Household remedy against colds | Therapy of a cold with household remedies

Household remedy against colds

Especially in winter, many patients suffer from a runny nose associated with a cold. What needs to be done and helps quickly are usually very simple household remedies such as an inhalation bath. With a beginning cold it also helps to put a ten percent iodine solution in water and drink it.

This should keep the nasal mucous membrane moist and the cold cannot develop completely. If you do not have a ten percent iodine solution at home, you can also buy Schüssler salts number 14 at the pharmacy, which can also prevent or at least alleviate the onset of the cold due to their iodine content. With the homeopathic remedies one can resort to potassium iodatum.

This also helps to improve the symptoms of an already broken out cold. However, it is important that these homeopathic remedies all contain iodine and therefore must not be used in patients with thyroid disease without consulting their family doctor. In case of an existing cold it is important to drink a lot of liquid.

It also helps to eat warm soups and broths, as warm drinks and food stimulate the circulation and blood flow and help the body to concentrate fully on fighting the cold. If the cold is only just breaking out, one can try to sweat the harmful bodily fluids out of the body by reducing the fluid intake, eating dry food and doing a lot of sweat-inducing sports. However, it is important not to go to the physical limits as this is counterproductive.

A classic household remedy against the common cold is the inhalation bath. Here the patient holds his head over a bowl of hot water for about 10 minutes. A towel is placed over the head so that no steam is lost between the bowl and the nose.

In addition to the hot water, the bowl should also contain salts, such as Emser salt. Thyme or sage leaves can also help to solve the sniffles and free the nose. Twigs from spruce or fir can also be added to the hot water to help.

It is important to reduce the use of nasal spray to a minimum in the case of a cold, as otherwise a dependency on nasal spray can occur. What one should do is to use household remedies, as these are not harmful and, unlike nasal spray, are not addictive.The best thing to do if you have a sore nose is to rub it frequently with a cream that is as rich as possible in fat and contains no additives (for example Vaseline). Before using the cream, make sure that the nose is as free as possible so that the cream does not get sniffed away.

Here it helps to use nasal spray beforehand to clear the nose, hold the head back and then apply the cream. What you should also do against a sore nose is to avoid blowing your nose too often with too hard or too rough handkerchiefs. Instead, care should be taken to use soft, sensitive handkerchiefs (e.g. with aloe vera).

If the nose is constantly running, it also helps to clear the nose as much as possible beforehand with an inhalation bath. Afterwards, the nose must be dried slightly (important here also to dry with a soft handkerchief) and then apply the high-fat cream. It is important to apply the cream about 5-7 times a day or simply whenever the sore nose feels painful again. If the nose is already severely reddened and even cracked, arnica ointment often helps, as it supports and promotes the healing of wounds.