The common cold is an upper respiratory tract infection that causes symptoms like a stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, runny nose and headache.
It is usually a viral infection that can spread from person to person and surface to surface. You may be familiar with all the symptoms and discomfort caused by the common cold, but here I am sharing some tips and natural remedies that make you feel better and may prevent future cold episodes.
Children are more vulnerable to these infections because they tend to experience more cases of the common cold, so try to keep the infection to yourself until you have it.
Read on to find out homecare tips and natural remedies to help with cold symptoms.
Causes
There are more than 200 virus strains that can cause you common cold and the most common is the rhinovirus.
A person can catch a cold about 2-3 times in a year and some other factors can also contribute to catching a cold such as
- Stress
- Lack of sleep
- Poor nutrition
- Weather
Antibiotics are not necessary to treat the common cold. It takes one to two days to go away and all you can do is treat the symptoms and take a few things to make yourself comfortable.
Symptoms of common cold
Symptoms of the common cold appear 1-3 days after exposure to the virus. Here are various symptoms of cold and you may be experiencing few of them:
- Nasal congestion
- Stuffy nose
- Runny nose
- Loss of smell or taste
- Post nasal drip
- Sneezing
- Watery eyes
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Cough
- Fatigue bodyache
- Chills
- Fever
- Difficulty in deep breathing
- chest discomfort
If your symptoms don’t subside in 7-10 days then you should consult with your doctor.
Cold vs Covid
According to Mayo Clinic, both covid and colds are caused by viruses. CCOVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2 and the common cold is caused by rhinovirus. These viruses spread in the same way and cause similar symptoms but still have some differences.
The biggest difference between the two is that there is no cure for the common cold, but it is harmless, and COVID-19 can cause severe breathing problems, blood clots, multisystem inflammation and is difficult to cure.
How to get rid of a cold?
“Rest is best” when you have a cold. Taking proper rest helps a speedy recovery because no antibiotics work on cold. Here are few home care tips that will make it a little to go through:
- Stay hydrated, consume warm liquids like cinnamon ginger tea, warm lemon water.
- Take proper rest, up ur body, needs to heal.
- Gargle with salt water
- NSAIDs
- Take a tsp of honey with warm water
- Steam inhalation
- Nasal decongestion
- Eat enough protein
Natural remedies for cold
Here are a few natural ingredients that are stuffed with antibiotics and antiviral properties can help in speedy recovery from cold. Carry on to find out the best of natural remedies for cold.
1. Ginger
Health benefits of ginger are already known, it is one of the immunity booster natural remedies. If you are in India or have any Indian around you then ginger tea will be your first advice to get for relief from cold.
Crush a half inch ginger root and boil in water. It will help to sooth cough or sore throat. You can also add 1/2 tsp of honey for added benefits.
2. Tulsi( Holy Basil )
Herbal alternatives are very beneficial to boost immunity as well as provide multipurpose benefits. Tulsi has anti-tussive and anti-allergic properties which help in the soothing sore throat as well as controlling nasal congestion.
Add fresh tulsi leaves in boiling water with a pinch of black pepper. Your quick natural remedy for cold and flu is ready to sip.
3. Honey
Drinking honey with warm water soothes sore throat and helps to have a sound sleep. And if you have honey alone it is effective cough suppressent.
You can also add one spoon of honey to a cinnamon ginger tea, which altogether will help to relief your symptoms.
4. Lemon water or vitamin C
Taking vitamin c is essential to get relief from upper respiratory tract infections. You can take any citrus fruit to meet your body’s requirements. You can simply squeeze a lemon slice in your green tea or you can make a hot lemonade.
Taking vitamin c won’t cure cold but will help to clear up the phlegm.
5. Chicken soup
Studies have found that low sodium chicken soup can help in speedy recovery from cold. Chicken Soup made with vegetables can control the movement of neutrophils and that is what your body requires the most at that time.
Taking soup also helps to hydrate and provide nutritional value to help the healing of the body.
Fight with common cold symptoms using these natural remedies and home care tips and make yourself comfortable during this time.
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