by Tammy Chernin, R.Ph.
Do antihistamines put you to sleep? Do decongestants give you heart palpitations? Dont you just hate the rebound congestion that sometimes comes from nasal sprays? Find out how you can naturally treat the common cold and avoid these annoying side effects.
No doubt youre familiar with the symptoms of a cold
Nutrition and diet
If you ask any grandmother around the world "Whats best for a cold," the most common answer will be "chicken soup." The use of "Jewish penicillin" dates back to the late 1100s when Moses Maimonides was one of the first to document the chicken soup "prescription." And Nana was right
Naturopathic remedies
From the naturopathic perspective, the symptoms of a cold are the very mechanisms by which the body fights off the infection. Thats why naturopathic practitioners are reluctant to interfere with the symptoms. The goal of naturopathy is to give the symptoms all the support they can to enhance and strengthen their activity, thereby providing the body with ammunition to fight back.
Dr. Irene Catania, a naturopathic physician practicing in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey offers some sensible, practical advice as well as herbal therapies for the common cold:
- Rest, so your immune system can work. This is the area where people fail the most, but is the most critical.
- Eat less sugar, because sugar nourishes bacteria and viruses.
- Drink plenty of fluids because very dry mucus membranes provide the perfect environment for germs and viruses. Drinking more liquids will aid the flushing out of the membranes.
- Nasal douching is the practice of rinsing the nasal passages with a saltwater solution. Dissolve one-quarter teaspoon of salt in one cup of warm water and simply inhale the liquid through one nostril at a time while closing the other with an index finger.
- Steam inhalation by using a vaporizer with a few drops of eucalyptus oil, a powerful antiseptic and expectorant, to clear nasal and sinus congestion. Or do it the old fashioned way by placing a few drops of the oil in a bowl of hot water, putting a towel over your head to trap the vapors, and inhaling them.
- Gargle with salt water for sore throats. For best results gargle four times daily with one-quarter teaspoon salt to one cup of water.
- Supplement with buffered vitamin C and zinc gluconate to enhance your immunity.
- Drink herbal tea containing a mixture of fresh ginger root, turmeric, and ajwan (an herb popular in Indian cooking) and flavored with a little honey.
- Eat garlic for its immune-stimulating properties.
- Take Echinacea at the first sign of symptoms to help reduce a colds intensity and duration. "I often use a combination formula having Echinacea, goldenseal, licorice (avoid if you have high blood pressure), astragulus and lomatium root.
"When treating the common cold via the naturopathic approach, expect your symptoms to get worse over the first 24 or 48 hours," says Dr. Catania. "But once that period is over, you will feel better than you did before the cold, because youve helped your body eliminate the virus and enhanced your immunity. Its like a tune-up for your body."
All herbal remedies should be avoided in pregnant and nursing women and used with caution in children.
Hydrotherapy: running hot and cold
Hydrotherapy, one of the most celebrated of all naturopathic remedies, involves the application of hot and cold moisture to the body to improve circulation. Naturopathic physicians use this to treat everything from ear infections to cancer. Dr. Kelly Cohen is a doctor of naturopathy who practices in New York City. She has used hydrotherapy for the common cold, especially in children, with great success.
"The first step is to wrap the [childs] feet in warm towels and then heat the feet for five minutes. Then take cold, wet, white cotton socks. Wring them out well and replace the hot towel with the socks. Place wool socks over the cotton socks and then send him back to bed." This procedure can also be done on the neck using a wool scarf. The premise is that the alternating fluctuations in temperature improve circulation and stimulate the immune system. Dr. Cohen adds, "Parents give you funny looks at first but then call you in the morning to tell you how amazed they are by the results."
Build up your immunity
A strong immune system is the best defense against all infections. Most health professionals agree on a few basics that are essential for resisting and recovering from a cold:
- Eat a balanced diet.
- Refrain from smoking. Smoking assaults the mucus membranes and lungs, increasing your susceptibility to all sorts of respiratory infections.
- Minimize contact with people who have colds.
- Wash your hands frequently. Cold viruses often survive for hours on doorknobs, money, and other surfaces.
- Take supplements as needed to ensure you are receiving the recommended dietary allowances for vitamin B complex, vitamin A, vitamin C, and zinc.