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Author Topic: Health: Cold/Viral Home Remedies  (Read 2080 times)

Sage

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Cold/Viral Home Remedies
« on: September 28, 2014, 06:38:47 pm »
Hi all!

I just spent a sold 24 hours in close contact with someone infected with one of those sore throat/fever/congestive viral things. I'm sure I'm infected and it's just a matter of time etc etc, but I thought I'd ask about home remedies for either staving off these symptoms as much as possible, or managing them once they've come about. Plus for a lot of Northern Hemisphere TC members, we're earnestly in cold and flu season. Perhaps we could share ideas for making this a little bearable. :)

I know that rest + fluids are the best way to manage a cold once you've got it. I'm going to start pre-emptively using a neti pot to keep the congestion from creeping up on me. I'm also going to gargle with salt water, take a couple tablespoons of honey a day, and maybe binge on a good source of vitamin C.

Other suggestions/weird tricks/sympathetic hugs in haz-mat suits?
« Last Edit: May 07, 2019, 02:55:02 pm by RandallS »
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Re: Cold/Viral Home Remedies
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2014, 06:48:14 pm »
Quote from: Sage;160623

I know that rest + fluids are the best way to manage a cold once you've got it. I'm going to start pre-emptively using a neti pot to keep the congestion from creeping up on me. I'm also going to gargle with salt water, take a couple tablespoons of honey a day, and maybe binge on a good source of vitamin C.

 
Thyme tea is one of my classics for managing colds. (Cautious disclaimer: The amounts needed for regular doses of tea push the amount of thyme into a dosage that may not be a good idea if someone's pregnant.)

I also have really cranky lungs, so I usually keep pleurisy root tincture on hand and mullein, both of which are good for cranky lungs. (The tincture means that I no longer sound like I'm dying of tuberculosis for 8 weeks after a cold, but only about one or two.)

One of my other classics is elderberry vodka. The very simple version is 'take elderberries, fill container, add vodka, let steep 4-6 weeks" but you can also add citrus peel and juice or warming spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice) if you want some variation in flavour. I've found it cuts down both the length and misery of a cold a lot. (Take a tablespoon or two at a time, every couple of hours. I usually do every hour when I'm at home, because of the difficulty of, y'know, bringing what's straight alcohol + stuff to work.) You can make from dried berries, which is also very convenient.

(And once you've made it and strained it, it keeps for ages: I'm still working on finishing the container from a year and a half ago.)
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Sage

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Re: Cold/Viral Home Remedies
« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2014, 06:51:01 pm »
Quote from: Jenett;160624
Thyme tea is one of my classics for managing colds. (Cautious disclaimer: The amounts needed for regular doses of tea push the amount of thyme into a dosage that may not be a good idea if someone's pregnant.)


How fresh does this thyme need to be? I have a pretty extensive food-grade spice cabinet but some of the bins are pretty old at this point.
Maker, though the darkness comes upon me,
I shall embrace the light. I shall weather the storm.
I shall endure.
What you have created, no one can tear asunder.

-Canticle of Trials 1:10

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Re: Cold/Viral Home Remedies
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2014, 06:59:28 pm »
Quote from: Sage;160625
How fresh does this thyme need to be? I have a pretty extensive food-grade spice cabinet but some of the bins are pretty old at this point.

 
Things lose medicinal potency the longer they're on the shelf. The number I've heard is that if you *know* it was fresh when you got it and hadn't been on the shelf long (i.e. you're buying from a source you know turns over stock very frequently) you've got about 2 years, but for most purposes, you should figure on a year for best potency and anything after that is going to taper off.

(Any grocery store buy that isn't out of bulk bins is going to have spent 6-12 months being stored, probably. Also, obviously, some things have more limited harvest seasons than others, and if you can only harvest once a year, and it's not quite that point in the year, the stuff on the shelves is already a year old.)
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Re: Cold/Viral Home Remedies
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2014, 07:29:36 pm »
Quote from: Sage;160623
Hi all!

I just spent a sold 24 hours in close contact with someone infected with one of those sore throat/fever/congestive viral things. I'm sure I'm infected and it's just a matter of time etc etc, but I thought I'd ask about home remedies for either staving off these symptoms as much as possible, or managing them once they've come about. Plus for a lot of Northern Hemisphere TC members, we're earnestly in cold and flu season. Perhaps we could share ideas for making this a little bearable. :)

I know that rest + fluids are the best way to manage a cold once you've got it. I'm going to start pre-emptively using a neti pot to keep the congestion from creeping up on me. I'm also going to gargle with salt water, take a couple tablespoons of honey a day, and maybe binge on a good source of vitamin C.

Other suggestions/weird tricks/sympathetic hugs in haz-mat suits?

 
My family's home remedy is honey, lemon and ginger. (Although I hate ginger so never add it). Either for fighting a cold or preventing it.

In a teapot (or jug, whatever's hadn't) pour in hot water (just boiled water but not boiling!) stir in a few tablespoons of honey (depending on how sweet you like it, I always uses good quality local honey rather than cheap stuff from the supermarket). Then I leave it to cool for about 5 minutes then add the juice of 1 lemon (boiling water destroyed the vitamin C). I sometimes cut up the lemon and add a few slices as well (but I love lemon and add masses of honey to sweeten it). Then add a bit of fresh ginger. We sometimes add cinnamon sticks as well. I'm not sure if cinnamon has any cold fighting properties but it tastes nice.
I tend to leave it to brew for about 10 minutes before drinking. It keeps pretty well though, and I really like it cold as well as hot. So I make a massive pot of it and keep it in the fridge once it's cooled (I leave the lemon slices/ginger/cinnamon in the pot as well because I'm too lazy to take them out). But I drink about a teapot full of it a day anyway when colds are around.

Don't know if it works because I've never gone through a cold without drinking gallons of the stuff but I don't tend to be affected as badly by colds compared to others. (I had the flu last about 6 years ago despite being around family members who've had it since.)
I also take paracetamol.

That's all I do when I have a cold, or people around me have colds. Lemon and honey and then paracetamol if I do catch one. Oh and those 1000mg/1g dissolvable vitamin C things every day.  

And this reminds me, I need to stock up on lemons.

Good luck! Offering hugs

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Re: Cold/Viral Home Remedies
« Reply #5 on: September 28, 2014, 08:38:54 pm »
Quote from: Sage;160623
Other suggestions/weird tricks/sympathetic hugs in haz-mat suits?

 
I wish I could remember the proportions, alas, but it's cider vinegar, honey, and cayenne pepper, cut with enough water that you can drink it without your head IMMEDIATELY EXPLODING.

I used to have a bottle of it labelled 'flu remedy'.
as the water grinds the stone
we rise and fall
as our ashes turn to dust
we shine like stars    - Covenant, "Bullet"

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Re: Cold/Viral Home Remedies
« Reply #6 on: September 28, 2014, 10:52:37 pm »
Quote from: Sage;160623
I'm also going to gargle with salt water, take a couple tablespoons of honey a day, and maybe binge on a good source of vitamin C.

Other suggestions/weird tricks/sympathetic hugs in haz-mat suits?

Juice of 3 lemons  
juice of 1 lime
minced garlic  
ginger powder  
cayenne pepper  
pineapple juice, and
honey

Supposed to be "nature's flu shots" and I think some versions add turmeric in there for some reason.

I try to eat something spicy as often as possible, whether that's nibbling raw radishes, ginger teas (and a dollop of pure blackstrap molasses, just to get the minerals in), and chili peppers of course. And keep warm as well as hydrated and well-rested. I don't know how medically sound this next tip is, but I've noticed that I get colds a lot less often once I started keeping my feet covered in socks and warm instead of walking barefoot over cold tile floors.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2014, 10:53:17 pm by Faemon »
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veggiewolf

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Re: Cold/Viral Home Remedies
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2014, 09:39:07 am »
Quote from: Sage;160623
Hi all!

I just spent a sold 24 hours in close contact with someone infected with one of those sore throat/fever/congestive viral things. I'm sure I'm infected and it's just a matter of time etc etc, but I thought I'd ask about home remedies for either staving off these symptoms as much as possible, or managing them once they've come about. Plus for a lot of Northern Hemisphere TC members, we're earnestly in cold and flu season. Perhaps we could share ideas for making this a little bearable. :)

I know that rest + fluids are the best way to manage a cold once you've got it. I'm going to start pre-emptively using a neti pot to keep the congestion from creeping up on me. I'm also going to gargle with salt water, take a couple tablespoons of honey a day, and maybe binge on a good source of vitamin C.

Other suggestions/weird tricks/sympathetic hugs in haz-mat suits?

Oh gods, I'm just getting over that evil virus.

Elderberry vodka or, if you've no time, pure elderberry extract with just enough water to thin it out.  Down like a shot, then make the "blargh - cold medicine!" face.
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