How do you beat a cold asap???

[BMW]

Give me your ideas! This is the 2nd cold virus I've got since 1st of Dec. This time I am SO stuffy, sneezy, feel it settling into my chest, but cannot sleep... it's miserable. Not like I've been knocked out in pain with a flu, so my sympathies to those who have something worse than a rotten common cold...

 

What do you do for a cold?? I've been taking a bunch of vit. c. I cannot stand Cold Eze (makes my teeth feel dirty!).

 

Thanks,

Bee

[Michelle in MO]

Get yourself some echinacea tea! It works much better than echinacea tablets! Celestial Seasonings makes some Echinacea and Cold Care tea, and our Wal-Mart (our only real grocery store) sells it. I brew four bags in a teapot and let it steep for at least 10 minutes, so that the tea is as strong as possible. Then, when I'm sick, I drink an entire pot of echinacea tea in one day.

 

I'm not exaggerating---9 times out of 10, whatever infection I'm battling is about 90% better the day after drinking all of this tea, and is usually completely gone within a couple of days.

 

I think the tea works better than the tablets, because it's hot, plus I also wonder if something about the "fresh" echinacea releases some healing properties that the tablets don't do as well. Or, maybe it's psycho-somatic, because my mind is so convinced that the stuff works! Either way, I always grab this tea whenever I start coming down with something.

 

I hope you feel better soon!

[bettyandbob]

I would use a neti pot and irrigate my nose frequently. For me this helps a lot. Then you probably need more sleep than you are allowing yourself. If I get to sleep I sometimes can get rid of a cold in a couple of days. If I'm crazy busy and don't sleep the cold stays forever.

[Stacey in MA]

For better sleeping, I discovering a warm mist humidifier helps tons! I have cool air one, but the warm air one (I was told, and found true) helps better with the nose and sinus symptoms.

 

I also use a steamy wash cloth to inhale moisture into my chest so that I can better cough up all of that tightness down there.

 

Ibuprofin every 6hrs, esp. at bedtime. And sometimes Benedryl at bedtime. I used to use and LOVE Nyquil at bedtime when I was very sick, but I'm nursing right now, so can't use it. Can you? It helped me sleep so peacefully, I would get better quicker....

 

I know lots of people here have recommended the "netti pot" for cleaning the nose/sinuses. I haven't tried it, but if you search the boards, you'll find a few discussions of it....

 

GL! I know it's not fun. I'm hoping I'll be better by Thursday morning! :-)

 

- Stacey in MA

[Tracy in Ky]

I am recovering really fast from one, and it didn't get very bad this time--I think it is because of how I've been treating it.

 

I took lots of cod liver oil, ate yogurt (to put lots of good bacteria into my gut to attack the bad cold germs), drank lots of raw milk (full of healthy bacteria and enzymes), ate lots of homemade chicken stock (slow cooked for hours with a little vinegar to pull the goodness out of the bones), took high doses of vitamin C, and I took some calcium.

 

I've really been thinking about the wholistic model of feeding your body so that your body can attack the sickness, rather than just treating the symptoms. Certainly I have been taking sudaphed, cough syrup, and ibuprophen to help me be more comfortable, but I really think that my different method of attack this time has made a big difference.

 

I'm fascinated by the idea that it isn't just because there are germs around that people get sick. There are always germs around, and some people get sick and some people don't. Why? It depends on the strength of our immune systems. There are so many things that we can do to strengthen our immune systems so that we resist more of the germs that are always there. I've been trying for months to do this with my family. Of course, that is not to say that we won't get sick--of course we will. But I think we can get sick less, and have an easier time of it when we do, if we strive to give our bodies what they need to be strong.

 

I hope you feel better soon. A cold is miserable.

 

Hugs,

Tracy

[OH Kim]

I can't say this got me over my cold faster, but it made it far more tolerable and I skipped the whole going-into-sinusitis thing that usually happens when I get a cold. I have a rice bag with lavender that I heat up in the microwave. During my most recent cold, I heated up the rice bag and laid it on my face and slept with it most of the night. The next day, I felt a lot better - but still had the other cold symptoms.

 

Some say it was the lavender, some say it was the heat, some say it was sleeping in a position that let my sinuses drain properly. I dunno, but it worked better than anything else I've ever tried.

[Margaret in GA]

Raw Honey.

 

My dh keeps bees and we always have tons of honey around. I take several spoonfuls when I feel a cold coming on and it works great. You can find it at a local farm stand or our health food store has local, raw honey for sale.

 

Also, when I get a sore throat I gargle warm salt water. I read somewhere that the salt kills the germs in addition to just feeling really great.

 

good luck!

Margaret

[laughing lioness]

Hide a peeled clove of garlic in soft bread and swallow. Do every couple of hours depending on how bad it is. Or just skip the bread.

[Stacia]

Ok, not your usual home remedy, but I eat a ton of salsa -- the hottest I can find -- on chips. Imo, it helps burn everything out. :D It works pretty well for me.

[Sharon H in IL]

Zinc in the nasal swabs as well as tablets. Zicam is the brand name. Really works.

 

I concur with the warm-mist humidifier, vitamin C and don't forget vitamin D, Mucinex to break up the mucous, neti pot, chicken soup, garlic.

 

Be well.

[coralloyd]

Ok so I thought my friend was crazy when she suggested this:

 

Take the pit of a avocado, peel it.

Stick pit in a sauce pan with 4cups of water .

Boil it until the water reduces to 2 cups (just keep your eye on it when it look about 2 cups pour it into a heat safe measuring cup to see, if it is not quite down to 2 cups place back in pan and continue boiling).

The water will turn red.

Take 1 Tbs. every hour, but no more than every hour. (adult dose)

You can take this for 7 days no more ( she says it can be hard on kiddneys if taken longer).

You don't have to take it this long though, just until your better :).

It is tasteless (like drinking water).

 

My friend is part Native American and has been doing this in her family for years and years. This has taken away many sinus infections for me (I have a tendancy to get them whenever I get sick).

[EKS]

I don't know if this helps once you actually have a cold, but I'm pretty sure that zinc helps keep me from getting sick.

[Melissa in St Louis]

Fill a coffee cup 1/3 full of water and 1/3 full of lemon juice. Microwave for 2 minutes. Add a bit of sugar and fill the rest of the way with jack daniels. Chug it down, dress warm, go to sleep, and sweat it out. Works every time!

 

 

Melissa in St Louis

[angela in ohio]

I'm fascinated by the idea that it isn't just because there are germs around that people get sick. There are always germs around, and some people get sick and some people don't. Why? It depends on the strength of our immune systems. There are so many things that we can do to strengthen our immune systems so that we resist more of the germs that are always there. I've been trying for months to do this with my family. Of course, that is not to say that we won't get sick--of course we will. But I think we can get sick less, and have an easier time of it when we do, if we strive to give our bodies what they need to be strong.

 

I only get sick if I am low on sleep or have eaten poorly for several days (vacations, guests in our home, etc.) I am exposed to germs constantly (Sunday School, dh in schools, co-op, Bible study in my home with many children, etc.,) but I manage to ward them off until I am weakened. I will *always* pick up something if I am over-tired or low on nutrients. But I never get anything otherwise.

 

I have been trying to do better about supplementing right before I know I will be weak - vitamin C, zinc, etc.

[mamaof2andtwins]

We use Emergen-C. I take 4 packets per day at the first sign of a cold. This works best. It doesn't work as well once the cold has established itself, but I do keep it up.

 

I also take Berry Well which is sold by Beeyoutiful.

 

I use Traditional Medicinal Throat Coat tea w/ echinacea.

 

I hope you feel better soon.

 

Jennie

[3Rivers]

At the start of a cold: Elderberry syrup, Zycam, use neti pot 2x daily, lots of hot fluids including chicken soup. Avoid dairy and especially sugar.

 

preventive and to build up your system: find a good health store (not a mainstream like Vitamin shoppe or others and talk to them. Health begins in the gut, so promote good flora with acidophilus. Take a good multi and extra B complex, vitamin C in either Ester C or Bioflavanoids. Elderberry can be taken prophylactically as well.

 

Could you have allergies? Probably one of the best things for allergies is regular use of the Neti Pot to keep the sinuses and mucus membranes flushed of allergens and viruses.

 

HTH,

 

Jamie