Treating the Common Cold Holistically
Index of Diseases / Health Conditions ... Medicinal Foods, Herbs, Spices & Household Items
Please review Disclaimer
First of all: Is it a Cold or the Flu? Click here to find out (lists symptoms for each) The following requires a visit to your ER:
Call Your Doctor You usually do not have to call your doctor right away if you have signs of a cold or flu. But you should call your doctor in these situations:
|
Not Sick Yet - or just feel it "coming on": Tips to Shorten or Prevent the Flu / Cold
Natural Remedies for the Common Cold:
The most important things you can do to get yourself well again are the following:
- Stay in Bed and Rest. Getting plenty of rest and healing sleep will boost your immune function and give the body time to heal. It is during the deeper stages of sleep that you experience metabolic and tissue restoration. If you can't sleep, visit this website for some "holistic" tips.
- Stay Hydrated: Drink at least 8 cups (64 ounces) of water each day. Water keeps your respiratory system hydrated, which helps to liquefy thick mucus that builds up with a respiratory infection.
Some findings show that hot liquids may be superior to cold liquids in upper respiratory infections. Other liquids such as clear soups, broth or an electrolyte replacement drink also work. Avoid coffee, caffeinated teas, or alcoholic beverages as these liquids may cause dehydration.
- Note: Antibiotics are not effective against cold and flu germs. You should take antibiotics only when really needed as determined by your physician.
- Dr. Cathleen London, MD, Brookline, MA, suggests: homemade chicken soup with a whole head of unpeeled garlic (sliced half crosswise) and two to four quartered, unpeeled onions to the broth before cooking.
An antiviral compound in the skin of garlic and onions fights the rhinovirus that's causing the cold, she explained. Skins can be strained out before eating since the broth will have been infused with quercetin.
Another perk: chicken sop blocks the activity of netrophils, inflammatory cells that trigger coughs and congestion.
For Congestion & Sore Throats:
- Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D, author of "From Fatigued to Fantastic" (the best selling guide to treating chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia featured to the right) suggests the following:
Gargle a solution of 1/2 tsp of kosher salt and 1 cup of luke-warm water. The mix also works as a nasal rinse to clear stuffiness.
According to Dr. Teitelbaum, each rinsing washes away 90% of germs causing the infection. To treat nasal passages, pour a bit of saltwater into your palm, block one nostril with the other hand and gently sniff the liquid into the open nostril. Repeat on the opposite side.
For Sneezing & Watery Eyes:
- Holly Lucille, ND, Los Angeles (author of "Creating and Maintaining Balance: A Woman's Guide to Safe Natural Hormone Health" featured below ) recommends a daily dose of Echinacea to shorten a cold by up to four days.
But not any Echinacea will do. She recommends looking for a product containing the active species "purpurea" and ""pallida". She likes the brand "Esberitox" (eVitamins).
Home Remedies for Calming an Irritated Throat:
- Teaspoon of Honey Ginger & Malt Sugar Drink: Crush enough fresh ginger to obtain half a tablespoon of juice. Mix the juice and a teaspoon of malt or brown sugar in a cup of warm water and drink. Do this 2-3 times a day.
- Ginger stimulates nerves that lead to mucus production. Ginger appears to have an antioxidant effect, as well as an anti-inflammatory effect, and stimulates the production of interferon that helps fight viral infections.
- Whole Lemon Drink: Cut up a fresh lemon and put it through a juice extractor (including skin and seeds). Mix the juice with an equal amount of warm water and sip slowly, letting it just trickle down your throat. If it's too bitter add a little more water, but no sugar. Do this 2-3 times a day.
- Honey & Egg Drink: Crack an egg into a bowl and beat it evenly. Add 35 grams of honey to a small pot of water and bring to a boil. Add the honey water to the egg bowl, mix well and drink warm. Do this 1-2 times a day. Good for dry cough and hoarse voice.
- Avoid phlegm-forming foods such as dairy products (especially if you have a damp, phlegmy cough), refined starches like white bread and cakes and overly cooked meats. Eat foods in as close to their natural state as possible.
The Ease Congestion:
- Saline (Salt Water) Nasal Sprays: Saline nasal sprays can be purchased over the counter at any drug or grocery store and are effective, safe and nonirritating, even for children. Spray the saline solution into one nostril and then gently blow the mucus and saline out of that nostril. Repeat the process in the opposite nostril until both are running clear.
- Chili peppers are a great source of capsaicin, an antioxidant that also acts as a natural decongestant and expectorant. If you don't mind the spiciness, try adding a few chili peppers to season your foods or use a few drops of hot sauce in a food or beverage. This will help to open your nasal passages and temporarily improve breathing.
- Horseradish contains a chemical similar to one found in decongestants.
- Healing Steam: Fill the bathroom or kitchen sink with steaming water, and add two teaspoons chopped fresh ginger (Zingiber officinalis). Drape a towel over your head and lean over the steam to get maximum benefit. Another flu remedy is to add a few drops of oil of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) or menthol to the water. Eucalyptus is known to open up bronchial tubes, ease congestion, and make breathing easier. Getting in a warm shower with the bathroom door closed works as your own personal sauna. The steamy bathroom helps to open your airways and moisten and thin the mucus in your sinuses.
- Moist Heat Compresses: If you find it difficult to breathe through your nose, you may find relief by applying warm moist compresses to the cheeks and sinuses. If you use moist heat, make sure it's not too hot to avoid skin injury.
- If the air in your room is too dry, use a warm mist humidifier or vaporizer to add moisture to the air and help ease nasal and chest congestion. Make sure to clean the humidifier with a bleach solution every few days to prevent the growth of bacteria and molds.
- Saline nasal irrigation is an effective flu remedy to thin mucus, decrease postnasal drip, and add moisture to dried mucous membranes. In addition, the saline nasal rinse helps to remove virus particles and bacteria from your nose. Here's a popular recipe that you can try at home:
- Mix 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in 8 ounces of warm water.
- Use a bulb syringe to squirt water into the nose.
- Learning over the bathroom sink, hold one nostril closed by applying light finger pressure while squirting the salt mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain and gently blow your nose.
- Repeat 2-3 times and then treat the other nostril.
To Shorten or Prevent a Cold or Flu:
- Grapefruit Seed Extract: Available at your local health food store, this inexpensive yet very effective remedy is said to cut down on cold. In fact, one web visitors state that adding 10 to 15 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract to drinking water or juice at the first signs of a cold will stop it dead in its track. Users report superior results to even Echinacea (below).
- Vitamin D: According to an article in the December issue of Epidemiology and Infection, vitamin D boosts expression of antimicrobial compounds in the respiratory tract, helping protect the lungs from infections, such as the influenza (flu) virus. Numerous studies confirmed that ultra-violet radiation and D-rich Cod Liver Oil both reduce the incidence of respiratory infections. Vitamin D stimulates our body to make a powerful germ-fighting substance called cathelicidin. Some scientists believe that cathelicidin just might be the most powerful natural antibiotic ever discovered! It all makes sense. We mainly get sick in the winter when our bodies make less Vitamin D as there is less sunlight. Actions to take: During the summer make sure to spend at least 15 minutes outside every day and during the winter, spring and fall, you may want to take a vitamin D supplement. A recommended doses for most people may be 5,000 i.u. per day of D3 (the same form of the vitamin our body makes) - discuss with your doctor. (Source:"Second Opinion" Magazine, Special Issue, Winter 2008). Vitamin D protects us against a host of other illnesses as well, including osteoporosis and cancer.
- Echinacea: A recent analysis of echinacea studies has concluded that this popular botanical medicine significantly reduces the risk you'll catch a cold and also can cut a cold's duration. Yet it wasn't long ago that a New England Journal of Medicine study (July 28, 2005) stated just the opposite, calling the effects of echinacea not clinically significant in fighting colds. So which report should you trust?
According to Craig I. Coleman, PharmD, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut, who helped conduct this latest echinacea research, there are many possible reasons why one individual study might have found this treatment ineffective. For example, there are different types of echinacea, different dosages, different frequencies of dosage, etc. In the case of the New England Journal of Medicine study, Dr. Coleman points out that a less effective species of echinacea was used (Echinacea angustifolia rather than Echinacea purpurea), and at a dosage that was only a third what was recommended. Moreover, only one of the more than 200 viruses that cause cold symptoms was tested.
To learn the truth about echinacea, Dr. Coleman and his colleagues combined data from 14 previous clinical trials involving nearly 3,000 people. Since many studies include less than 100 participants, he notes that the much larger meta-analysis packs more statistical power and is also likely to uncover effects of a treatment that might not have shown up in smaller studies. For the greatest accuracy, researchers also chose only randomized, placebo-controlled and peer reviewed trials -- the ones most likely to yield reliable results.
The results were impressive. Researchers found that...
- Echinacea reduces the chance of catching a cold by 58% when taken prior to or right at the first hint of a cold.
- If you already have a cold, taking echinacea can shorten the duration of it by a day and a half.
POWERFUL COLD PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
"The take-home message from our study is that echinacea does indeed have powerful cold prevention and treatment benefits," says Dr. Coleman. Yet with more than 800 echinacea products on the market today, he believes more research is needed to determine the best product preparation and proper dosage. For best results, try taking it at the first sign of a cold. Daily Health News contributing medical editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND, says his two favorite echinacea products are by Herb Pharm and Eclectic Institute.
Source(s):
Craig I. Coleman, PharmD, assistant professor of pharmacy practice, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut. - Zinc Lozenges: Research conducted at Wayne Stated University in Detroit, lead by Ananda S. Prasad and colleagues, as reported in the August 2000 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, yielded following results. Half of 48 cold sufferers were given zinc lozenges and half were given placebos -- identical lozenges with no active ingredients. The zinc group's cold symptoms lasted about 4.5 days. Cold symptoms lasted significantly longer in the group taking placebo lozenges: an average of 8 days. People joined the study within 24 hours of the onset of their cold symptoms, and they were told to take zinc acetate lozenges containing 13 mg of zinc (or placebo lozenges) every 2-3 hours while they were awake. They took no other cold remedies.
- Coughing lasted an average of 3.1 days in the zinc group and 6.3 days in patients taking the placebo.
- Nasal discharge lasted an average of 4.1 days in the zinc group and 5.8 days in the placebo group.
Study participants also recorded the presence of various potential side effects to zinc treatment, such as dry mouth and constipation.
Patients in this study took about 80 mg of elemental zinc each day for four or five days. Generally it is recommended to take 15 mg of zinc for men and 12 mg for women. The participants in this study were taking five times or more of the recommended amount. The authors of the study caution that this was a high dosage given for a short time only. Indiscriminate use of zinc is not advised, and long term (six to eight weeks) use of high-dose lozenges would likely result in copper deficiency and perhaps other adverse effects.
They recommend that if cold symptoms do not show improvement after three days of taking zinc, a patient should be examined to see if they have another type of respiratory tract infection or allergies.
- Probiotics: Medical research into how our bodies fight off diseases, like the cold and the flu, has shown the most of our immune resistance takes place in the digestive tract.
Recent studies on probiotics demonstrate that these organisms can help the body resist respiratory infections, like the flu and the common cold. A study in Germany discovered that taking a supplement that contains probiotic bacteria with vitamins and minerals for three months during the winter and spring can alter our susceptibility to colds and flu (Intl Jrnl Clin harm Ther 2005 Jul;43(7);318-26). When the researchers compared the health of about 240 people taking the supplements with another 240 who went without, they found that:
- the group taking probotics suffered 13 percent fewer respiratory infections.
- In addition to suffering fewer illnesses when members of the group taking supplements did suffer from the flu their symptoms were reduced by 25 percent.
- Plus, they only suffered fevers for half the time the unsupplemented group did.
- Lap work performed by the scientists also showed that the people taking probiotics had more immune cells ready to take part in their immune defense.
The scientists concluded: "the intake of a dietary supplement containing probiotic bacteria plus vitamins and minerals during a period of at least three months in winter/spring may reduce the incidence and the severity of symptoms in common cold infections."
Natural Antibiotics / Herbal Anti-inflammatories - Strengthening Your Immunesystem Naturally
Information contained on this website is provided as general reference only. For application to specific circumstances, professional advice should be sought. Please review Disclaimer
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with the AvianWeb visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the AvianWeb Webmaster.
Photo contributions and articles are welcome!
