Post by chief_cook2 on Mar 30, 2005 10:39:04 GMT -6
2 Tips to Treat Colds and Flu the "Natural" Way
WebMD Medical Reference
With no cure in sight for the cold or the flu, current treatments can
at best bring symptom relief or shorten the duration of those
symptoms. You can take one of a variety of medications that may help
relieve your symptoms. Or you can take the natural approach. WebMD
went to Charles B. Inlander, president of The People's Medical
Society, for some home remedies that may speed your recovery, and help
you feel better along the way.
#1 Know When Not To Treat Symptoms
Believe it or not, those annoying symptoms you're experiencing are
part of the natural healing process -- evidence that the immune system
is battling illness. For instance, a fever is your body's way of
trying to kill viruses in a hotter-than-normal environment. Also, a
fever's hot environment makes germ-killing proteins in your blood
circulate more quickly and effectively. Thus, if you endure a moderate
fever for a day or two, you may actually get well faster. Coughing is
another productive symptom; it clears your breathing passages of thick
mucus that can carry germs to your lungs and the rest of your body.
Even that stuffy nose is best treated mildly or not at all. A
decongestant, like Sudafed, restricts flow to the blood vessels in
your nose and throat. But often you want the increase blood flow
because it warms the infected area and helps secretions carry germs
out of your body.
#2 Blow Your Nose Often (And the Right Way)
It's important to blow your nose regularly when you have a cold rather
than sniffling mucus back into your head. But when you blow hard,
pressure can carry germ-carrying phlegm back into your ear passages,
causing earache. The best way to blow your nose: Press a finger over
one nostril while you blow gently to clear the other.
^ Back to top
#3 Treat That Stuffy Nose With Warm Salt Water
Salt-water rinsing helps break nasal congestion, while also removing
virus particles and bacteria from your nose. Here's a popular recipe:
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. Hold one
nostril closed by applying light finger pressure while squirting the
salt mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain. Repeat 2-3 times,
then treat the other nostril.
^ Back to top
#4 Stay Warm and Rested
Staying warm and resting when you first come down with a cold or the
flu helps your body direct its energy toward the immune battle. This
battle taxes the body. So give it a little help by lying down under a
blanket.
^ Back to top
#5 Gargle
Gargling can moisten a sore throat and bring temporary relief. Try a
teaspoon of salt dissolved in warm water, four times daily. To reduce
the tickle in your throat, try an astringent gargle -- such as tea
that contains tannin -- to tighten the membranes. Or use a thick,
viscous gargle made with honey, popular in folk medicine. Seep one
tablespoon of raspberry leaves or lemon juice in two cups of hot
water; mix with one teaspoon of honey. Let the mixture cool to room
temperature before gargling.
^ Back to top
#6 Drink Hot Liquids
Hot liquids relieve nasal congestion, prevent dehydration, and soothe
the uncomfortably inflamed membranes that line your nose and throat.
If you're so congested you can't sleep at night, try a hot toddy, an
age-old remedy. Make a cup of hot herbal tea. Add one teaspoon of
honey and 1 small shot (about 1 ounce) of whiskey or bourbon. Limit
yourself to one. Too much alcohol inflames those membranes and is
counterproductive.
^ Back to top
#7 Take a Steamy Shower
Steamy showers moisturize your nasal passages and relax you. If you're
dizzy from the flu, run a steamy shower while you sit on a chair
nearby and take a sponge bath.
^ Back to top
#8 Use a Salve Under Your Nose
A small dab of mentholated salve under your nose can open breathing
passages and help restore the irritated skin at the base of the nose.
Menthol, eucalyptus and camphor all have mild numbing ingredients that
may help relieve the pain of a nose rubbed raw.
^ Back to top
#9 Apply Hot or Cold Packs Around Your Congested Sinuses
Either temperature works. You can buy reusable hot or cold packs at a
drugstore. Or make your own. Take a damp washcloth and heat it for 55
seconds in a microwave (test the temperature first to make sure it's
right for you.) Or take a small bag of frozen peas to use as a cold pack.
^ Back to top
#10 Sleep With an Extra Pillow Under Your Head
This will help relieve congested nasal passages. If the angle is too
awkward, try placing the pillows between the mattress and the box
springs to create a more gradual slope.
^ Back to top
#11 Don't Fly Unless Necessary
There's no point adding stress to your already stressed-out upper
respiratory system, and that's what the change in air pressure will
do. Flying with cold or flu congestion can temporarily damage your
eardrums as a result of pressure changes during takeoff and landing.
If you must fly, use a decongestant and carry a nasal spray with you
to use just before takeoff and landing. Chewing gum and swallowing
frequently can also help relieve pressure.
^ Back to top
#12 Eat Infection-Fighting Foods
Here are some good foods to eat when you're battling a cold or flu:
* Bananas: Soothe upset stomachs.
* Bell Peppers: Loaded with vitamin C.
* Blueberries: Curbs diarrhea, high in natural aspirin. (May lower
fevers and help with the aches and pains.)
* Carrots: Loaded with beta-carotene.
* Chili Peppers: Can open sinuses, and help break up mucus in the
lungs.
* Cranberries: Help prevent bacteria from sticking to cells lining
the bladder and urinary tract.
* Mustard & Horseradish: Helps break up mucus in air passages.
* Onion: Has phytochemicals purported to help the body clear
bronchitis and other infections.
* Rice: Curbs diarrhea.
* Tea: Black and green tea (not herbals) contain catechin, a
phytochemical purported to have natural antibiotic and anti-diarrhea
effects.
Remember, serious conditions can masquerade as the common cold:
sinus infections, bronchitis, meningitis, strep throat, and asthma. If
you have severe symptoms, or feel sicker with each passing day, call
your doctor.
WebMD Medical Reference
With no cure in sight for the cold or the flu, current treatments can
at best bring symptom relief or shorten the duration of those
symptoms. You can take one of a variety of medications that may help
relieve your symptoms. Or you can take the natural approach. WebMD
went to Charles B. Inlander, president of The People's Medical
Society, for some home remedies that may speed your recovery, and help
you feel better along the way.
#1 Know When Not To Treat Symptoms
Believe it or not, those annoying symptoms you're experiencing are
part of the natural healing process -- evidence that the immune system
is battling illness. For instance, a fever is your body's way of
trying to kill viruses in a hotter-than-normal environment. Also, a
fever's hot environment makes germ-killing proteins in your blood
circulate more quickly and effectively. Thus, if you endure a moderate
fever for a day or two, you may actually get well faster. Coughing is
another productive symptom; it clears your breathing passages of thick
mucus that can carry germs to your lungs and the rest of your body.
Even that stuffy nose is best treated mildly or not at all. A
decongestant, like Sudafed, restricts flow to the blood vessels in
your nose and throat. But often you want the increase blood flow
because it warms the infected area and helps secretions carry germs
out of your body.
#2 Blow Your Nose Often (And the Right Way)
It's important to blow your nose regularly when you have a cold rather
than sniffling mucus back into your head. But when you blow hard,
pressure can carry germ-carrying phlegm back into your ear passages,
causing earache. The best way to blow your nose: Press a finger over
one nostril while you blow gently to clear the other.
^ Back to top
#3 Treat That Stuffy Nose With Warm Salt Water
Salt-water rinsing helps break nasal congestion, while also removing
virus particles and bacteria from your nose. Here's a popular recipe:
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. Hold one
nostril closed by applying light finger pressure while squirting the
salt mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain. Repeat 2-3 times,
then treat the other nostril.
^ Back to top
#4 Stay Warm and Rested
Staying warm and resting when you first come down with a cold or the
flu helps your body direct its energy toward the immune battle. This
battle taxes the body. So give it a little help by lying down under a
blanket.
^ Back to top
#5 Gargle
Gargling can moisten a sore throat and bring temporary relief. Try a
teaspoon of salt dissolved in warm water, four times daily. To reduce
the tickle in your throat, try an astringent gargle -- such as tea
that contains tannin -- to tighten the membranes. Or use a thick,
viscous gargle made with honey, popular in folk medicine. Seep one
tablespoon of raspberry leaves or lemon juice in two cups of hot
water; mix with one teaspoon of honey. Let the mixture cool to room
temperature before gargling.
^ Back to top
#6 Drink Hot Liquids
Hot liquids relieve nasal congestion, prevent dehydration, and soothe
the uncomfortably inflamed membranes that line your nose and throat.
If you're so congested you can't sleep at night, try a hot toddy, an
age-old remedy. Make a cup of hot herbal tea. Add one teaspoon of
honey and 1 small shot (about 1 ounce) of whiskey or bourbon. Limit
yourself to one. Too much alcohol inflames those membranes and is
counterproductive.
^ Back to top
#7 Take a Steamy Shower
Steamy showers moisturize your nasal passages and relax you. If you're
dizzy from the flu, run a steamy shower while you sit on a chair
nearby and take a sponge bath.
^ Back to top
#8 Use a Salve Under Your Nose
A small dab of mentholated salve under your nose can open breathing
passages and help restore the irritated skin at the base of the nose.
Menthol, eucalyptus and camphor all have mild numbing ingredients that
may help relieve the pain of a nose rubbed raw.
^ Back to top
#9 Apply Hot or Cold Packs Around Your Congested Sinuses
Either temperature works. You can buy reusable hot or cold packs at a
drugstore. Or make your own. Take a damp washcloth and heat it for 55
seconds in a microwave (test the temperature first to make sure it's
right for you.) Or take a small bag of frozen peas to use as a cold pack.
^ Back to top
#10 Sleep With an Extra Pillow Under Your Head
This will help relieve congested nasal passages. If the angle is too
awkward, try placing the pillows between the mattress and the box
springs to create a more gradual slope.
^ Back to top
#11 Don't Fly Unless Necessary
There's no point adding stress to your already stressed-out upper
respiratory system, and that's what the change in air pressure will
do. Flying with cold or flu congestion can temporarily damage your
eardrums as a result of pressure changes during takeoff and landing.
If you must fly, use a decongestant and carry a nasal spray with you
to use just before takeoff and landing. Chewing gum and swallowing
frequently can also help relieve pressure.
^ Back to top
#12 Eat Infection-Fighting Foods
Here are some good foods to eat when you're battling a cold or flu:
* Bananas: Soothe upset stomachs.
* Bell Peppers: Loaded with vitamin C.
* Blueberries: Curbs diarrhea, high in natural aspirin. (May lower
fevers and help with the aches and pains.)
* Carrots: Loaded with beta-carotene.
* Chili Peppers: Can open sinuses, and help break up mucus in the
lungs.
* Cranberries: Help prevent bacteria from sticking to cells lining
the bladder and urinary tract.
* Mustard & Horseradish: Helps break up mucus in air passages.
* Onion: Has phytochemicals purported to help the body clear
bronchitis and other infections.
* Rice: Curbs diarrhea.
* Tea: Black and green tea (not herbals) contain catechin, a
phytochemical purported to have natural antibiotic and anti-diarrhea
effects.
Remember, serious conditions can masquerade as the common cold:
sinus infections, bronchitis, meningitis, strep throat, and asthma. If
you have severe symptoms, or feel sicker with each passing day, call
your doctor.
