The common cold and
cough is an ailment condition that can affect us any time in winter or in other
seasons. It drains out all of your energy. You can’t concentrate on work or
studies or anything at all. And when you sneeze, it affects other family
members also, who come in your contact. There are few natural home
remedies and precautions which you can practise, so that this gets cured early
. More over these help to prevent it in future also . Some of the
home remedies available for cold and cough are:
· Drink
lot of liquids. Your increased daily water consumption will be helpful
for early treatment of cough and cold . Also drinking plenty of liquids
throughout the day will help your mucus membranes moist so that they are able
to trap the viruses.
· Drink carrot juice 2 times a day ( 1 cup at a time)
· Drink
hot liquids such as soup and herbal tea etc.
· Having chicken soup (for non-veg persons) improves
the immunity. It also help to clear mucus of your nostrils
and reduces inflammation of nose.
· Use
lozenges, as it soothes your throat.
· Sleep
with your head in an elevated position.
· During winter use a humidifier to moisten the air in your room to prevent nocturnal coughing.
· Ginger
in combination with tulsi is also an effective remedy for cough. Crush about 10
leaves of tulsi. Mix it with juice extract from one piece of ginger. Add
an equal quantity of honey and mix thoroughly. Take a single
teaspoon of this thrice a day to get relief from cough.
· Lightly
crush 5 cloves of peeled garlic and saute in a teaspoon of ghee. Consume
it when still warm for relief from cough and cold.
· Mix
cloves with honey and store it in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the cloves
in the morning and consume 1 tbs of honey. This soothes the throat
and reduces pain /inflammation.
· People
who don’t mind the strong spicy flavour of pepper can also add some black
pepper powder and turmeric into a mixture of ginger juice with honey.
Slowly lick this paste 10-15 minutes thrice a day. It helps reduce
congestion in throat and reduces cough.
· And
also Black peppers have piperine a compound known for anti fever and pain
relieving properties.
· Thyme
is an expectorant and also contains substances that relax the respiratory
tract. To make thyme tea, put 2 tsp of fresh thyme into a cup of hot
water. Allow it to infuse for 5 minutes. Sip the liquid slowly.
. If you have a sore throat sip hot water with honey (thrice a day).
. Vitamin c is an
antioxidant that can reduce the symptoms of cold . As we know oranges and
lemons are good source of vitamin c but it is not advisable to take these
things in cold and cough , because they can irritate the inflamed tissues of your
throat . Broccoli, cabbage, red bell peppers, papaya, sweet potato,
tomato are also good sources of vitamin C . So make it a habit to eat
these things daily.
. In fruits you can take apples, pine apples
,pears, watermelons.
Foods
to be avoided in Cold & Cough :-
- Do not take processed foods such as pastries , sweets, cookies
etc as they contain large amount of sugar and Maida (Refined wheat
flour ) which suppresses your immunity .
- Avoid pickles
- Avoid fried foods as they are difficult to digest
and suppress your immune system
- Avoid dairy products such as milk, yogurt, ice- creams as
they make the mucus stickier and thicker which is highly uncomfortable .
- Avoid hard foods ; always eat soft
foods in cold.
Note : Taking steam with drops of Eucalyptus oil added in water gives you quick relief from cold.
Dr. Suman Setia BAMS DNHE PGDHHM
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