Best Natural Home Cold and Cough Remedies

lemon and honey

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It was winter time this year. I was sitting at a local bank one day, waiting to be attended by one of the bank staff with my sniffly nose. I was suffering tremendously at that time to stay focused. So, I couldn’t help but wonder how awful it must be for a frontline bank staff to talk to customers when he/she is feeling unwell. It’s really important to know good cold and cough remedies especially during this time.

Cough and cold are common especially during winter. I usually suffer from this problem during the winter months. However, the cough and cold I had this year was really, really bad!

So with a desperate determination to cure myself, I started searching for the best cold and cough remedies. After singling out some natural cough remedies, I started testing them one by one to discover their effectiveness. Surprisingly, these solutions also act as home cold remedies at the same time!

Top 10 Cold and Cough Remedies

1) Honey and Lemon

– To make the honey and lemon drink, all you need is 3 teaspoons of natural honey (not the ones with sugar additives), juice from a quarter of a lemon (make sure you squeeze the real lemon. Don’t use pre-packed lemon juice) and water.

– Just stir the honey and lemon juice with some hot water. Then add warm water to fill up your mug.

– Honey and lemon is best taken as a warm drink as it will soothe your throat better that way. This is perfect natural cough remedy.

2) Salted water

– This only works when your sore throat is not really painful yet. I find that if it has become really painful, lemon and honey would work better.

– To use this remedy, all you need is some cooking salt and tap water. Mix them together and just gargle the salt water. Make sure you tilt your head backwards when gargling the water so that the water surrounds the back of your throat. Be careful not to choke over the water. Never drink the water as it is too salty and may cause you further health problems. This home remedy is only suitable if your throat is not severe. If all else fails, consult a doctor.

3) Chicken soup – My Chinese version would be chicken rice congee

– For the Westerners, chicken soup was noted as an effective remedy for curing cough and cold. However, my Chinese version would be chicken rice congee.

– To make this congee, all you need is some jasmine rice, water, chicken bones and chicken thighs that are cut up into bite size pieces.

– Just dump them all in a pot and bring to boil. Simmer once the water starts boiling until the congee forms. If the congee is too thick, add more water. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and light soy sauce.

– Chicken rice congee is the perfect comfort meal you can get when you have a cough and cold. It helps to clear your nasal passage and soothes your throat. I find that this is the best cold remedy especially when I am sick and down with fever.

4) Drink chrysanthemum tea

– I found out by experience that boiling whole dried chrysanthemum flower (available at Asian groceries) with water and sugar brings the results – not using the ready-packed chrysanthemum tea sachets. I tried taking the sachets to work to make a quick drink to soothe my cough but it never worked.

5) Blow your nose gently only when necessary

– There is no point in trying to force the mucus from your nose back into your nose by breathing in just to save on tissue paper and look as though you are alright. Instead, I found that blowing my nose gently when necessary was the best way to cure my cold quicker.

6) Get some rest

– Whenever I pay a visit to the doctor when I am sick, the doctor always asked me to do three things – take my medicine, drink lots of water and get lots of rest. When he means rest, he means sleep.

– I noticed that when I get a lot of sleep, my cough and cold would usually go away much faster.

7) Drink lots of warm water, teas and soups

– This works the same way as taking chicken rice congee. Drinking lots of warm water, teas and soups helps to soothe the throat and clear the nasal passage. It doesn’t matter what type of tea and soup you take, as long as it is warm.

8) Stay warm with blankets

– Whenever I have a bad cold, I would always try to keep myself as warm as possible with blankets. During winter, I found that a woolen blanket works best.

9) Take supplement, vitamin C

– Vitamin C helps the body to boost its immune system to fight against cough and cold. Always take your vitamins according to what is prescribed on the vitamin bottle. Do not take a more than prescribed as it would make your body work harder than it should.

10) Have a hot shower

– Taking a hot shower helps to relax your body while clearing up your nasal passage.

– If you are not used to taking hot showers, start by having a warm shower and slowly increase the temperature.

Well, I guess that’s all for now. I hope that you found my cold and cough remedies useful. The next time when you have a nasty cough and cold, remember to try these home remedies! They worked for me. I’m sure they’ll work for you too.

Caroline Poh

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