Cold and Flu Remedies From Home and Nature

You probably pass by hundreds of expensive cold and flu remedies in the pharmacy aisle, but sometimes it feels more comforting to use a home remedy for cold and flu, especially for your children. Or, if you do purchase cold and flu remedies, you may be attracted to remedies using natural ingredients that promote a healthy immune system, rather than products that come with strong side effects. Of the countless cold and flu remedies recommended over the years, there are many home-based and natural common cold remedies that have surprised modern scientists with their effectiveness.

For example, getting plenty of rest is a winning cold and flu remedy which often gets overlooked because no one likes to miss school, sports, work, or other important activities. Many of us are tempted, or even encouraged, to “tough it out” through a cold or flu, but bed rest is one of the best cold and flu remedies because it helps the immune system to recover from the battle against nasty viruses.

Blowing the nose properly is another example of cold and flu remedies that many of us take for granted. Sniffling is more convenient and less messy, but blowing your nose gently, one nostril at a time, is essential to clearing out mucus so that your sinuses can heal. Even young children are able to learn how to blow their noses properly. Tell children not to blow too hard, though, or it may cause ear problems and ear infection symptoms.

Water, in various forms, can be made into several effective, convenient, and affordable cold and flu remedies. Drinking hot water with lemon, honey, and tea will relieve nasal congestion, soothe a sore throat, and keep nasal passages hydrated. Gargling with warm salt water (saline solution) has been used for centuries as a way to ease sore throat symptoms. While you’re at it, make some extra warm salt water to fill a Neti Nasal Pot and rinse out excess mucus from nasal cavities. Finally, your cold and flu remedies are not complete until you turn water into steam and breathe it in. Whether you are near a shower or you heat water over the stove, steam can clear out and relieve nasal passages and the throat from cold and flu symptoms. Children, of course, need adult supervision when trying to use any cold and flu remedies.