Winter is Coming - Remedies for colds & flues

Winter is coming (cue Game of Thrones theme song here) and with it the prospects of gloomy grey days; long cold nights and feeling like you have clumsy popsicles for fingers and toes. Oh yes, I dislike winter immensely!!

During winter I dread a lovely warm shower or bath as I know a pang of cold air eagerly awaits to envelope me. In winter my bladder decides to shrivel down to the size of a mustard seed and then summons me to the loo at ungodly hours of the morning and night, there the toilet seat patiently waits for me to sit and then suddenly sinks its frozen fangs into my backside, jolting me out of my semi peaceful state.

Oh wait, here comes the sexy part about winter…. Snotty red noses; gurgling phlegm filled coughs and watering puffy eyes. Although there is not much one can do about the gloom of winter days; frozen fingers and toes or icy toilet seats (besides asking granny to knit you a cozy for your toilet seat… please don’t) there are luckily a few home remedies you can try to help easy the symptoms of colds, flues and coughs this winter. Note that I am not a doctor and that these remedies are not intended to substitute any medical treatment or advice.

Steps to ease the symptoms of colds, flues and coughs

Drink:

Hot honey & lemon: 1 tablespoon of honey and the the juice of 2 - 4 lemons; stir it into a cup of hot water and sip slowly. Drink 3 x daily

Lemon has a high Vitamin C content and improves the body’s ability to expel toxins.

Honey is a natural antibiotic and soothes a sore throat.

Onion & cayenne pepper: put a thick slice of onion into boiling water, add half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Strain and drink the liquid hot just before getting into bed.

This will help your body get rid of toxins by helping you to perspire while you sleep. Onions also help to please the airways thus reduces coughs.

Bath:

Add ginger or peppermint essential oils (make sure they are pure essential oils from a reputable health store) to a hot bath.

These oils help you to perspire which rids the body of toxins.

Eat:

Neat garlic to help with bronchial problems. Eat a spring of parsley or dandelion leaf afterwards to freshen your breath.
Eat plenty of natural unsweetened yogurt. Yogurt contains helpful probiotics and helps your body produce more antibodies that help keep invading organisms at bay.

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