Common Cold is a real nuisance and when you get it affects your normal life and is so embarrassing. But the point is there is many simple and effective herbal common cold treatment available and many of you are not aware.
Before we talk about herbal common cold treatment let us see what causes the common cold. The common cold is a viral infection. About 200 or more viruses cause the common cold.
Actually, when you catch a cold these viruses get attached to the mucous membranes of the throat and nose. It uses the cells in these areas and multiplies further. Your system then tries naturally to combat the viruses and bacteria and resulting in you sneezing, coughing, boils, and having a sore throat, congestion with excessive phlegm.
Your system needs extra support to overcome the common cold in addition to your immunity to recover from infection.
Table of Contents
Here are the natural home remedies to get rid of common very fast.
1. Homemade effective Syrup to fight the common cold
Make yourself a simple but very effective syrup that fights the common cold. Cool stuff to treat children with a common cold. It is very tasty and at the same time has high medicinal value. This syrup is made of cinnamon, ginger, licorice root, and marshmallow root. These in combination with their medicinal properties work best to clear congestion and phlegm.
Here is the recipe for your easy self-made syrup:-
- 1 tablespoon of chopped ginger root
- 1.5 tablespoons of grounded cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon of marshmallow root
- 1.5 tablespoons of licorice root
- 5 cups of water
- 1 cup of natural honey
Put all the ingredients which are marshmallow root, ginger, and cinnamon in a pot with 5 cups of water. Heat it in a stove at a lower heat. Let it simmer till the water gets reduced to a half level.
Strain the solution and place it again on the stove at a lower heat. Now add honey and stir well for about 10 minutes and your syrup is ready.
Take 2 tablespoons full of syrup three times a day after the meal. You will experience relief from congestion, sore throat, and cough fast. You can keep the homemade medicinal syrup in the refrigerator for about 4 weeks.
2. Hot Ginger Tea
Ginger is very handy and the best to kill the common cold infection very fast. This herb provides many health benefits and is very effective and also the best cold medicine.
The substance called gingerol in ginger plays a key role in relieving congestion caused by the common cold. Gingerol reduces mucous membrane inflammation in the sinus cavity and in the nasal passage. It allows mucus to go out without getting jammed up in the nasal passage.
Take ginger as a hot ginger tea to get faster relief. Since ginger tea is taken hot, its vapor also assists in removing congestion.
Ginger tea recipe for herbal common cold treatment
8 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
Optional – little cinnamon, lemon, or honey
4 cups of boiled hot water
First add the cinnamon, lemon, or honey to the hot boiled water and stir it well with a spoon. Then pour the water over the ginger root in a jar and cover it with a lid. Let it steep for about 40 minutes. Strain and pour the ginger tea into a cup to sip and drink. If necessary, reheat the ginger tea. Because it is more effective when it is hot.
You could store the remaining tea in a refrigerator and reuse it within a day. Drink ginger tea three times a day for faster relief from the common cold.
3. Essential Oil Steam
Steaming is one of the best ways to treat a common cold. There are many ways to steam out to get the benefits. Taking a hot shower or breathing hot tea and so on. The proper way to steam is by filling a bowl with hot water and adding essential oil.
Many choices of essential oils you could choose to use with steam. Eucalyptus, Tea Tree and peppermint essential oils are the ones that work well with steam to treat a common cold.
The antibacterial and antiviral properties of these essential oils reach the nasal and throat with steam. The strong smell of eucalyptus and tree tea oils helps to remove congestion and makes you breathe better.
If you have a cough along with a cold read our article on essential oils for cough. This should be of good help to get faster relief from cold and cough.
Preparation of steam with essential oils
7 drops of tree tea oil or eucalyptus oil or a combination of both
A bowl of hot water
A clean towel
Place the 7 drops of essential oil in boiling hot water in the bowl and mix it well. Keep your face above the bowl of water and cover your head with a towel.
Keep a necessary distance between your face and the hot water to avoid hurting your face with hot steam. Slowly breathe the steam in and out. Repeat this three times a day.
This treatment helps to remove congestion and heals the common cold fast.
4. Honey and Onion Syrup for cold and cough
Try this simple honey and onion syrup herbal common cold treatment. Honey works for a sore throat and at the same time, onion helps to remove the phlegm formed in the chest.
Onion has anti-bacterial and anti-inflammation properties that work against the common cold.
5. Common Cold treatment with honey, garlic, and lemon
Using honey, garlic, and lemon together is a traditional style of treating a common cold. This also helps in treating dry cough and sore throat.
It’s so easy to make this natural home remedy. In fresh lemon juice put one or two crushed garlic cloves. Add one teaspoon of honey on top of the lemon juice. Finally, add some warm water and stir it well then drink it entirely.
Repeat this natural remedy three times a day to have faster relief from the common cold.
6. Mullein herbal medicine for cold
Mullein or mullein leaf is an herb of Verbascum Thapsus and is very often used as herbal medicine.
Many are not aware of this herbal plant. Those who could get these herbs use this to treat their common cold problems because it works well. This herbal medicine can clear even very thick congestion in the chest that you are suffering from due to a common cold.
The following are the ingredients required to treat with mullein leaves:-
2 tablespoons of dried mullein (or use 6 tablespoons of fresh flowers or leaves of mullein plant)
3 teaspoons of dried or fresh thyme
2 cups of boiling water
Little honey or lemon to add taste to it
Add boiling water to the mullein herb in a mug and cover it with a lid. Leave it for 20 minutes to steep well. Strain the solution and add little honey or lemon to it. Drink it slowly.
Repeat three times a day. This gives you super relief from the common cold and any chest congestion. Mullein is one of the best home remedies for colds.
7. DIY Healing Inhaler
A DIY healing inhaler is a fantastic way of healing the common cold and is very handy when traveling. These inhalers are nothing but a combination of specific essential oils.
Many germs may infect you through the air and end up with infections such as congestion, cough, common cold, aches, exhaustion, and so on. The greatness of essential oils is they are capable of wiping out germs and healing you from airborne infections.
Let us now look at what are these essential oils and how to make an inhaler
1. Eucalyptus essential oil
2. Black Spruce essential oil
3. Tea Tree essential oil
4. Lavender essential oil
5. Lime essential oil
Do note the dosage for adults and children
Adults dosage
7 drops of Eucalyptus
5 drops of Tea Tree
5 drops of Black Spruce
1 drop of Lime
3 drops of Lavender
Children dosage
1 drop of eucalyptus
3 drops of tea tree
2 drops of black spruce
1 drop of lemon or lime
2 drops of lavender
Mix all the above essential oils in the mentioned quantities in a small cup. Then pick an empty inhaler and stuff it with clean cotton. Pour the mixture of the essential oil inside the inhaler on the stuffed cotton. Finally, cap the inhaler and swirl it. Wipe off any extra oils overflowing.
Use the inhaler by taking a deep breath with one nostril while the other is closed with your finger. Then repeat for the other nostril. You could inhale every four hours as needed to get rid of these airborne illnesses. This inhaler can last for 5 months having an inhaler cap tightly swirled and kept when not used.
8. DIY Chest Salve
Make your own vapor rub and rub to ease your chest and nasal congestion to get quick relief. This is a very simple way to cure your infection. The main substance is menthol essential oil. The menthol oil gives you a cooling feeling and makes you breathe easier.
All that you need to make this chest salve is half a cup of coconut oil and 15 drops of peppermint essential oil.
Melt the coconut oil in a source pan over medium heat on the stove. Let it boil a little. Then remove it from the stove and pour it into a glass container. Add the peppermint essential oil to it and close the glass container airtight. Let it cool by itself and turn into a salve. While applying the salve avoid touching your eyes with your fingers. This rub can last easily for 3 years.
9. Epsom Salt with essential oils
This is a cool way of clearing chest congestion and the common cold to feel better. Rest in the bathtub and give your body a nice feeling of relaxation and at the same time help clear chest congestion.
Here is the magic combination to prepare the bathtub.
- 1 cup of Epsom salt
- 3 drops of peppermint essential oil
- 4 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
- 3 drops of lavender essential oil
Fill the tub with lukewarm water. Mix the essential oils with Epsom salt thoroughly. Then put the mixture into the tub of water and stir it well. Needless to say, get into the tub bare body and relax well.
Feel the relief of tiredness and feel the freshness all over your body. Keep breathing slowly and gently. Feel the congestion fading away from your chest. Be in the water for about 10 to 15 minutes for a quick cure and relief.
10. Spicy Hot
Another way to fight the common cold and chest congestion is to eat spicy food. A bowl of spicy soup is an ideal way to fight the common cold and clear chest congestion.
Make sure to add pepper to whatever food you chose to give a good spice sensation. Alternatively, you could eat by biting the pepper directly.
The capsaicin substance in pepper is capable of loosening mucus.
11. Loosen Up phlegm With Heat
Another method used to loosen up the phlegm in the chest is using a hot water bottle. This is a very old method used for various illnesses and a common home remedy. You could rub the salve discussed above before using the hot bottle for more effectiveness.
All you have to do is fill up the hot water bottle with hot water and wrapped in a thin towel. Then rest the water bottle on your chest for some time. Let the heat from the water bottle move onto your chest. This will help to ease the congestion in the chest.
As mentioned this is a very simple home remedy that you can depend on to get faster relief.
12. Sore Throat killer with homemade gargle solution
At times common cold and sore throat are a combined problem. The simple solution for this is the combination of salt, sage, and apple cider vinegar.
These together help to remove pain in the throat, and inflammation and at the same time cure a Common Cold.
Salt removes the extra fluids from the throat tissues that cause inflammation that makes you feel very uncomfortable. Apple cider vinegar to ease the pain in the throat. Sage is a great herb is to combat your common cold.
Here is how you make your solution:-
- A cup of water
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup of apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons full of dried sage (or 8 full tablespoons of fresh sage)
Put the sage in a jar and fill it up with boiling water. Cover the jar well and let it steep for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, put 1 cup of apple cider vinegar in another jar and mix the salt nicely. Now strain the sage tea and add the apple cider vinegar and salt mixture.
Great now you have done the homemade solution for the throat pain and common cold.
Using this solution gargle nicely 3 times a day. You will see the results very fast. This solution can be kept in a refrigerator for a week for reuse.
13. Elderberry Syrup remedy for the common cold
I better caution you firstly that you should use only the black elderberry. Other family members of elderberry are toxic. Also, you should not eat raw elderberries in any form.
Black elderberry is good for any cold-related problems. Because its anti-inflammation properties help to ease mucous membranes caused by the common cold. It helps breathe better, faster recovery, and improves your immune system.
Use the following method to make your homemade elderberry syrup:-
Half a cup of dried black elderberries
Three cups of water
One cup of natural honey
Boil the black elderberries in half a cup of water in a saucepan. Then let it simmer for one hour. Strain it into a cup. You could press the back of the spoon to take out all the extra liquid from the black elderberries.
Let it cool down and then add natural raw honey to it. Stir thoroughly and your syrup is now ready for use.
Take one tablespoon of this black elderberry every four hours till you get relief from the common cold. To prevent cold infection the recommendation is for adults 1 tablespoon and for children 1 teaspoon of black elderberry syrup. This is to be taken once a day.
14. Goldenseal and its effectiveness in curing cold
Goldenseal is a medicinal herb also known as Orangeroot. This herb originated from the eastern united states and southeastern Canada.
Goldenseal as herbal medicine is used for multi-purposes. This is also an effective herbal common cold treatment for faster recovery. It is an anti-inflammation, anti-bacterial, and astringent herb, drawn from its isoquinoline alkaloids.
Pregnant mothers are advised not to use Goldenseal solution as it could have some impact on them due to one of its substances called Berberine.
Put the goldenseal in a jar and add one cup of boiling water. Steep it for about 15 minutes. Then add little natural honey or fresh lemon juice. Drink the solution 2 times a day.
Hoping you read and benefit from the above herbal common cold treatments and make your day pleasant. Your comments on your experience with such treatments are most welcome and appreciated.
