December is finally here! The month where we celebrate the birth of Christ, create and play our new year’s resolution, celebrate the new year, kiss at midnight, spend time with family and friends and go on fun ski holidays. Unfortunately, although it is undoubtedly one of the most fun and exciting months of the year since it marks the end of a year where I might have struggled and the beginning of a new one where we can change our lives for the better, it is also the season of the dreaded flu or cold.
During this season, most, if not all, people will catch a cold or suffer from the flu at least once. That’s especially true for little children who might see it at school, where it spreads like wildfire.
If you’ve ever had a child catch a cold, you’d know firsthand how hard it is to get them to take their medications. The taste and possibly the texture of some medications and the nagging and stress that comes with a cold or flu make it ten times more challenging to get your child to take their medicines on time. Some moms even prefer to use natural or home remedies to treat their little ones. Most of these remedies are typically things that have been proven and have been passed down for generations, be it non-clinically, to aid in the treatment of a cold or flu.
These remedies should not be used solely to treat children. You should always seek medical help or ask your family doctor if your child suffers from a cold. In addition, the following remedies should not be used to substitute for a doctor’s visit.
What is a cold?
A cold is a viral contagion of the upper respiratory tract (nose and throat). It is usually a harmless infection, even though it doesn’t feel like it. However, a cold can be caused by a variety of different viruses that might be caught through breathing the air around an infected person or touching something that an infected person felt and then touching the face or mouth, allowing the virus to infiltrate your system and causing you to have the symptoms and effects of a cold. An adult typically will have between two to three colds yearly, whereas children and infants should be expected to catch more due to their immune systems still being under development.
You can catch a cold through airborne droplets packed with germs that have been either coughed or sneezed by an infected person.
A cold is not a scary nor a dangerous infection per se, but it can lead to a lung infection if left untreated.
Typically, most cold medication is used not to treat the actual virus but to treat the symptoms like coughing, headaches, high temperature, and runny nose.
Their doctors administer a nasal spray, painkillers, and a temperature management medication to people with the common cold.
However, some people prefer a more holistic, natural approach to treatment.
Home remedies that have been around since the Middle Ages are still used to treat colds at home. And the crazy thing is some of them have been clinically proven to be very helpful in treating the common cold.
What are the best home remedies to treat a cold?
It is essential to say that these remedies should not be used in the place of a proper doctor’s visit.
These remedies are entirely natural home remedies, and if not helpful, they are completely harmless unless you suffer from allergies. If you notice signs or symptoms of an allergic reaction after following these remedies, please seek professional help. Go to urgent care immediately.
1-Blueberry Tea:
Blueberry tea is made with the dried-up leaves of the blueberry bush.
They are incredibly healthy for you, even if you don’t have a cold. This is because they are incredibly high in vitamin C, which makes them great at helping strengthen your immune system, which in turn helps you recover faster from a cold.
They are also very high in potassium which is vital for heart health. This means blueberry Tea is a very heart-healthy beverage. It is a straightforward, super low-calorie way of adding potassium to your diet, all without the additional carbs, fats, or sugars.
Blueberry tea is also great for boosting brain function. It helps prevent something called ‘plaque’ which builds up in the brain and worsens the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia.
To make Blueberry Tea, you need the following:
-Blueberry teabags
-boiling water
-sugar (to taste)
You can boil either the blueberry teabags in a kettle along with water, or you can add them to a cup filled with boiling water and leave them for a couple of minutes until they release the Tea.
Drink the Tea warm 2 to 3 times a day for better results.
2- Manuka Honey for the throat:
Science has proved that consuming manuka honey when sore throat can help tremendously.
When your throat is sore, little tiny scratches are made in the back of it, most likely caused by the aggressive coughing and sneezing that accompany the common cold. Manuka honey’s ability to aid in wound healing means it can help close up and fasten the recovery of those little tiny scratches leaving your throat feeling much better.
It also has several antiviral properties which can help fight the virus that has been causing the cold in the first place. In addition, it helps kill off viruses that have infiltrated the person’s system.
The sweet taste of manuka honey makes it a great alternative to regular over-the-counter medications used to soothe the throat, which typically contain sugars and mint and is much preferred by little kids.
A spoonful of Manuka honeys daily is an excellent alternative for throat medication during a cold or the flu.
It is essential to understand that children below the age of one should not be given any honey.
Manuka honey can be taken daily to encourage gut health and protect your body from viruses.
Black honey is also an excellent antibiotic; it helps lower cholesterol and improves male stamina.
3- Cold compress treatment:
This isn’t a remedy; it’s more like a tip. If you or your child have a very high fever and don’t have high fever medicine, you can use a cold compress as a treatment.
To do that, you fill up a small bowl with either cold water or water with ice cubes added to it and grab a clean small washcloth to use with it.
Dunk your washcloth completely in the cold-water bowl, squeeze out any excess water, and put it on the forehead of the patient.
Please repeat this step every 5 to 10 minutes to help lower their body temperature.
