Natural Cold Remedys: More Than Just Chicken Soup

Taking hot peppers for head colds is a good idea. As a sufferer of sinusitis, I know that hot peppers and pepper sauce help to ease the symptoms. Spicy hot is not my favorite food, other that a little Thai curry occasion, I am a comfort food kind of guy. During the cold and flu, minor diet changes can help you have fewer and shorter colds.

Mexican, Thai, India curry and other spicy foods do tend to open the sinus passages getting the mucus flowing. That is a good thing in the cold season. Just keep a good supply of tissue handy. Anyway you can naturally keep your sinuses open the better off you are. Many of the nasal sprays can be addictive. Not that you can't wean yourself off them, they just tend to over dry your sinus membranes and you have a rebound that is more easily resolved by taking the spray over and over. There are easier ways that are less addictive than some of the drugs.

Don't get me wrong, everything in moderation. Prescription and over the counter decongestants are great if used only when really required. It is always better to change basic lifestyle habits so you don't need the drugs.

Spicy foods, mainly peppers containing the chemical Capsicum, like Tabasco, Jalapeño, and Scotch Bonnet etc. help temporarily dry up a cold. They don't cure the cold, but a few hours of not sniffling and blowing your nose is pretty welcome to any cold sufferer.

Another natural remedy is a strong saline solution. By strong I mean one teaspoon of salt in three ounces of water. You will have to heat the water to dissolve the salt. This solution will shrink nasal membranes without any of the rebound often associated with drug therapy. This solution is also strong enough to kill some of the cold virus which may possibly reduce the term of your cold. There are no guarantees on this point since there are too many things that factor in to the equation. In general the earlier you start the better off you are. Even if your cold is established, the saline solution will open your nasal passages and if you get very aggressive, your sinus passages. This solution is strong so it does sting. For children I would recommend over the counter saline solutions. Consult your physician moms.

One final aide in cold relief is Jewish penicillin, also know as chicken soup. Hopefully, that want not be taken the wrong way since nothing derogatory was meant. Chicken soup does do wonders! The heat alone helps break things loose and the soup if made from grown hens, inhibits the movement of neutrophils, immune system cells that participate in the body's immune system response (that thanks to the Mayo clinic.)

With any cold, plenty of fluids especially hot fluids and in the case of adults a hot toddy at bedtime don't hurt. Now if you will excuse me I have some hot chicken soup waiting along with a Bourbon, lemon and honey toddy. I may have two toddies, just in case. Preventative medicine if you know what I mean.

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