Well, sneezin’ season is well and truly here, and all the wonderful home remedies are out and about. Some of these ideas, many of them years old are quite effective. Years and years of scientific advances have found very few successful cures for the common cold. The ‘common cold’ varies so much from person to person in both its symptoms, severity and duration.
While there are many varieties of virus that bring on the common cold, there is always a predisposition in each individual that will lead to the symptoms that each person suffers. In this article I will deal with general information on how to treat colds, coughs and sore throats. I will also briefly discuss that underlying factors often make people vulnerable to suffer specific symptoms.
To acknowledge, investigate and treat the predispositions can result in the person not having to suffer so much next time they are in contact with a virus that causes cold symptoms. I will elaborate on prevention in my next article, but in this article I will concentrate on treatment of cold symptoms, both professionally and a few home remedy ideas.
Symptoms of a cold are many, including nasal discharge and sneezing, sore red throat, swollen lymph glands, headache, elevated temperature, lethargy, coughing and irritability. When treating a cold, I aim to assist with both symptom relief and holistic treatment. Many, many people each year choose to come to me for treatment for a cold. I will give a brief explanation of some of the remedies that I use, and a very brief explanation why. I hope you understand that I have to keep my information general.
Hydration is extremely important, especially if there is elevated temperature and mucous discharge. Therefore drink lots of water. Rest is extremely important, although I think fresh air and a bit of gentle movement to maintain lymph flow is also important. Food should be kept pretty simple with lots of vegetable juices and soups. Sugar has been shown to compete with vitamin C for transport sites into the white blood cells, which may therefore result in reduction in white blood cell function. It should be noted that many fruit juices, including orange juice contain quite a lot of sugar.
As far as supplementation, I have found the mineral salts Iron Phosphate ( especially if there is an elevated temperature ) and Potassium Chloride ( especially if there is nasal mucous discharge ). Vitamin C has been shown to both reduce the severity and duration of a cold. Beta carotene and vitamin A are also important as they assist in maintaining the health of the lining of the respiratory tract. Zinc in many cases is also extremely effective. Some of the herbs I prescribe for the treatment of a cold are Andrographis, Cats Claw, Echinacea Angustifolia, Manuka, Clivers, Licorice, Euphorbia (if there is a cough), Sage (if there is a cough), Elder Flowers and Eyebright. I’m sure you understand that the treatment varies according to the symptoms and each patients constitution or type.
A few ideas to use at home are, if there appears to be sinus and gland inflammation, gentle massages of these area can assist in getting the congestion flowing, which can clear the glands and sinus area of waste. If there is throat discomfort, a combination of sage and licorice root tea can be sipped to give relief. While honey drinks are often suggested and do often relieve, care should be taken that the amount of sugar can often impede the treatment of the virus.
It is often suggested to let the cold run its course, which is fine if you have a healthy immune system, but quite often untreated colds can lead to quite a few secondary problems, so please don’t let colds linger.