10 Tips To Treating Colds And Flu The Natural Way

Flu symptoms can cause a world of misery, from fever and cough to sore throat, nasal congestion, aches, and chills. But there are ways to feel better. Prescription antiviral drugs may ease symptoms of the flu when taken shortly after you get sick. In many cases, however, simple home remedies may be all you need for relief of mild to moderate flu symptoms.

Here are 10 tips to treating Colds and flu the natural way….

1. Treat a stuffy nose with warm salt water

Mix a pinch of salt and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda in about half a pint of warm water. Use a bulb syringe to squirt water into the nose. Hold one nostril closed by applying light finger pressure while squirting the salt mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain. Repeat two to three times, then treat the other nostril.

2. Stay warm and rested

Staying warm and resting when you first come down with a cold or the flu helps your body direct its energy toward the immune battle. This battle taxes the body. So give it a little help by staying off your feet.

3. Drink hot liquids

Hot liquids help relieve nasal congestion, prevent dehydration and soothe the uncomfortably inflamed membranes that line your nose and throat. If you’re so congested you can’t sleep  at night, try a hot toddy, an age-old remedy.

4. Take a steamy shower

5. Treat aches and fever so you feel comfortable

Manage the fever, headache, and muscle aches. Using over-the-counter pain relievers can treat any low-grade fever, plus help relieve the discomfort from headaches and muscle aches.

6. Take vitamin C

Studies done by the National Institute of Health show that vitamin C may be somewhat helpful in treating the common cold. Do not take vitamin C products if you are allergic to vitamin C or ascorbic acid. 7. Sip some soup.

8. Consider taking zinc

Study results showed some benefit when oral zinc was taken within the first 24 hours after the initial symptoms begin.Take zinc routinely. Low doses taken regularly may help prevent colds

9. Blow your nose often (and in the right way)

It’s important to blow your nose regularly when you have a cold rather than sniffling mucus back into your head. But when you blow hard, pressure can move germ-carrying phlegm back into your ear passages, causing earache . The best way to blow your nose is to press a finger over one nostril while you blow gently into a tissue to clear the other.

10. Consume green tea

Green tea and green tea-derived supplements have been shown to contain ingredients that are overall helpful in maintaining good health. Drinking hot beverages when you have a cold, including a hot cup of green tea, can be comforting to many cold-related symptoms.