Natural, Effective Remedies for Colds and Flu

Few people make it through the winter without a scratchy throat and an annoying runny nose. You can’t very well hold your breath all winter, but you can put your immune system in top-notch form to fight colds and flu by employing a variety of natural methods for hastening recovery and easing symptoms, such as herbal remedies, water therapy and supplements


Common Causes

The reasons many of us get winter colds and flu are numerous: One, we’re indoors with other people while windows and doors are closed. Two, viruses causing most respiratory infections are always mutating, and our immune systems have trouble handling these ever-changing germs. Three, viruses can survive on non-porous surfaces for hours. If you turn a door handle recently touched by a sneezing, sniffling person, then lift a hand to your nose, you’ve infected yourself. Four, some respiratory viruses, notably influenza, become airborne when someone coughs. You only need to inhale three tiny viruses to become sick.

Several families of viruses cause colds. This viral mafia produces runny nose, sneezing, sore throat and cough. Though symptoms are usually mild and gone within a week, colds produce rampant absenteeism from work and school.            

Influenza is not as common as colds, and vaccines can help prevent the infection. Two main types of influenza viruses — A and B — cause most cases of the flu. Influenza viruses spread in the air and via direct contact. Flu symptoms are usually dramatic, with sudden onset of chills, fever and muscle aches. Nasal congestion is not as marked, but the cough can take weeks or even months to resolve.

Take the Waters       

When you come down with a cold or the flu, your respiratory tract works hard to expel the invading viruses along a veritable “Slip ’n Slide” of mucus. Rather than drying those mucus secretions with an over-the-counter antihistamine, it’s better to accelerate the healing process by thinning them, thus making it easier to expel them.

The best way to thin mucus secretions is to add water to your system by drinking warm liquids, especially herbal teas and soup broth. If you have access to a steam shower, use it. If not, bring a quart-size pot of water to a boil, remove it from the stove and place your face a comfortable distance from the steam, then cover your head with a towel. Inhale through your nose if you’re stuffy, or through your mouth for chest congestion.

You can augment the power of steam by adding a handful of decongesting, antimicrobial herbs to the boiled water, then covering the pot and allowing them to steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Herbalist Mindy Green, co-author of Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art, recommends using eucalyptus, thyme, rosemary or peppermint leaves.