Home Remedies for Colds

I haven't tried this yet, but I just received an email from a dear friend telling me that if you put Vicks on your feet and then put socks on and go to bed it will stop a nasty cough in it's tracks. Don't know if it is true yet, but plan to try it next time it is needed. Good luck.

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Neti pot, although probably not for really young kids.

Here's a home cough syrup from my grandpa's side of the family. In a bowl, put coarsely chopped onions and lemon cut into fairly thin wedges. (my guess is about one onion and one to two lemons, but this is from memory.) Sprinkle enough sugar over the mixture to coat, and stir. Allow to sit covered in the fridge until a syrup forms in the bottom of the bowl.

I know it sounds gross, but I loved the flavor when I was a kid - sweet and lemony but with a bite. With the recent recall of cough meds for kids, I'm going to be trying this one myself.

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Tea with honey (love peppermint), zinc, Vit C, echinicea, garlic, probiotics to boost immunity.

Lots of fluids, every hour drink some hot tea or another hot beverage to flush out of your system, soups (esp. chicken noodle for the ingredients that truly do help-organic only), eliminate dairy, use some spice in foods like ginger (which helps nausea & upset tummys) and some cayenne pepper sprinkled in soups.

By using the above for a full day, we usually feel a big improvement the next day.

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For a sore throat, something that has worked wonders for me since I was a kid is hot lemonade-- Heat water, add lemon juice and honey to taste (don't give honey to kids under 1). I mix up a big batch of this, pour it in a thermos and drink it throughout the day. Kids love it (you can make it sweeter or more sour, depending on what they like) and not only do you get the extra fluids in, but the lemon and honey are both good for their throat (just ask any singer).

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If your kids are drinking milk or formula, boil a couple peeled garlic cloves in the water for formula or milk and serve. They actually like the taste and garlic does make them better in about a day.

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Good for you to help your family naturally! I agree with vitamin C in orange juice form or supplement. C flushes out of your body so you can't really overdose on it. Hot herbal tea with lemon and honey were my mom's favorites. For sore throats, drink the hottest water you can stand and then gargle with salt water (luke warm with about a tsp.). Don't swallow, but if you do it consistently, you will feel relief and yes plenty of water. I belong to a wellness company so they have lots of supplements, herbal rubs, and an immune booster that really works at the onset of a cold. Plenty of rest to help the body naturally fight it off. For ear infections, I use a few drops of pure tea tree oil diluted with olive oil. Tea tree oil is a natural disinfectant, pain soother, and helps with inflamation. Use a cool mist humidifier with coughs and congestion, especially when you have the heat on, helps to breathe easier and makes the air more moist with a sore throat and coughing.

If you are interested in learning about the wellness company that I am a wholesaler with, just let me know. They've been around for over 27 years. Good luck and keep those hands washed, use different towels for the sick ones and throw away tooth brushes after the cold/sickness disappears. Germs spread too easily! Been there and done that with 3 kids! You're on the right path! Here's to you and your family's health!

K.

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My mom fed us watermelon to get more fluids in. Also remember to wash down all door knobs, light switches, telephones, and now, keyboards when a cold starts in the house. This can help prevent "sharing."

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My Dad used to make us "hot lemonade" (lemon water with honey) and rub vicks on our chest and troat then tie a scarf around our neck.
I also like the cold chaser teas that are out there. There is one by Tradional Medicinals called gypsy cold care (there is also a nighttime version) and another called throat coat. These can be found in the natural food section of most grocery stores. The tea company I work for also has a cold chaser tea that works amazingly well. All of these taste pretty good and you can add honey which is also good for the throat.
I also reccomend Emergen-C it is a powder that you put in water (my son calls it special orange juice) it is low in sugar comes in a variety of flavors and can be diluted as much as you want.
A fact that I just learned recently is that Orange Juice actually creates more mucus so while it is a great source of vitamin C it isn't actually good for a cold.
Hope this helps!

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Anytime I feel a cold coming on, I use Simply Saline drops. Found at any pharmacy store. It is just salt water. It works for my allergies too! I used to get a lot of sinus infections and this has helped me so much.

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You can buy zinc filled q-tips in a box (I think it's called Zycam, or something like that) You swab each nostril and it shortens the length of any cold. It really works.

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Couple of them:

Warm milk with a pinch of turmeric.
Ginger with honey and black pepper.
Chew on Clove like a candy.
Chew on ginger like a candy.

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Yvette-

What we use around our house which is great on my 2 1/2 year old son is putting "Tea Tree Oil" into his vapor and a few drops on his pillow and it clears up his nose specailly now that the cold season is coming or should I say here. Also, my husband and I avoid hevy food and stick with broths as heavy foods as your digrstive tract, including smell and taste, are lets to say they are on a vacation during a cold or flu for awhile. We also use a company that sells all natural Cough Medicine and Cough Drops and so that makes me feel safe knowing it is all natural. Hope this helps as it really helps when we get the cold or sniffles.

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The best things I have found are vitamin C, Garlic, and echinacea with grapefruit seed extract. Keeping the spine aligned is good too. See a Chiropractor at least once a month and you will prevent most of this stuff from ever starting in the first place. Visit icpa4kids.com to find one near you that works with kids. My mom used to boil lemons with cloves and then give us the liquid. It tastes really bad, and I think more than anything we would "feel better" instantly because we didn't want to have to drink that stuff! YUCK! The mind truly is a powerful thing!

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"warm" socks, underwear,and rest!!!!
Bodies heal while resting (even for adults)
Chicken soup but any warm soup, have them eat often.
Juices often.

Story telling time.

check temps sporadically.
remember feed a cold , starve a fever!

just old grandma stuff.........(and Vicks Vaporub)
Grandma Annie

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sore throat - gargle with salt water

JUST GETTING something? - Take Echinicea - it really really works for me and my daughter - we take it as soon as we feel like a cold or something is coming on - and it really works! I was introduced to it by my husbands sister and mother - they swear by it, too!

find it in the vitamin area - I buy it at WalMart!

Hope it works for you!

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