Some helpful remedies for colds that really work

Having a sore throat and cold in summer is the worse. Recently my husband and I had one just a few weeks ago. I caught it first, more than likely from my son who had come over for dinner with a slight cough. The following day I was miserable to say the least. I had a sour throat and just didn't feel like myself.

In this hub I will share some things I tried - one for the first time ever to help me feel better during my illness. I will also share some other quick remedies that I haven't tried but maybe helpful as well. So stay tuned below for my helpful tips and home remedies that you may want to try when the time arises, instead of running to the Dr. or the pharmacy, give these a try first - you have nothing to loose and you may feel better.

1. That morning when I knew what was happening I remembered my mom’s old remedy of gargling with warm salt water. I did this in the morning, after lunch and in the evening before bed. It really helped the sore throat a lot.
2. I then had seen a remedy online regarding “oil pulling” which stated that by doing this you could rid your mouth of toxins that cannot be eliminated just by brushing your teeth. Oil draws the toxins out and then you rid yourself of them, which can actually help you feel better. It has helped people who had tooth aches, sore throats, stomach problems, and a number of other issues, so I decided to try it. You use “coconut oil” about a tablespoon and then swish it in your mouth for approximately 10-15 minutes. When you discard this aweful stuff be sure to use a plastic baggie you can seal and then throw away. The remains are not good for either the sink drain or the septic so a plastic baggie is what I found useful. Wow, I tried this and the first two days of my cold I started to feel much better. This could have been due to both the gargling and the oil pulling but I was on my way to feeling better. My cold only lasted half the time it seemed. I have to say I almost didn’t try this because when I read about it, it just didn’t sound very good, but I was so glad that I did. I guess this is an age old remedy that hasn’t gone wild in the US yet, but is in other countries.
3. The third of my remedies that really helped me was drinking hot tea. I love Lipton and used honey to sweeten it. The combination of those two things are so soothing to your throat and just makes you feel so good.
4. For minor sore throats and cough relief, (I haven't tried this), but you can take elm root which is an all time favorite. The root coats and protects inflamed and sensitive throats. Suck on a slippery elm root lozenges, available at most health food stores. Or sip tea made from one teaspoon of powered root mixed with one cup of very hot water. Available in most health food stores I am told.
5. Last but not least is hot chicken soup! Yes your mom was right, chicken soup can cure what ails you. The protein in the chicken contains cystine, an amino acid similar to acetylcysteine, a drug that thins mucus and clears lungs, who knew. A steaming bowl of that wonderful chicken soup helps release fluids within the body that will drain your chest of fluid and make mucus less likely to settle in lungs and become an infection.

I don’t guarantee these things will work for you, and you may still have to take some form of cold medicine in the evening when you go to bed. I can only go by my own personal experience and it was absolutely a good one in this case.

I read about a homemade cough remedy you may want to try instead of the store bought kind. Here is the recipe:
1. Combine equal portions of honey and wild cherry bark syrup for the base.
2. Mix in two grams of ground apricot seed, an ounce of garlic tincture and an ounce of osha root tincture.
3. Store in a tightly closed container

Take two teaspoons every few hours during a coughing spell!!!