How to cure colds naturally without drugs

The common cold is a respiratory infection caused by the rhinovirus. Everyone can catch a cold at least once a year. Especially in the transition season and the rainy season. Tortured with a stuffy or runny nose from a cold? Do not worry! Fortunately, there are many natural cold remedies that can help you breathe easier and get better soon.

Natural cold remedies

Generally, you can cure a cold without having to use medical drugs. Various natural cold remedies below have been known since ancient times, you know, to treat colds!

Interestingly, most of these herbal cold reliefs can be found easily in your home kitchen.

1. Ginger

In addition to cooking, ginger also has the potential to be a natural cold remedy. Moreover, the potential for this hot spicy spice has been known for thousands of years.

Ginger is effective in relaxing the muscles of the respiratory tract to relieve nasal congestion so that you can breathe more smoothly. Ginger also prevents nausea due to constantly blowing your nose or phlegm, and restores stamina when you are not feeling well due to a cold.

It doesn't stop there. This spicy spice also triggers the body's immune system to work better to speed up the disease recovery process.

Take one or two pieces of medium ginger and wash them thoroughly. The clean ginger is then crushed or grated, then boiled until it boils. Strain the boiled ginger water and drink it while it's warm.

You can add lemon juice, honey, or brown sugar solution to make the ginger water more enjoyable.

2. Honey

As an alternative sweetener to sugar, honey also has many potential health benefits. Honey is antimicrobial, which can help the body's immune system more efficiently fight inflammation caused by colds.

If you want to consume honey as a natural cold remedy, you can drink one tablespoon of honey in the morning and at night. If it's too sweet or thick, dissolve it in a warm drink like tea or lemon water. Apart from being effective in relieving colds, a glass of honey water also helps prevent dehydration.

Even so, honey should not be given as a cold medicine for babies less than 1 year old. Honey can cause botulism in babies because it contains bacterial spores Clostridium botulinum. Swallowed spores can produce toxins that are harmful to babies. Therefore, make sure you do not carelessly give honey to babies.

3. Chicken soup with garlic

Many people do not know that garlic can be used as a natural cold remedy. History records that people in ancient Egypt, Greece, and China used garlic as a medicine for various diseases, including flu and colds.

A study in a journal Clinical Nutrition 2012 reported that vitamin C and allicin compounds in garlic help strengthen the immune system to fight germs. Meanwhile, vitamin C also helps speed up the healing process of the disease.

The benefits of garlic as a natural cold remedy are most effective when eaten raw. However, if you are reluctant to chew it raw, you can sauté or chop the garlic to mix it in your daily cooking.

You can also process garlic into chicken soup. Chicken and garlic can be a very appropriate combination to cure colds. Chicken meat contains a substance called carnosine which helps reduce cold and flu symptoms. Apart from that, the warm steam from the chicken soup also helps to relieve nasal congestion.

4. Salt

One more cooking spice in the kitchen that you can try as a natural cold remedy is salt. Its potential has also been supported by a number of medical studies.

Various research reports say that gargling salt water can help prevent cold symptoms from getting worse. The saline solution can help loosen the sticky mucus that sticks to the walls of the nose and throat. This makes it easier for you to pass it as mucus or phlegm.

Meanwhile, for those of you who are healthy, regularly gargling salt water can help prevent catching colds from other people.

Dissolve half a spoon of salt in one glass of warm hair water. Then, gargle the salt water for a few seconds and discard the water. Remember, don't swallow the water used in your mouth, okay!

5. Mint leaves

Mint leaves can also be used as a natural cold remedy. Mint leaf extract is known to work similarly to decongestant drugs. Both can help loosen the mucus that causes congestion. The warm sensation from menthol also functions to increase the flow of air in the respiratory tract.

No wonder most cold and flu medicines on the market contain mint leaf menthol extract.

How to cure other colds naturally

Apart from various kitchen ingredients, there are several other ways to relieve colds without having to see a doctor. Some of the following home remedies can help you relieve cold symptoms, such as nasal congestion, itchy throat, sneezing, and weakness.

1. Inhale warm vapor

You don't have to take medication, inhaling warm steam can be a natural way to cure colds. The warm steam can help thin mucus as well as relax swollen nasal passages. That way, you no longer have to struggle just to breathe.

To do this, fill a wide basin with hot water and position your head bent over the water. Cover your head with a wide towel so that the hot steam does not waft out. Make sure that the distance between your face and the basin filled with water is not too close.

If you have essential oils at home, you can also add a few drops to the warm water.

2. Drink water

Wanna get better? Drink lots of warm water during a cold sore. Apart from preventing dehydration, this natural cold remedy can also help relieve congestion and moisturize your throat.

Actually, not only water. You can also get fluid intake from other drinks, such as real fruit juice, ginger water, and warm tea. Avoid bottled drinks that contain high sugar. Also, avoid alcoholic beverages and contain caffeine while you are sick.

3. Wear extra pillows

Colds make it difficult for you to sleep well because your nose is blocked. On the other hand, the throat also feels itchy and painful, which makes sleeping uncomfortable.

So, so that you can sleep well tonight, try adding an extra pillow under your head. Tucking an extra pillow under your head can allow mucus to flow down on its own.

One thing that is important to note, do not use pillows that are too thick and high. Using a pillow that is not right can actually make you sleep less soundly. Not to mention the bonus of a sore neck and body aches when you wake up. So, always prioritize your comfort when trying this natural cold remedy, huh!

4. Be diligent in blowing your nose from your nose

In order not to accumulate and crusty in the nasal passages, frequently blow your nose. However, make sure you do it the right way, yes.

If you try to get rid of it with all your strength, you can actually cause mucus that contains a lot of germs to enter the ear canal. Instead of relieving your nose, you will actually experience earaches.

The best technique for blowing your nose is to squeeze only one side of the nostril. Exhale through your nose but don't need to be as strong. Enough with a gentle exhale until the mucus can come out of the nose.

5. Use a humidifier

Cold symptoms will generally get worse if you stay in an air-conditioned room for too long. The cold temperature and dry air in an air-conditioned room can cause your nose and throat to itch even more.

Not only that. Staying too long in an air-conditioned room can also cause dry mouth, which can worsen your cold symptoms.

You can try to use it humidifier (humidifier) ​​to treat your cold symptoms naturally. This tool has been sold on the market in various shapes and sizes. Humidifier effective at humidifying the air as well as helping to clear your breathing.

However, using a humidifier should not be arbitrary. Make sure you commit to regularly cleaning this tool before and after using it so as not to trigger the growth of germs in it.

In addition, excessive use of a humidifier can also make the air in the room too humid. When the air is too humid, mold and bacteria can easily breed. This actually increases the risk of disease.

6. Expand foods containing vitamin C

Vitamin C has many benefits in the body, including boosting the immune system. When your body is sick, the level of vitamin C in the body decreases.

That is the reason doctors often advise their patients to consume more vitamin C when they are sick. An improved immune system can help you recover faster from colds.

This natural cold remedy is easily found in fruits and vegetables. For example, in oranges, lemons, star fruit, tomatoes, guava, peppers, kiwi, broccoli, papaya, strawberries.

Vitamin C supplements are not always needed for everyone. If you want to use it, you should first consult with a doctor.

7. Get plenty of rest

Colds should not be underestimated because this disease is very contagious. The viruses that cause colds can spread through the air when you talk, cough and sneeze.

So, forcing yourself to stay active as usual and interact with many people will increase the risk of spreading the cold to the surrounding environment. That's why, rest at home. Take advantage of this time to get more sleep. Get 7-8 hours of sleep a day with naps. Sleep is the best natural remedy for treating colds.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends this. On its official website, the CDC recommends people who are sick with flu and colds to rest at home at least 24 hours (1 day) after the fever has dropped. You can only return to activities when your body is completely fit.

However, if you are required to leave the house, wear a mouth mask to avoid spreading the disease to other people.

When to see a doctor if you still have a cold?

Colds generally go away on their own without medical treatment within 7-10 days of the first symptoms appear. Don't forget to take care of your health and have a healthy diet, as well as getting enough rest to help speed up healing.

However, if the symptoms don't go away, whether it's a child or an adult, try taking cold medicine or seeing a doctor immediately if:

• Keep having a high fever even though you have taken paracetamol.
• Often vomits.
• Nasal congestion until you experience shortness of breath.
• The color of the snot turned out to be unusual.
• Severe sore throat, hoarseness or hoarseness.
• Severe headache
• Keep coughing.
• Pain in the sinus passages.
• Ringing in ears.
• Decreased appetite until body weight decreases dramatically.