It’s that time of year again when your body starts aching and you need to fight a cold off. Naturally would be best but you may need help with medicine or a prescription. The common cold is caused by a virus rather than bacteria, so antibiotics can’t help. Work on building up your immune system and relieving your symptoms:
Fight The Cold Naturally
- Take time off. Getting adequate rest will help you get over your cold quickly.
- Drink more water than you usually do. Eight glasses a day is standard when you’re healthy, so try to drink more than that.
- Substitute herbal tea or juice for water to make your liquid intake goals.
- Let your appetite dictate how much you eat. If you’re not hungry at all, try eating something that’s easy to digest, like a banana. Sugar may have a negative impact on your immune system, so limit sweets.
- Eat chicken soup if it makes you feel better. It can’t rid your body of the virus, but it’s easy to digest and may soothe your throat.
- Drink an immune-boosting tea of echinacea or goldenseal. You can also take capsules or a tincture.
- Load up on Vitamin C every few hours, and take zinc according to bottle directions.
If you have Influenza that’s a whole different ball game., Influenza also known as the flu, can incubate in your body for up to three days. When it hits, be prepared with these simple steps.
How to Fight Off the Flu
- See your doctor: There are effective prescription drugs that can treat a flu if taken within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.
- Sleep as much as you need to; let your body be your guide.
- Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water at least eight glasses a day. If you don’t feel like having plain water, add freshly squeezed lemon juice to water or drink diluted fruit juice.
- If you are having nausea and/or vomiting, avoid solid foods until the vomiting stops and you are able to hold down clear fluids.
- Start off with chicken or vegetable broth and dry crackers once you feel like eating. These are both easy to digest.
- Drink tea or herbal tea with honey. It is very soothing to a sore throat.
- Take ibuprofen, aspirin or acetaminophen for fever, aches and pains if you are an adult. Give children acetaminophen or ibuprofen, not aspirin.
- Use a humidifier or vaporizer if the air is dry. It will help break up mucus.
- Choose an appropriate over-the-counter cough syrup based on your symptoms. Keep in mind that multiple-ingredient medications may contain ingredients that counteract each other.
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It’s that time of year again when your body starts aching and you need to fight a cold off. Naturally would be best but you may need help with medicine or a prescription. The common cold is caused by a virus rather than bacteria, so antibiotics can’t help. Work on building up your immune system and relieving your symptoms:
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November 19th, 2005 at 7:01 pm
I’ll give this a try next time I need to fight off a cold naturally.
February 14th, 2006 at 1:32 am
This has helped me out a lot this week.
July 1st, 2006 at 4:59 pm
I’m sick and it’s June. Anyone else get sick in the summer?
July 26th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Uck, yes. First my husband got sick and now I’m sick. All I can hope is it doesn’t stay with me for long, or I’ll be sick when I go into labor, and that does not sound like fun.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
good luck Lynne.
February 3rd, 2008 at 1:49 am
Try Andrographis paniculata (Chinese: chan xin lian). Some studies suggest that it can even prevent a cold, but this link shows that it acn at least reduce severity. (I would seriously talk to a doctor if I had an immune disease of some sort as it is a strong immunomodulator).
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/411495