Natural Remedies For the Common Cold
For those of us in colder climates, many of us have already battled the common cold this season. Though generally not a serious illness for those who’re otherwise healthy, the common cold can be a nuisance.
Keep reading to find out some natural cold remedies that have been evaluated in randomized controlled trials.
What Are the Symptoms of the Common Cold?
Typically symptoms of the common cold include: sore throat, cough, sneezing, running nose, headache, fatigue, and a low-grade fever. The symptoms of the common cold tend to last for around a week.
How Do You Get Sick?
Since colds are caused by more than 100 different viruses, antibiotics are ineffective for treating the common cold though physicians sometimes prescribe them to treat secondary bacterial infections (bronchitis, pneumonia).
Tips to Prevent Catching a Cold?
Though there’s no 100% reliable way of preventing colds, you can reduce your risk by washing your hands regularly, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, getting regular exercise, sleep, and limiting your stress levels. In addition to these common measures, there’s also some herbs and vitamins that may also be effective natural cold remedies.
Lifestyle Treatments for the Common Cold:
- Make sure that you drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and to loosen mucus
- Hot beverages – studies suggest that hot beverages can help to temporarily relieve some of the symptoms of colds such as sore throat, cough, and runny nose.
- Get plenty of rest – It’s important to avoid complications and to restore your energy levels.
- Continue to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to maintain a healthy diet.
Flip to the next page for natural treatment options…
Blaine
April 29, 2013 at 10:44 pm
Cold-fx is a scam. It’s a complete ripoff. I wouldn’t give that stuff to my dog. Bunk.
Greg Nason
March 6, 2013 at 11:07 pm
Does Cold-Fx interact with coumadin (Warfarin)? I was reading something about that the other day. My dad’s on coumadin and he was thinking about taking cold-fx. Sounds like a bad idea if it doesn’t even work.
Karen Smith
February 23, 2013 at 4:42 am
I’m surprised how hard it was to find your natural cold remedies article on Google! Outside of prevention by hand washing etc, I think some supplements work really well particularly andrographis!
fergusonsarah
December 7, 2011 at 2:00 am
Thank you for sharing this very useful content. When I have colds, I drink plenty of citrus juice.
Pingback: Which vitamins are important for your skin?
Crumpylicious Blog
August 6, 2011 at 12:00 am
Very useful! I’m prone to having a bad cold. Now I know what to take to prevent it.=)
Leigh
July 28, 2011 at 9:38 am
Jarret;
Thanks for sharing this info.
In the past I have used a mixture of minced garlic, echinacea and honey made into a paste to relieve cold symptoms which worked very well for my family. A teaspoon taken at bedtime with a glass of water has cut short symptoms for us and has kept other family members from getting sick. Theflavor isn’t pleasant, but it does help. Prepare the paste with equal parts of the ingredients and store in tightly sealed glass jar in the cupboard or fridge.
Caleb
February 15, 2011 at 9:59 am
Great information. Prevention is the key. Very few people actually drink enough water. Sodas, tea, power drinks are all that people seem to think about nowadays.
We are what we put into our bodies, and we get back the result.
Mark
January 20, 2011 at 12:40 pm
I have become a big believer in getting my vitamins naturally by consuming organic fruits and vegetables and juicing organic fruits.
Andy King
January 15, 2011 at 4:20 am
The natural Remedy is Vitamin C.
Fresh Orange juce is the main medicine for Cold.
Health Articles
December 25, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Nice post on natural remedies for cold. I can’t believe Siberian Ginseng is widely popular too. My mum always make ginseng for me when i am young, whenever i am running a cold.
Sophie
December 22, 2010 at 1:44 am
Winter season is here and sometimes we call it cold season as well. Most of us catch colds during winter season, that’s why we need a doses of Vitamin C, eat healthy foods and good rest. It’s a need to have annual vaccinations, too. “Prevention is better than a pound of cure.”
David Bradley
December 16, 2010 at 8:12 am
There is no vaccine for the common cold. You can be vaccinated against influenza, which is what I assume you meant to say, but flu vaccine won’t stop you catching a cold. Washing hands with soap and hot water frequently and after all personal or social contact is the best way to keep cold viruses out of your system. Oh, one more thing, zinc can, it seems, shorten the time one suffers symptoms, but zinc supplements by virtue of the way zinc is extracted do contain trace levels of cadmium, so don’t over do it with those.
Jarret Morrow, M.D.
December 16, 2010 at 8:39 am
David, I never indicated that the flu vaccine has any effect on preventing the common cold. I simply said as above that I choose to get the flu vaccine on a yearly basis. Zinc is not something I would recommend though it’s quite popular in the United States. Thanks for the head’s up about possible contamination with cadmium in zinc cold remedies.
Uttoran Sen
December 15, 2010 at 8:29 am
nice tips Jarret,
as you said in the first para, a healthy person is less likely to suffer. but anyway, i try my best to stay safe, after all, good sleep, exercise, eating vegetables and fruits is surely in our hands.
You mentioned a long list of herbal options, not all of them will be easily available, but will surely try the vitamins C and D which should not be hard to get.
Milk Thistle
December 9, 2010 at 3:47 pm
I enjoyed your post exploring some natural remedies for the treatment of colds. While I think most people would consider Vitamin C I also think most people wouldn’t think about garlic or Vitamin D. Great post!