Welcome Wednesday: Homemade Cold Remedies & Traditions

[Jimmy Seddon]

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

At the beginning of last week, my son came down with a pretty bad cold.  By the middle of the week my daughter and wife were also sick.  This is when I really started trying to hide in the basement.  However, by Thursday night I started going down myself, but my son had completely recovered.  By the weekend, we were thankful that our son went to visit relatives so that my wife and I could focus on try to get ourselves and our daughter better.

My mom has always said that drinking plenty of fluids and getting as much rest as possible is all you need to fight a cold.  This what I have always followed and for the most part it seems to work.

My question for you all this week: Do you have any traditions or secret weapons you use to help fight a cold?

If you do, let me know down in the comments below.

I hope you all have a great rest of the week!

[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

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[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

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[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

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[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

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[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

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[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

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[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

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[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

@Maggie Sarkissian @Mahesh Kumar N @Manish Verma @Manivannan Sairam @Manuel Urbano @Marathe, PankajArun @Marc DeVoe @Marcela Králíčková @Martin Maina @Martin Waldhart @masako.okada.uz @massimo dematteis @Mateus de Oliveira Alves @Mateus Machado @Matt S_ @Matthew Burghoffer @Matthew Jessop @Mattia Montani @Max Rukhlov @Melanie Schneider @Mia @Miao Gu @Michael Cohen @Michael Friel @Michael Gollust @Michael Morrison @michael ranger @Midhun Sugathan @Miguel Bejarano @Mitko Petrov @Mohammed Rishad V K @Muideen Sulaiman Olanrewaju @Nabila Berjal @Neeraj Kv @Neil John Newman @Nik Shafiq Sirhan @Nikhil Kumar @Nikolay Stanishev {Appfire} @Nilesh Bane @Ning Wang @Nneka Ijeoma Ogbonna @Ome.Peddi @Paisley Greer @Parimal Mehta @Patrik Hallberg @Paul Gillen @Paul Scott @Pedro Watnabe @Phil Middlemass @Philip Teoli

[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

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[Nathaniel Herron]

Zinc, Magnesium, Echinacea, pizza, and spiced rum. 

[Jimmy Seddon]

Welcome to all the new community members this week!  We'd love to hear from you too!

@Taleh Mammadli @tarasaur @Tiago Fernandes @Tony Pirozzoli @v shah @Venkateswara Sukamanchi @Veruska Cuni @Vince @Virginia Marban de la Calle @Vishnu Rajawat @Vladimir Galajda @Wajahath Farooq @wendy tian @[deleted] @Yuxuan Li @ZR @Александр Рыженков @Руслан @张健龙 @振君 王 @正親 博義(Hiroyoshi Oogi) lixiluser @江藤武 @郭仁龙 @[deleted] @이건호 @Kristian King @Murilo Bellini @Aikam Boparai @Daniel Capriles Medina @[deleted] @Robert James @Vitaliy

[Piotr Poliwoda]

Hey there! Good to see the community growing. 

I can promote grandma's best - hot milk with garlic, honey and butter. Tastes nasty but it works wonders :) 

[Jimmy Seddon]

@Piotr Poliwoda I'm going to have to take your word for it.  I don't know that I have the constitution to try it myself.

[Giane88]

My father usually takes a cup of warm milk with honey and cognac and two aspirin before going to bed.
The next day he is as good as new

[Jimmy Seddon]

That's an interesting mixture, I may have to try that at some point.

[Andy Gladstone]

@Jimmy Seddon oy vey! I hope that everyone is back to normal. So sorry to hear that the family was all hit with the bug.

WARNING - I AM NOT A DOCTOR OR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL AND DO NOT ADVISE ANYONE FOLLOWING THESE 'HOME' REMEDIES WITHOUT CONSULTATION WITH A COMPETENT MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.

When I was in my freshman year (abroad) I kept getting sick. At the time one of my mentors advised my to overload on Vitamin C. A normal vitamin is 500mg. I was instructed to take 3000mg. Well, this completely knocked the illness out, and ever since then it has worked for me for the common cold and flu-like symptoms.

More recently I have had a number of people recommend the Starbucks Medicine Ball. It's not on the menu, but supposedly every barista should know how to make one. I have not tried it (since I have not yet confirmed all ingredients are Kosher) myself, but have a few close acquaintances that swear by it.

Here's to hoping we all remain healthy and have no need for any medicine (although we can still all enjoy the spoon full of sugar that helps it go down!) 

[Jimmy Seddon]

@Andy Gladstone yes we are all back on our feet.  Thank you!

My wife generally starts loading Vitamin C when others are sick to ward it off.  I'd say it's about 50% effective.

I have never heard of the Medicine Ball before, I may have to check that out.

[Dave Wuensch]

I have always put essential oils in hot water and then inhaled. That helped fast and good.

[Jimmy Seddon]

I really should try this since I had nose issues for the first 24 hours.

[Daniel DuBravec]

When I feel even the slightest hint of a sore throat or cold symptoms I take elderberry and has worked 100% of the time since I have been using it.  But make sure to buy the type you would find at a farmers market and not something picked up at a grocery store or pharmacy since it has lots of additives like corn syrup and alcohols.   Here is one I picked up recently at a farmers market

[Jimmy Seddon]

Interesting, thanks for the suggestion @Daniel DuBravec! I've never heard of this one before.

[Andy Gladstone]

Elderberry sounds like something that may needed for a potion in Hogwarts!

[Summer Hogan]

@Andy Gladstone it does, but it works wonders for all sorts of things!

[Irene Ali]

Glad y'all are feeling better. My mom swears on Vitamin C packets, personally, I cannot drink them. 

Here are a few others:
If you are coughing a lot, warm up and drink honey & 1/2 of lime to coat your throat.

If you catch the virus and have issues with breathing boil dried oregano, strain, add honey, and drink it 2 times a day. 

For fevers I rotate tylenol and motrin/ibuprophen until the fever ends. 

Aleve cold & sinus is my go to for headcolds too.

As with anything seek professional help in an emergency.

[Jimmy Seddon]

Great advice @Irene Ali!  Thank you!

[Daniel DuBravec]

@Irene Ali  Agree with the oregano.  I use it about once a week...

[Stuart Capel - London]

Honey and lemon with hot water always makes me feel a bit better. Not sure it actually speeds up recovery but it's a cheap drug free way to relieve the symptoms 

[Arthur Stepanyan]

As long as this is not going to get me in trouble for practicing medicine without a license...

My favorite cure is a mug of hot black tea with a generous ounce of brandy (or whiskey, or bourbon, or rum) taken before going to bed. Makes you sweat a lot, but fights a cold like nothing else. If the first time it does not work, repeat with an increased dose of alcohol. 

Please note that all I said is what I do. This is not medical advice or a "life hack" - you live your own life, and you take your own risks.

Cheers!

[Arthur Stepanyan]

By the way, adding a spoon of honey to my brew not only makes it tastier, but it works better!

[Craig Nodwell]

Glad you're all feeling better.
@Jimmy Seddon I'm going to have to side with your mom.  Lots of liquids and lots of rest.

[Summer Hogan]

@Jimmy Seddon I'm glad to hear you are all on the mend now. 

I stick to the normal stuff like you said such as rest and plenty of liquids. Although, two things I swear by are Vitamin C pills and Throat Coat tea! I get a lot of sinus infections and when my throat hurts, Throat Coat is the best tea you can drink! It is so soothing! 

[Taranjeet Singh]

@Jimmy Seddon Good to hear that you are recovering!

A few homemade remedies I have tried as suggested by my parents or grandparents:

- Steam for nose and chest congestion

- Rubbing Vicks VapoRub over the chest, back, throat and foot sole before going to bed.

- A spoon of honey mixed with ginger juice , 3 times a day for cough.

- Drinking hot tea (with Ginger and other herbs) for thinning the mucus.

- Drinking Warm milk with a raw chicken egg mixed in it for runny nose.

And some of them actually work very well.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and rest of the week! 

[Irene Ali]

Yes the Vicks VapoRub!!

[Arthur Stepanyan]

"...raw chicken egg " part may be a problem; too many salmonella cases in the US are traced to raw eggs. 

[edwin vasquez]

Will definitely have to try some of these! :-D 

[Katie Zavhorodnia_Appfire]

Recipe from an Egyptian barmen, once got me up in no time 😄

Brew tea of:
Grated ginger 2 teaspoons
Squashed lemon
Honey
Squashed fresh mint
and a shot of liquor of your choice (for adults)

Tastes like hot mojito and helps :-D

[Arthur Stepanyan]

I'm going to try this recipe as a cocktail, with setlzer instead of hot water. And maybe a double shot... Oh, who am I kidding, "maybe" - DEFINITELY a double shot!

[Katie Zavhorodnia_Appfire]

You might wanna add a drop of tabasco to spice it up a bit 😆🌶