steam inhalation before going to bed. Doing relaxation meditation or reading a nice book also relaxes your anxious mind.
A plan to cure cold
| Time | To dos |
| Early morning | Gargle 15 minutes with salt water Drink a glass of warm water Take a Ginger shot |
| Breakfast | Eat warm oats porridge with nuts and seeds Take Vitamin Supplements |
| Mid morning | Sip slowly a warm cup of ginger lemon tea |
| Lunch | Have a big bowl of warm beans and vegetable stew |
| Tea-time | Sip slowly a warm cup of apple cinnamon tea or chai latte |
| Dinner | Enjoy a big bowl of heart warming winter soup |
| After dinner | Sip slowly a warm cup of turmeric latte Gargle 15 minutes with salt water |
Best drinks to cure cough and cold
Lemon and ginger tea
Heat a cup of water in a pan, grate a small piece of ginger in it, add a pinch of black pepper and let it come to a rolling boil and then turn down the heat. Now squeeze a slice of lemon in it and drop the squeezed slice in it. Add spoonful honey and mix. Turn off the heat, cover and let it sit for a few minutes, before straining it in your mug.
Apple and cinnamon tea
Heat a cup of water in a pan, add a stick of cinnamon and a few slices of apple, add a pinch of black pepper, let it come to a rolling boil and then turn down the heat. Now squeeze a slice of lemon in it and drop the squeezed slice in it. Add spoonful honey and mix. Turn off the heat, cover and let it sit for a few minutes, before straining it in your mug.
Tumeric latte
Take a cup of milk in a pan. Add 1 tsp turmeric, 1 pinch black pepper, crush 2-3 strands of saffron and add to the milk, add spoonful honey and mix everything well. Now turn on the heat and let everything come to a boil. Now turn off the heat and cover the pan. Let it sit for a few minutes, before straining it in your mug.
Chai latte
Now for this recipe, you need to make chai masala or buy one. It usually has cloves, cardamom, black peppercorn, cinnamon, dried ginger, and nutmeg. And to grind it into a fine powder sometimes they add some granulated sugar to it. I have some readymade powder. So I just boil some milk and add 1/2 tsp of chai masala and boil. and my chai latte is ready. But my mother likes to add some tea leaves to it. The choice is yours.
Usually, I feel much better within 2-3 days, but still, I take it easy and rest. As I recover, I increase my workout a little as it helps me breathe better.
That is all from me. Please do share if you have any tips to relieve symptoms of common cold.
Get well soon!
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