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Last updated:
30 January 1998
Site owner:
Loretta Wallace
URL:
http://geocities.datacellar.net/Heartland/Prairie/8088/colds.html
E-mail:
ladybrvhrt@geocities.com
Colds
The human body becomes susceptible to colds and flu if it is in either a too alkaline or too acid condition. Most people are too acid and subsequently catch many colds and flus. To maintain a a healthier, alkaline condition in the body to resist germs:
1) Eat right
2) Get sufficient sleep
3) Avoid worry and stress, both of which create acid conditions in the body
To alkalinize the body at the first sign of a cold:
1) Add 1 tsp baking soda to 1 glass water. Sip slowly every hour.
2) Drink as much liquid as possible, as much as 1 gallon a day.
3) Make part of the above liquid 4 glasses of water per day to which 1-2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and 2 Tbsp of honey has been added.
4) Drink large amounts of fenegreek tea
5) 24 Hour Cold Chaser Tea
Mix equal parts cinnamon, sage and bay leaf. Use 1 tsp of the herb mixture in 1 cup of boiling water. Drink one cup of the te per hour.Supposed to get rid of a cold in 24 hours.
6) Agrimony Cold Chaser Tea
Mix equal parts: agrimony vervain boneset culvers root
Add 1 tsp of the mixture to 1 cup boiling water. Steep, strain. Drink 1 cup every hour until cold is arrested.
7) Echinacea and goldenseal are excellent immune system boosters. Taken together, they are especially effective in combating a cold.Drink as a tea or use prepared dried herb capsules. Other useful herbs to comabt a cold are: ginger, red clover, dandelion, horseradish, nasturtium and pau d'arco.
8) Homeopathic Remedies: The homeopathic remedy Oscillococcinum, when taken immediately at first sign of a cold has worked 100% of the time for me in knocking out a cold before it even takes hold! The key is to make sure you have it on hand in your medicine cabinet. Other remedies include Aconite at the first sign of a cold and Allium to dry up a runny nose.
9) Garlic is well known for its antibiotic and antifungal properties. Use chopped, raw cloves in salads or use prepared deodorized capsules.
10) St. John's Wort stimulates the immune system.
11) Lungwort is an old time remedy for upper-respiratory infections.
12) Folk Remedy: Chicken noodle soup contains mild antibiotic and decongestant properties.
13) Feverfew has been used for centuries to lower a fever
14) Licorice Root is useful in viral infections. Drink as a tea, use prepared capsules, chew on licorice root herb or eat natural licorice candy
15) At first sign of a cold, without delay, finely chop 9 small horehound leaves. Add 1 Tbsp honey. Eat raw as needed.
10) At the first sign of a cold make a tea of:
1/2 tsp elderberry
1/2 tsp peppermint
1/2 tsp yarrow
1 cup boiling water
Infuse for 20 minutes then strain. Add 1 tsp of honey and 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. This should decrease the severity and discomfort of the cold. If the pepper is too strong for your taste decrease pepper to taste or omit entirely. This will, however, decrease the infusions effectiveness. This tea may also be taken during the progress of the cold to help relieve symptoms. Grated ginger may be added to reduce chills.
16) Folk Remedy: Cure a cold by rubbing the soles of the feet with cut garlic cloves.
17) Massage tea tree oil into the front of your throat and carefully swab just inside the ear canal. Tea tree oil has great antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial properties.
18) Hot Foot Bath
Use any of the following, alone or in combination (let your nose be your guide) in a hot foot bath for head congestion and fever:
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme
Pine essential oil
Eucalyptus essential oil
1 Tbsp mustard powder
19) At the first hint of a sore throat or cold, take one zinc-gluconate lozenge every two hours (not to exceed six per day) for up to one week. Substitute zinc supplement tablets, use according to directions on the bottle.
20) Eat chilies, red peppers, horseradish, and onions to clear the lungs and dispel mucus.
21) Take a total of 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C throughout the day to fight off infection.
22) Take 25,000 international units of beta-carotene per day to help fight off infections.
23) To promote perspiration and soothe a sore throat, pour 1 cup of boiling water onto 1 teaspoon of peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger root. Infuse for 5 minutes; add honey if desired, drink as necessary.
Coughs
Nana's Cough Syrup
2 Tsp honey
1 Tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 Tsp glycerin
Mix well, use when needed
Hot Toddy
2 ounces of boiling water
1 teaspoon of honey
3 whole cloves
1 slice lemon
2 ounces of rum or bourbon or whiskey (or substitute 2 ounces of cranberry juice)
dash of nutmeg
cinnamon stick as a stirrer
Garlic Honey Cough & Cold Syrup
Peel garlic cloves, put in jar. Cover with honey. Set in warm place for 2 weeks or more until the garlic turns opaque. Take 1 teaspoonful as needed. Dilute with a little water for children.
Onion Cough & Cold Syrup
Slice an onion, cover it with honey, let stand overnight. Strain, take a spoonful 4-5 times daily as needed.
Cherry Horehound Syrup:
2 ounces honey
2 ounces water
Boil and skim. Add:
1 ounce vodka
1ounce syrup of wild cherry bark
1/2 ounce syrup of horehound
1/2 ounce syrup of rhubarb
1/2 ounce syrup of wild ginger
Shakewell before each use. Take 1 tsp as needed or every hour.
Rye Whiskey Horehound Syrup:
1 ounce honey
1 pint rye whiskey
1/2 ounce horehound syrup
10 drops glycerin
Shake well, use as needed.
Eucalyptus Chest and Sinus Rub
1 drop of eucalyptus oil
1 drop clove oil
1 drop of essential oil of pine
1/4 cup almond or other cold-pressed vegetable oil
Mix all together, pour into a capped bottle, use as needed.
Old Fashioned Mustard Plaster
Mix one part mustard powder with 4 parts of flour. Add enough water to make a thick paste. Rub a little warmed olive oil over chest then apply the mustard paste to chest, lung areas and upper back, keeping it in place with a clean cotton cloth. Variation: Use powdered ginger instead of mustard.
Ginger Root Tea
1 tsp grated fresh ginger 1 cup of boiling water Pinch of cayenne Lemon juice and honey to taste. Drink as little or as much as you desire throughout the day.
Sore Throat
Nana's Sore Throat Tea
2 Tsp honey
1 Tsp fresh lemon juice (or to taste)
1 cup water
Boil water, add honey and lemon. Drink to relieve sore throat.
or
1) Gargle with hot salt water: 1/2 teaspoon to 8 ounces of water 4-5 times a day
2) Drink a tea made by steeping 1 teaspoon of licorice root in 1 cup of hot water for 3 minutes
(Candy made from natural licorice also works)
3) Slippery elm bark helps to relieve throat pain. Mix 1 tablespoon of the herb with one part boiling water and 1/2 cup of honey for a sore throat or purchase slippery elm bark lozenges from a natural foods store. Store in a bottle and take 1 tsp every 3-4 hours
4) Marshmallow root tea is good for a scratchy throat
5) Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish, 1 teaspoon of honey, and 1 teaspoon of ground cloves in a glass of warm water, stir. Sip slowly.
6) Goldenseal contains a mild anesthetic (berberine), make a strong tea of the herb, cool, then use as a gargle
7) Make a strong cup of sage tea, allow it to cool, then gargle. Bayberry or myrrh can be added to or used in place of the sage.
8) Horehound Tea
Mix together equal parts of pennyroyal, licorice, and horehound. Steep 1 heaping teaspoon of herb mixture in one cup of boiling water for 15 minutes. Strain. Add with lemon and honey if desired, drink as often as needed.
9) Sage Gargle
Gargle with this mixture every hour:
1 cup of Sage tea
1 Tbsp of sea salt
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Pinch of cayenne
Stuffy Nose/Congestion
1) Ingest any of the following to make the nose run and eyes water. They all thin excess mucus helping to clear nasal passages:
Capsicum in hot pepppers
Peppermint tea
Ginger
2) Herbal Steam Inhalation
Add a few drops of oil of eucalyptus, pine, rosemary, sage, tea tree oil or lavender (singly or in any combination) to a pot or pan of very hot water. Lean head over water, cover head with a towel to form a tent over the pan, inhale vapors to clear sinus and chest congestion.
3) Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of boiling water. Let cool thoroughly, then pour into clean nasal atomizer (sold at drugstores). Spritz nostrils to moisten dry nasal passages.
4) Eucalyptus Inhaler:
In a small bottle mix:
15 drops eucalyptus oil
15 drops rosemary oil
15 drops bay leaf oil
15 drops clove oil
15 drops spearmint or peppermint oil
To clear the nasal passages, sniff the mixture as needed. Alternately, add all of the above drops to some "Unpetroleum Jelly", store in tightly capped jar. Apply jelly around and inside nose.