How to Manage Common Cold at Home?
Everybody suffers from cold at one or another time during his/her lifetime. Majority of us don’t run to the doctor to make our cold symptoms drive away. Almost everyone knows what to do? You get the medicine over the counter from any chemist and they give it to you without waiting for a prescribed slip of a doctor. Cold is caused by a virus when having antibiotics can’t be an effective cure. And knowing how to prevent getting cold is not an easy method. Get plenty of rest, that doesn’t mean an extra hour of sleep will destroy the cold virus and you will become normal instantly. It is a well-known fact that infections can be fought better when your body is at rest. So, going to bed earlier than you normally do can make you recover faster. Cold has many medicines that make you go dizzy when you eat those tablets.
Watery eyes, headache, and runny nose make your physical personality look horrible along with lowering the energy. But today we are going to discuss some remedies that you can do at home to prevent the virus from striking your body.
The good news is that most home remedies have no side effects, even if they don’t cure you, they will not harm your body’s health in any way.
1. Gargling
This is the oldest and most trusted way of throwing out a cold virus from your body. Cold also sores your throat and gargling is a proven school time remedy that eases the sore throat. There are various gargle therapies, mix 1 teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water and do gargling.
You have another option, gargle with half a teaspoon of lemon juice and honey should be mixed in a cup of warm water. Beware the water should be at the bearable temperature, otherwise, it may cause burns in the mouth.
2. Drink Fluids
Various healthy fluids can help to thin the mucus and prevent dehydration. Water is the best & cheapest way of staying hydrated. Other liquids like soups, fresh fruit juices, sports drinks, watermelon juice, tea, coconut water are the best drinks. Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages, coffee, lemonade, hot cocoa, and soft drinks. Tea when mixed with lemon & honey and other hot drinks also loosens the congested mucus and help in healing a sore throat. Hot soups, especially the spicy ones may enhance nasal drainage, thus making breathing normally.
3. Steam
Boil the water in a pan, wrap a towel around your head and bend over the pan, where steam is coming. Inhale deeply, let the steam go inside your lungs. It can scatter the mucus that is sitting in your lungs in a congested way. There is another option, if you have a hot bath, may reduce the nasal congestion and lower the sinus pressure, at least temporarily.
Steam softens the tissues present in the nose and throat, thus making steam inhalation act more effectively. People can also add eucalyptus oil, which is an essential oil, to reap in the maximum benefits. Experts believe in adding 5, 7 drops of eucalyptus oil in the boiling water and its steam should be inhaled through the nose. Many kinds of eucalyptus oil are available online, better close your eyes before you start this experiment, it may be irritable to the eyes.
4. Blow the Nose Correctly
The nose should be blown in a correct manner, it’s not a brain teaser. Let the mucus come out as much as you can. Sniffing mucus back can make it reach your ears and can cause ear pain. To blow the nose in a correct manner is close an airway of one side with the tip of your finger and blow the other nasal airway on to your tissue paper or wash basin in the toilet. Do the vice versa with the other airway of the nose.
Home Remedies for Children
All the above-mentioned remedies can be applied both for the adults and kids. Kids can benefit from some home remedies that are meant for the kids alone like:
1. Use a Humidifier
A humidifier or cool mist vaporizer can reduce the symptoms of cold, like cough, sore throat and congestion. Such a mist vaporizer or humidifier should be installed in the kids’ room to add moisture in their room.
2. Keep Changing its Water Daily
Clean the instrument as suggested by the manufacturer, it prevents the growth of mold & mildew. Purchase it online to ensure its quality.
3. Saline Drops
Saline drops help in mucus drainage and cleans the nasal cavity. Kids might not agree to use a Neti pot to pull out sinuses, put a few saline drops in their nasal cavities, to bring us the mucus.
The toddlers might not be able to blow their noses, after using saline drops, it will be better to suck the mucus with the help of a rubber bulb.
4. Honey Preparations
Giving honey to kids before they hit their sacks soothes their sore throat and eases their nighttime coughs. Beware don’t give honey to the toddlers below the age of 1 year, ’cause it contains an ingredient called botulium spores. If such spores get to baby’s immature stomach, these can make the baby sick.
There are some preventions one needs to have if that person wants to avoid cold symptoms from ambushing their bodies.
If you are infected by a cold, it becomes more important that they take some precautions to avoid spreading the infection.
- Stay at home, from work or school to avoid exposing the virus among other people
- Move away from other people when they are sneezing
- Coughing or sneezing into a tissue in the open
- Throw away any used tissues in the dustbin to avoid spreading its virus
- People who have a weak immune system, like those who are on certain medications, should stay alert to cold prevention methods.
- Someone with a weak immune system may be more likely to get infected to complications and may take a longest time to recover from a cold
Dr. Vikram Chauhan
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