Home Remedies for Head Cold

Head cold is basically a common cold that affects the nasal passages. Common cold is an upper respiratory infection that can affect people of all age groups.

The causal agents of common cold are viruses that enter the body through inhaled air. Rhinoviruses, coronaviruses, adenoviruses, etc., are some of the types of viruses that may cause common cold.

When the immune system detects the presence of viruses, the mucus membranes that line the nasal passages start secreting mucus. This causes symptoms such as nasal congestion. bouts of sneezing, and headaches.

Though this condition is self-limiting and lasts for a few days, other symptoms might appear if it continues for more than a week. As the mucus thickens, one might experience facial pressure. The clear mucus drainage might turn greenish-yellow in color.

It is good to gather that there are plenty of remedies that may be put to practice at home; however, the question is, how many of these really work? Well, this is where we need to filter the odds.

✔ Gargling with warm saline water helps combat cold and cough. You may also gargle with sage tea to disinfect the oral cavity and inhale the essence of this aromatic potion.

✔ Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to a glass of water and add a teaspoon of honey to it. This drink will certainly prove potent in fighting a head cold.

✔ You may add chopped garlic to 2 tablespoons of honey and have it every night.

✔ Cinnamon powder mixed with honey taken daily for 3 days, helps in clearing the sinuses.

✔ You can also prepare a concoction by boiling small pieces of ginger in a cup of water. Strain the solution, and add a spoon of sugar to it. Drinking this concoction will give you immense relief from the symptoms. Hot ginger tea is also an effective solution to head cold.

✔ Here is another way to clear your nasal passage. You need to take 10 grams of spraguea and tie it in a clean handkerchief. Heat it in a vessel, and sniff the roasted spraguea. It is an excellent remedy to clear blocked nose.

✔ Another effective home remedy is drinking lemon-barley water. Cut a lemon in two pieces, and add it to a jar with 2 tablespoons of barley. Pour hot water into the jar, cover it, and leave it overnight. Drink this water the next morning, with or without honey. Lemon-barley water is not meant to be stored for later use. You must process it fresh every time.

✔ A salt water nasal spray is very helpful in clearing your nasal passages. All you need to do is mix about ¼ teaspoon of salt and baking soda in about 8 ounces of water. Take a bulb syringe, dropper, or a Neti pot, and fill it with this mixture.

Then, leaning over a basin, spray or squirt the saline water into your nasal passage. Close one nostril, and spray the water in the other. Allow the water to drain out. Try the same process in each nostril at least 3 times. Do not overdo it as this may wash away the nasal mucus that works toward fighting infections.

✔ The humble remedy of slurping chicken soup has been around since long, and the good news is, it is deemed forever effective. After all, your mother's common reaction to common cold is to cup a hot and steaming chicken soup for you.

Experts are of the opinion that chicken soup is more than comforting for a sore throat and a blocked nose. Known to contain cysteine, it relieves congestion and loosens mucus to clear nasal blockage.

✔ You need to keep yourself hydrated when down with a head cold. Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water as it will keep your throat moist. You can even drink herbal tea, fruit juices, ginger ale to ease your discomfort.

✔ Inhalation of steam is the best way to ease nasal congestion and head cold. You should hold your head over a pot containing boiling water and breathe in the steam. This will help clear the congestion and help you breathe. Also, it is helpful in draining the phlegm and mucus congesting the respiratory tract.

✔ Eucalyptus oil is very effective in clearing a blocked nose. Rub a small quantity on the sides of the nose to clear the blockage.

✔ A pinch of calamus root powder in each nostril will clear a congested nose. A warm bath also helps in relieving the body ache and fatigue caused due to the cold.

✔ The proponents of herbal medicine recommend ginseng to relieve colds. This herb revert your system to normalcy and prevent fatigue & stress. Canadian researchers conducted a study on the effects of North American ginseng and noted curtailment in the intensity and duration of cold as a conclusive statement when subjects were administered with the herb.

✔ Pelargonium sidoides extracts derived from its roots are known to reduce the severity and discomfort caused by head colds, says a published study. It is not a widely known remedy for cold; nevertheless, it is as potent as its popular counterparts.

✘ A once-upon-a-time popular panacea to drive away the dreaded leak, echinacea incidentally has no hard-core supporters in research labs. Findings and continual probes in this direction ditch the concept and declare echinacea nothing more than a cure-all fallacy for cold.

Known for its benefit of dragging down the duration of cold, its potency at present holds little substance.

✘ When hit by a bout of cold, why do people over-motivate themselves to pop vitamin-C pills? Well, it is "believed" that vitamin C prevents cold, and lessens your misery of fighting it by a day or two. For one, it maybe counted as one old-wisdom trickle, whose status, more often than not, remains debatable.

Experts opine that daily intake of vitamin C is good, but not for cold. It does no good (or bad) to the cold. However, vitamin C may affect your gut flora, and ... there is no debate over this one.

Vitamin D has a reputation to preclude cancers and infections; however the jury is still out on this issue. As of now, the diktat: It does nothing to reduce the severity and duration of cold.

✘ Zinc is quite the panjandrum among the cold-fighter pool. However, findings have been a tad shaky; the prime reason why the substance is not yet rubber-stamped. A majority of studies conducted, state that zinc does not exert any power over colds.

Other studies house the concept of it being actively supportive in fighting a cold, but only within 24 hours of sensing the symptoms. On the whole, the wordage remains flawed.

✘ If you think whiskey and bourbon may help wipe out the cold, you are wasting your time. Gravitate to herbal teas and pure warm water instead. And now for the declaration: Know that alcohol- or caffeine-contained drinks are fantastic at dehydrating your system ... not good when you are supposed to stay hydrated to speed up recovery.

✘ Antibiotics are touted to be highly effective when it comes to treating colds. However, this perception is not true. Antibiotics destroy bacteria and not viruses; a cold, predominantly is caused due to viruses. Applying transitive logic, we learn one fact: Antibiotics don't work here -- not at all.

Disclaimer: The story published herein, is meant to accomplish pedagogical purposes only. The recommendations mentioned hereby may not be generically applicable. The information, by no means, intends to supplant the diagnosis and advice imparted by the medical practitioner.