How to Treat Cold

Cold easily attacks less immune people and many individuals often suffer from cold in the winter season. There is no medicine or antibiotic for treating cold. People follow some home remedies to get rid of the cold. Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the people who are more than the age of eighteen years are more likely to suffer from cold two times in a year.

There is currently no medicine or a specific course of action is designed to treat cold. Most people follow some home remedies in order to get rid of the cold. They are able to ease the symptom of cold by following various home remedies. The symptoms of a cold include

• Sore throat
• Pains
• Nasal congestion
• Aches
• Coughing

You should consider yourself lucky as most of the home remedies are not associated with any side effects. The following are the several home remedies that you can follow to get rid of cold.

Gargling

It is considered as an old-school remedy and can offer you relief from a sore throat. It is one of the common symptoms of cold and you should get rid of it immediately. Gargling is a simple method and it has the capability to ease the symptoms of a cold. People follow various methods to make this gargle recipe. All you need to do is add one teaspoon of salt in a cup of warm water and stir for some time and start gargling.

The other method of making this recipe is mixing the half teaspoon of lemon juice and honey in a cup of warm water. We would advise you to add the ingredients in warm water and it should not be too hot. Because too much hot water may lead to the cause of burns.

Drink Fluids

Staying hydrated by drinking lots of fluids may thin mucus. In order to stay hydrated, water is the best option for any type of person. Even other liquids like coconut water, sports drinks, watermelon, fruit juices are also the ones you should take into consideration.

Adding ingredients such as lemon and honey in your tea may give relief from congestion and a sore throat. Adding hot soups, which are spicier may contribute to nasal drainage and makes you breathe easily. We would advise people who are suffering from cold should stop drinking alcohol as it may lead to dehydration. Alcohol increases your urge to urinate more and it will ultimately result in make you dehydrated.

Steam

If you would like to reduce the severeness of nasal congestion and to avoid sinus pressure temporarily, we would advise you to breathe in the steam. There are several alternative methods that you can follow to ease the symptoms of a cold is breathing in the steam. All you need to do is fill your container with boiling water, and continue to breathe in the steam by placing a large cotton cloth over your head.

Breathing in the steam gives you a relief by soothing your tissues of the nose and throat and it will make easier for you to breath and it will also remove all the discomforts you are experiencing while breathing. People can add eucalyptus that falls under the category of essential oil. It has been observed by the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy is adding three to seven drops of this essential oil in boiling water and continue their process of breathing in the steam can give temporary relief from cold and makes your breathing easier.

Eucalyptus is available in the health stores and we would advise you to avoid contact with eyes to get rid of the irritation.

Blowing the Nose

To clear the nasal passages, we would advise you to keep a track of how you are blowing your nose. You can get rid of the discomforts that your nasal passages you are creating while you are breathing only if you blow the nose correctly. If you keep neglecting this problem, you may experience severe ear pain due to the sniffing mucus.

You can try a simple method to blow the nose correctly. We would advise you to block one nostril while blow into a tissue, then switch and block the opposite nostril and blow.

Cool mist vaporizer

Cool mist vaporizer is also known as a humidifier. It has the capability of reducing the severeness of cold. You can get rid of the symptoms of cold such as congestion, cough, and a sore throat. Using humidifiers in your child’s room may offer you relief from a sore throat in your children. We would advise the parents or guardians to keep a cool-mist vaporizer or humidifier in your kids’ room to contribute a peaceful sleep to your children.

It is essential to change the water in humidifiers every day. You should keep an eye on your cool mist vaporizer and make sure that you are cleaning it daily. Follow your manufacturer instructions in order to clean the unit and prevents the formation of fungus. You can buy a range of cold mist vaporizers online or it is available in all health stores.

Saline Drops

In order to clear the nasal cavity and promote mucus drainage, we would suggest you use saline drops. It will be difficult for the kids to flush out the sinuses by using a Neti Pot, they will feel much better if you flush out the sinuses from them by using saline drops. All you need to do is drop a few drops in each nostril and it will give you the relief you want.

Doctors have to deal with a lot of problems in the children who are having problems related to blowing their nose. At this point of time, your physician may advise you to use a few drops of saline and he will use a rubber bulb suction in order to remove the mucus. You can find a variety of saline drops in online or you can directly purchase in a health store.

OTC Medications

People may develop a fever when they are diagnosed with a cold. Children are more likely to increase their temperature due to cold. Adults can manage the symptoms of cold and they are not in the danger of developing a fever. However, people assume fever is a small problem and it is correct you don’t need to panic if you are suffering from a fever, but when it comes to children, it can make them feel sad and miserable.

Over the counter pain, relievers are enough to get relief from a sore throat and fever. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen will fall under the category of pain relievers and these drugs are available in all health stores. People who are above the age of six months can take ibuprofen but we would advise you to consult a pediatrician before you would like to make this decision.

Decongestant present in the cold medicines and it will be helpful for your kids to relieve from nasal congestion. It is the best medicine suitable for your children, but we would advise not to give recommend it to younger kids. It is better to take a suggestion from your health care provider regarding medications for children.

Also, please keep your children away from Aspirin as it may increase the chances of developing a Reye’s Syndrome in your child. It is a rare condition that usually seen in children but it is considered a serious illness. It has been observed in a study that taking aspirin may increase the chances of developing this rare syndrome in some children which is life-threatening.

Unable to breathe, Skin Swelling, low count of red blood cells and white blood cells, low platelets count, Disorientation, Hives, dizziness, liver failure (Rare occasions), and kidney toxicity are some of the serious side effects associated with acetaminophen.

Honey

We would advise the parents or caregivers to give honey to their children before they are going to sleep because it can effectively decrease nighttime coughs and this study in the published in the journal of pediatrics. As botulinum spores present in the honey, we would advise the caregivers to not give honey to their babies who are below the age of one, as there are chances of your baby digestive tract may affect by the spores and it will ultimately result in making your baby sick.

Prevention

As there is no specific medicine introduced till now to cure a cold. We would advise people to follow the below precautionary steps to avoid cold. It is not an easy task for a person to prevent a cold, but following these steps may help.

• Washing your hands regularly
• Avoid all germs and keep your immune strong
• Don’t go to your workplace when you are suffering from cold
• Moving away from other people when sneezing

Conclusion

Prevention is better than cure and this quote is perfectly suitable for cold. There are no treatments for treating cold and all you need to do is stay away from people in order to put a stop to spreading the virus. If you are unable to ease the symptoms of cold on your own, then we would advise you to have a word with your physician.