How to Stop a Cold Naturally

Nobody likes colds. It makes you feel miserable and takes time away from work and your family. In an economy like this, it is important not to miss work, so here are some natural ways to employ when everyone around you is getting a cold or you feel symptoms creeping up so you can keep working. Most of these are well known, but there are a few here that may surprise you.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Your bed and lots of blankets
• Drinking Water and Juice
• Fruits and vegetables
• Walking shoes
• Echinacea
• Water and hand soap
• Socks, preferably wool
• Neti pot or Nasal cleanse pot
• Thyme
• Toothpaste, toothbrush, mouth wash and/or hydrogen peroxide and/or hot salt water

1. Get as much rest and sleep as possible. If you feel like you're coming down with a cold, only go out if you need to, like for work, grocery shopping etc. Watching T.V. does not count as resting, instead just sit still and look out the window. Maybe close your eyes and just listen to the world around you. Instead of watching a movie or surfing the internet before you go to bed, get to bed early.
   
   Here's why: When you're body is fighting off a cold, your body is working overtime. It is important to give your body the energy it needs to get back to normal.

2. Drink more water than usual. Most of us do not drink the recommended 8 glasses of water every day. I know I don't. But it is important to keep your fluid intake up during the cold season. Juice is a good supplement to water, but make sure that it is 100% juice. Make sure you're drinking more water than you are juice because juice is a diuretic (diuretic means that it lessens your fluid retention).
   
   Here's why: Our bodies are a high percentage of water. When you get a cold, you most likely will get a stuffy nose and produce a lot of extra mucus. Water is going to do two things for you. It is going to keep you hydrated, the extra mucus is formed from the water inside your body. It will also help clean out your system. Think of it as detoxifying.

3. Make sure you get your vitamins. I am not talking about taking a pill or supplement. I am talking about eating healthier. Get your fruits and veggies. If you are feel like you're getting a cold, avoid grains and red meat. However, I have found that if you take a high dose (500-1000 mg) of absorbic acid (a type of vitamin C), that stops colds for me.
   
   Here's why: If your body does not get the proper nutrients it needs, it will fail in staving off a cold. Vitamin C and Zinc have been shown to help stopping or shortening colds, and now there is research that shows vitamin D helps more than C. However, everyone is different and you should listen to your body (and your doctor) on what is good for you.

4. Get fresh air. The inside of your house is more polluted than a city. It is because during the winter we shut our houses up. Cold germs and other illnesses can collect in your home, so open up the windows and doors to let your house air out. Or you can just open the window a crack constantly. You may also think of taking a short 10 minute walk outside everyday.
   
   Here's why: Your body needs oxygen. Even in the most well ventilated place, you're going to get stale air and pollution. It refreshes your system.

5. If you do take a supplement, I recommend Echinacea. This works better when you first feel the cold coming on.
   
   Here's why: Echinacea has a property of supporting your immune system. That is what your immune system needs when fighting a cold.

6. 5) Wash your hands. Yeah, everyone tells you this, but I'm repeating it too. It really does help. Wash your hands especially before you eat and after you go to the bathroom as well as after sneezing or blowing your nose. I'm a bad person and don't do this all the time, but when I feel a cold trying to take me, this is one of the things I start doing more.
   
   Here's why: It stops the spread of germs. All of those things that you touch throughout the day have germs on them. They may be germs from other people that are contagious cold germs.

7. Cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough. This is more of a tip to keep spreading what you're starting to get. Use a tissue, hanky, or the crook of your elbow. If you're not the one coughing, keep your mouth closed.
   
   Here's why: Every health professional will tell you that this helps stop the spread of germs. Using the crook of your elbow is even more effective than your hands because you don't use that spot to touch things. As for keeping your mouth closed, germs can jump up to 30 feet. If you breathe from your nose, the hairs in there will be able to capture those germs.

8. Here's where we start getting into the not-so-well-known tips. Wear socks to bed. Yes your feet need to air out, but trust me. Wear socks when you sleep.
   
   Here's why: Your feet let out a lot of heat. Your body needs that heat to help beat off the cold.

9. If you want to go the extra mile with the socks, get wool socks. Then get them (soaking) wet and warm them up in the oven (lowest setting, don't burn them! Just get them nice and toasty warm). Wear the socks to bed and they will be dry in the morning. You can also use this in combination with a nice hot bath before you go to bed. Either way, be sure to bundle up as much as possible and have extra blankets. Do this every night until that tickle in your throat (or whatever other symptom you have) goes away.
   
   Here's why: Wool has the amazing ability to keep heat in even when wet. In fact, it actually gets warmer when wet. The heat during the night on your feet jump starts your immune system. Bundling up during the night will also help you sweat more. It's another detox thing. You've heard of sweating out a cold. It's basically giving yourself a fever (and also why you should not try to get rid of a fever unless it's horribly high).

10. If you have a stuffy nose, try getting a Neti pot. It's also called a Nasal Cleanse pot (something like that). To use it, you make a saline solution with hot water and salt. If it's your first time, I suggest less salt. With the salt water in your pot, you tip your head to the side put the spout in your upper nostril and pore. Repeat for the other nostril. It sounds gross, and it kind of is. But it feels good.
    
    Here's why: The saline solution will break up the mucus, allowing you to breathe better. Unfortunately, if your nose is too clogged, the solution will not be able to go through your nasal passages, so try the solution below.

11. If you don't want to try the Neti Pot but still want to get rid of that stuffy nose, try some thyme. Yes, that cooking herb in your kitchen can help you get rid of your stuffy nose. Just put some on a cracker or piece of bread and eat. You can also make a tea out of it.
    
    Here's why: Thyme is an astringent. It will dry up your sinuses really quickly. It will also help you get over the beginning of the cold more quickly. Thyme can also be used for stuffy noses related to sinus infections and allergies. If you take it with Fenugreek, another herb, it will dry up your runny nose in even less time.

12. If you have a sore throat brush your teeth and tongue. The other option is to gargle with any kind of mouthwash, a hydrogen peroxide dilution, or hot salt water.
    
    Here's why: Brushing your teeth and tongue (mostly tongue) gets rid of the germs. Obviously the same goes for gargling.

Tips & Warnings

• Just take good care of yourself.
• Get plenty of rest
• Drink a lot of water
• Eat the proper nutrition
• Get fresh air
• Wash your hands
• If these don't work for you and you're feeling these symptoms between the cold season and the allergy season, you may be having hay fever or other allergies.
• I am not a medical doctor. These tips are not to treat, diagnose, or cure anything. These are things that I have researched and found work for me.

[devinewisdom]

on 6/29/2009 Some tips, never tried before. Well written article! 5*s and recommended.

[kongluirong]

on 6/3/2009 You would have to be very careful when doing this, taking too much Vitamin C can cause damage to your liver.

[tetrault]

on 5/28/2009 These are all good and work well. I would like to add that a vitamin c flush also works amazing. Start with 1/8 tsp of ascorbic acid, vit. c ,add to small amt of OJ. repeat every hour increasing the amt by a little bit. EDo this every hour until diarrhea is acheived, then stop. this flushes all those nasty guys out and makes a cold shorter or knocks it out completely!