How to Treat Common Cold Symptoms
8:46 AM Posted In COMMON COLD Edit This 0 Comments »
Get plenty of rest. If you have a cold, your body is working hard to fight off the infection. Don't further tax your body by exerting yourself.Instead of using decongestants (which can raise blood pressure and cause temporary insomnia), unclog your sinuses with steam. Stand over a pot of water on the stove. Bring the water to a gentle boil, and inhale the steam. Have a box of tissue nearby, because your sinuses will open up almost immediately.
Drink herbal teas. Make tea with fresh ginger root, to aid breathing and prevent sinus infections. Echinacea is said by some to lessen cold symptoms and shorten the duration of a cold. Make your herbal tea by steeping fresh or dried leaves or roots in water that has almost reached the boiling point. If the water comes to a full boil, the water will be depleted of oxygen, and your tea's healing properties will be diminished.
Take hot showers. The steam will open up nasal and bronchial breathing passages.
Perform lymph-draining massage. Most people experience swollen lymph nodes when they are sick. To help your lymph nodes drain, get into a hot shower and take some oil with you. A few drops of rosemary in 1/4 ounce of safflower oil works well, but you can just use baby oil if that's all you have on hand. In the shower, dip the tips of your fore-and middle fingers into the oil. Beginning at the top edge, behind your ear, trace an arc behind each ear, and continue down along the jawline and down the neck across the lymph nodes. This motion will trace a backwards "question mark."
Gargle with water mixed with natural sea salts. Salt acts as a natural numbing agent, and also helps wash away infection.
Use petroleum jelly or a beeswax-based salve under your nose to prevent chapping. Mix in a drop of eucalyptus oil to help ease breathing.
Blow your nose often. Blowing your nose helps propel the virus out of your body, while sniffling it back up into your sinuses or throat keeps the infection in your body.
Sleep on an incline by adding an extra pillow or folded blanket under your head. This will help keep your sinuses and lungs from filling up with mucus while you sleep. You'll breathe easier, and will have a more restful sleep this way.
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