The Natural Approach to Cold and Flu Season

Cold and flu season is here. If you are one of the people who thought ahead and made an appointment for the flu shot, you are lucky, indeed. What if you didn't get your flu shot ,though? Or what if you went off to the doctor like a true planner and got that shot, but ended up with a nasty dose of the common cold, instead? In either of those cases, you have decided to tough it out alone, or visited your doctor, who told you sympathetically that they were sorry, but you had to... tough it out, alone. When over the counter remedies have failed and your ounce of prevention should have been a pound the only place left to turn is sometimes Grandma's remedies. This leads us to natural and holistic remedies that you can try...even though they won't cure what ails you, sometimes a little relief is more than enough.

Aromatherapy is easily one of the most accessible and understandable at home remedies. It is not a far jump for those of us who have long relied on mentholated vapors to ease our suffering to think that an inhaled steam or fragrance could be beneficial in easing the symptoms of a virus. One of the prime ingredients in that popular over the counter vaporizing rub that we are all familiar with happens to be eucalyptus oil. Eucalyptus oil can be purchased by itself from an essential oil supplier~ but as with all oils you must follow the directions to the letter. Other oils that soothe symptoms of congestion include pine and rosemary. When purchasing any of these oils bear in mind that you must never use them full strength. Follow the manufacturer's direction for mixing them with a carrier oil before applying them to the body, and be sure never to allow contact with the eyes or mucous membranes! A sure fire way to get the most of these oils is to utilize a steam inhalation method, usually by dripping 2 or 3 drops of your chosen oil into a container of steaming water and then inhaling the steam to loosen phlegm and chest congestion. If all that mixing and preparing sounds like too much work to you and you'd rather just soak it out in a hot tub Naked Herb.com offers a premixed aromatherapy bath salt for cold and flu season, and for the little ones check out this California baby bath blend.

What about remedies you can actually take? Often overlooked is good old chicken soup. Chicken soup not only offers the benefit of steaming out that stuffy nose, but according to Health Bulletin science has shown that it helps with the inflammation that causes those headaches and stuffies to begin with. It would seem that mother really does know best! If your tastes run to the exotic or you are a vegetarian, don't worry. Remember all the press about Kim chi being a possible cure for the avian flu? Scientists have found reasonable evidence that it works! While it takes a long time to ferment cabbage, you can pick up a jar of Kim chi at most grocers in the organic section for little money. Evidence has also been shown that zinc helps to minimize the severity and duration of your suffering and is available in flavored lozenges at most any drugstore.

Don't forget the drum sounds. While it may sound off the wall, a little drumming could help you out of your predicament. Drumming has been proven to increase the number of immune cells in the blood of a participant. Even if you don't think you can possibly lift a finger to drum right now, starting when you are able might not only help you through this illness, but prevent future downtime, also!

Whatever method you chose to relieve your current misery (or that of a loved one) remember to follow all your doctor's direction and advice before using any at home remedies or therapies, and above all else~ prevention is always better than cure ,after all.