How to treat a cold: budget funds that really help. How to quickly cure a cold at home in a child

With the onset of the cold season, the question of how to treat a cold becomes especially relevant. There is an opinion that the body itself must cope with such an ailment, and helping it is a meaningless exercise. There is some truth here, but much depends on the severity of manifestations.

What is a cold?

Thinking about how you can treat a cold, you need to clearly define the disease that needs to be eliminated. Officially, it is called ARI, combining viruses and bacteria that cause a painful condition. An infection can enter the body due to hypothermia or for another reason that has weakened the immune system. Therefore, the answer to the question, what are colds, will be - any that have affected the nasopharynx, except for the flu. It is also one of the viral infections, but it is clearly distinguished from other species by its symptoms.

How does a cold manifest?

The disease manifests itself:

  • headache;
  • sneezing, coughing and hoarse voice;
  • chills, painful sensations in the muscles;
  • runny nose with constant, strong discharge or difficulty in nasal breathing due to congestion;
  • weakness;
  • redness of the mouth;
  • unpleasant, scratchy feeling in the throat.

Colds are not flu, so there is no high temperature with them, in some cases it is kept within the normal range. The first symptoms make themselves felt 1-3 days after the infection enters the body. It is important to know how to treat the onset of a cold in order to prevent the development of complications and make it easier for the immune system to protect against pathogens.

The first signs of a cold - what to do?

  1. The main rule is to give yourself rest, because the disease puts a serious strain on all systems, and additional activity will only hurt.
  2. It is not necessary to bring down a low temperature, antipyretics should be used when exceeding 38 degrees. In this case, the help of a doctor is necessary because there is a chance of a more serious illness.
  3. How to treat the first signs of a cold, opinions differ - some believe that drugs will not allow the body to develop a protective mechanism, others consider it necessary to provide support. Both groups agree that it is necessary to alleviate exhausting symptoms.

Loss of voice with a cold - how to treat?


If there are problems of this type, then chronic tracheitis should be blamed for this, aggravated against the background of general weakness. Therefore, if the voice from a cold has disappeared, the doctor should tell how to treat this deficiency by prescribing antibiotics. In the absence of high temperature, they are not needed, you can get by with auxiliary means.

  • antihistamines;
  • rinsing;
  • oil inhalations;
  • warming up the feet in hot water with mustard is not a complete answer to the question of how to treat a cold, but it is well suited as a distraction procedure. You can use pepper plaster on the calves.

Ears hurt with a cold - how to treat?

Such sensations are caused by the penetration of negative microflora into the body. How to treat an ear for a cold depends on the type of infection. The doctor may prescribe antibiotics or dispense with drops (Otinum, Polydex), which will kill pathogenic bacteria. Can be used alone for instillation:

  • thuja oil;
  • camphor alcohol;
  • tincture of calendula, diluted with water;
  • alcoholic solution of boric acid.

Colds - how to treat quickly at home?

The appearance of unpleasant symptoms does not cause joy, so I want to get rid of them as soon as possible. When a cold has appeared, how to treat it quickly, it’s too late to think, because it will take time to find effective remedies and preparation, which the disease uses to its advantage. For this reason, it is worth knowing a few tricks that provide relief from symptoms and a speedy recovery of health. It is permissible to use both pharmaceuticals and folk methods, the main thing is not to start the disease, getting serious consequences.

Medications for colds

When the question arises of how to treat a cold, I want to immediately go to the pharmacy and purchase an instant remedy. The problem is that funds with proven effectiveness are available only for the fight against influenza (Amiksin, Relenza). Other viruses are proposed to be eliminated with the help of homeopathy, preparations based on interferon and other substances, the effectiveness of which has not been sufficiently tested. Therefore, when buying them, it remains to be guided by your own feelings and the authority of the attending physician. The most common are:

  • Arbidol;
  • Ergoferon.

Wanting to quickly get in line, some are wondering which antibiotics are better for colds. In 80% of cases, the answer is no. These drugs are powerless against viruses, they destroy only bacteria, and such pathogens are not very common. Recently, therapists, noticing the first signs of a cold, prescribe treatment with antibiotics. This is done for reinsurance, so that the patient who ignored the deterioration in his condition does not file a complaint.

The use of such drugs is indicated only if symptoms persist and increase after 3-4 days of illness. Otherwise, it is better to relieve the symptoms than to treat a viral cold with antibiotics, with unnecessary side effects. The duration of use is set by the doctor, the standard scheme provides for 5-10 days. The following medications may be used:

  • Amoxicillin;
  • Augmentin;
  • Ospamox;
  • Flemoxin Solutab;
  • Zinnat;
  • Suprax.

How to treat a cold folk remedies?


Medical involvement with such problems is not always required, so it is useful to know how to treat a cold at home. Before using a particular method, you need to make sure that there is no allergy to its components. Also, warming methods should not be used in case of very high temperatures.

  1. Plentiful drink. Ordinary water or vegetable decoction will do. Clover infusion will help bring down the temperature (a tablespoon of herbs in a glass of boiling water), it is prepared for half an hour. If desired, you can add a little honey.
  2. Washing the nose. You need to add a teaspoon of salt to 250 ml of warm water. After that, it is recommended to drip fresh aloe juice, 2 drops per nostril.
  3. Gargling. Decoctions of sage or chamomile, soda solutions (a teaspoon per glass of warm water) or furatsilina.
  4. Steam inhalation. Treating the first signs of a cold by inhaling boiled potato vapors will help clear your airways. They show themselves well with essential oils of eucalyptus or coniferous plants.
  5. Warming up. If the temperature is normal, then you can take a hot bath with pine essential oil or chamomile infusion at night. Then rub the skin with a towel and lie down in a warm bed. With a runny nose, you can arrange a local heating of the nose with the power of a hot chicken egg, but this should not be done if sinusitis is suspected.

Colds - Complications

With a normal immune system, the body only needs a little support to fight viruses. The danger is the consequences of a cold, colds, which have taken a severe form. This can happen if symptoms are not alleviated, or attention is not paid to the prolongation of the disease, which indicates the bacteriological form of the disease. The following types of complications are common:

  • joint damage;
  • sinusitis;
  • heart disease.

Colds and their prevention

  1. Washing hands after visiting public places. Pathogenic microorganisms can linger on the fingers and palms, which can easily pass to the face, settle on furniture, making it possible to infect a larger number of people. Colds, the prevention of which is carried out in this way, have little chance of entering the body without direct contact with patients.
  2. Reduce your stay in crowded places.
  3. Periodic ventilation of the room, especially if there is an infected person in it.
  4. Physical activity. It promotes oxygen saturation, which makes the immune system more efficient.

The common cold is a common name for acute respiratory diseases that occur against a background of cold, as well as viral activity. They get colds in the off-season, in winter, but many people manage to catch a cold in the summer. There is nothing surprising in this: in the summer we relax our vigilance, spend time in drafts and under air conditioners. Fortunately, it is easy to cure a cold at an early stage even at home and even without serious medications.

What cold can be treated at home?

Colds are usually treated at home, rarely taking sick leave. Hospitalization will require diseases that began to occur with complications, the temperature at which it is impossible to bring down. Few people pay attention to a slight lethargy, drowsiness, sometimes a headache, nasal congestion in the morning, a sore throat in the evening or in the morning, a slight cough. A cold in the everyday sense is distinguished by a slight manifestation of symptoms, they do not interfere with life and do not annoy. Therefore, most patients "wait" for the signs to turn into an obvious course of any acute respiratory viral infection and acute respiratory infections, accompanied by fever. If any symptom began to annoy, then it should be treated carefully and consult a therapist. Properly carried out treatment will save from the transition of a cold into a chronic disease.

Colds at an early stage are easily treated with preventive measures, so many ignore the symptoms, go to work when the disease is already in an open form, and ... infect colleagues and clients. If you do not delay and begin to be treated immediately, then you can overcome the disease in two or three days. Then the cold will not have time to go into the active phase and will not disrupt your plans for a long time.

You can cure a cold by recognizing its approach and taking countermeasures in time. For example, if you get your feet wet, you are cold on the street, then in the evening or when you come home you can take a warm foot bath, drink tea with raspberry jam, put on warm socks.

If your sore spot is the throat, then at the first symptoms, gargle with solutions, use pharmaceutical lozenges that relieve inflammation of the nasopharyngeal mucosa. If a cold starts with a runny nose, instill pharmacy or homemade drops. Washing the nose with sea salt (a spoonful of salt per glass of water), which is sold in pharmacy chains, can also help. Someone immediately smears the sides of the nose above the wings with an asterisk.

home drops

Garlic or onion juice (in some recipes, Kalanchoe juice) is diluted with water or sunflower oil and instilled every day, drop by drop into each nostril 1-2 times. It is believed that the phytoncides of the juice of these plants have a detrimental effect on pathogenic viruses. Therefore, for the purpose of disinfection, you can put chopped onions and garlic in the rooms (1 head of onion is enough for the whole house). Aromas of citrus plants (orange, tangerines, lemon) and aromatic oils of coniferous trees will also help.

How to properly treat a cold?

Everyone around them gets a cold themselves or treats their family at least once a year. Depending on how it is customary to be treated in a single family, we impose on each other advice on how to be treated, what medicines to take. There are general useful recommendations and common misconceptions.

How to quickly cure a cold

Let's start with the misconceptions:

  • If you do not treat a cold, you will be ill for seven days, if you treat it - a week. The statement is partly true and true in relation to the advertised powder products that contain paracetamol. People begin to take such drugs before a serious temperature appears, preventing the body from fighting the disease itself. This is not always good, because if treated correctly, then the immune system gets stronger. If not treated, then you can earn chronic sores that occur latently. As a result, they undermine health so that the next time a cold does not go away easily.
  • Preparations for immunity. There is controversy about their usefulness. They are not cheap, but many doctors dispute the effectiveness. District doctors, meanwhile, do not speak out at all about them, and consumers storm pharmacies during the seasons of exacerbations and purchase them at exorbitant prices. Many doctors say this: many remedies are powerless against a viral infection, and a person must “get sick” himself and cope with the disease. It is worth fighting with the help of medicines in cases where the temperature rises above 38 degrees. If, for health reasons, it will be difficult for a person to cope with the disease on his own (there are serious systemic diseases, diseases of the renal and cardiac systems, problems with the immune system), then preparations containing interferon may also be recommended. In the latter case, at the first sign of illness, go to the local doctor.
  • You don't need to take sick leave. If you have serious ailments (fever, weakness), the disease has become open (cough, runny nose have become uncontrolled and frequent), then you need to take sick leave. Firstly, in order not to cross the disease on the legs, because this is how serious illnesses cause irreparable damage to health, and, secondly, so as not to infect others. Just think that because of your frivolity, someone else will get sick!
  • Alcohol help. Many men (and not only) sincerely believe that if you drink a glass of vodka with pepper or warm beer at the first sign of a cold, then the next day there will be no trace of malaise. In this case, alcohol helps to warm up and sweat. However, the benefits of such warming are clearly exaggerated. Helps rather

If you are cold, the first thing you need to do is warm up. Frozen feet will be perfectly warmed by a hot bath with mustard - what we simply call "steam feet". In a bowl of hot water (not lower than + 40-42 ° C), dissolve a spoonful and a half of mustard powder and keep your feet for 15 minutes, adding hot water as needed. After that, you need to thoroughly dry your feet, put on woolen socks and lie down under a warm blanket. Instead of a hot foot bath, you can simply pour mustard powder into your socks and go to bed. And if you don’t have dry mustard on hand, rub your feet with vodka and put on warm socks.

We warm our cold hands under a stream of hot water: for about five minutes, raising the temperature from pleasantly warm to hot (+ 42-43 ° C). Then we wipe our hands dry and put on something warm with long sleeves. To enhance the effect, you can put warm mittens on your hands and spend the next 60 minutes wrapped in a woolen blanket.

To sweat, and, therefore, get rid of toxins and try to cure a cold in a day, the body needs more fluid than usual. Therefore, we will drink - exclusively hot: tea with raspberry jam, tea with lemon and honey, a decoction of lime blossom, thyme, chamomile or elderberry flowers with mint. It is not difficult to prepare decoctions of medicinal plants: take 2 tbsp for a glass of boiling water. spoons of dry color or herbs, brew with boiling water, close the lid and let it brew for 15-20 minutes. Herbal teas for colds drink 0.5 liters per day. And the total daily volume of fluid for symptoms of a cold or ODS should be at least two liters.

"Just in case" you measured the temperature and saw that the thermometer went up - do not panic. If the body temperature does not exceed + 38 ° C, then doctors do not advise knocking it down, because a rise in temperature is evidence that a person's immunity has begun to fight the disease. And we can and should help him cure a cold in one day, for example, by drinking hot tea with ginger root, which strengthens the body's immune system and prevents infections from developing. To prepare ginger tea, a piece of root 2 cm long is peeled, finely cut, put together with tea leaves in a cup, pour 200-250 ml of boiling water and let it brew for 15 minutes. You can add a slice of lemon and a teaspoon of natural honey to this healing drink.

By the way, after you have sweated, be sure to wipe your skin with a well-wrung out hot towel to remove the released toxins, and change into dry clothes.

How to quickly cure a runny nose with a cold?

If a cold has made itself felt with nasal congestion, you need to take the initiative and apply generation-tested methods to deal with the first symptoms of a runny nose.

Among the many folk remedies for the treatment of a runny nose with a cold, there are a sufficient number of very effective ones - especially at the initial stage of the disease.

It is recommended to lubricate the nose with Kalanchoe juice - 2-3 times a day (or instill 2 drops of juice in each nostril). Common salt is often used, which is mixed with butter. This homemade ointment (a third of a teaspoon of oil is mixed with the same amount of salt and warmed up a little) is smeared on the outside of the nose. And for washing the nose, which moisturizes the mucous membrane and facilitates nasal breathing, a teaspoon of salt is dissolved in 0.5 cups of warm water. Washing is carried out as follows: one nostril is closed with a finger, and the second is drawn into the nose with a salt solution (the same is done with the second nostril).

An old folk remedy for a runny nose with a cold is an ordinary onion.

It is enough to cut the onion in half and breathe in the phytoncides that stand out from the cut. Onion phytoncides have a bactericidal property and are able to neutralize even the diphtheria bacillus and the causative agent of tuberculosis, the Koch bacillus. So they can easily cope with a runny nose: you need to keep cotton swabs moistened with onion juice in your nostrils several times a day for 10 minutes.

An effective remedy for a runny nose with a cold is to bury your nose with any warm oil (for example, olive, sea buckthorn, menthol) or an oil solution of retinol acetate (vitamin A). The Asterisk balm should also help, if you smear the bridge of the nose and wings of the nose before going to bed.

Of the pharmacy nasal remedies for a stuffy nose, drops of Galazolin, Naphthyzin, Nazol, Nazivin and sprays Sanorin, Otrivin, Vibrocil, Delufen, etc. have proven themselves well.

How to cure a cough with a cold in a day?

When coughing is the first sign that you have a cold in store, you need to start by rubbing your back and chest with ointments that contain essential oils and have a disinfecting, distracting and irritating effect.

You can rub the chest area at night with a mixture of castor oil (2 tablespoons) with turpentine (1 tablespoon) or ready-made pharmacy turpentine ointment. This remedy is rubbed into the skin of the chest (except for the heart area) and into the soles of the feet, wrapped warmly. With the help of two or three rubbing, you can cure a cough with a cold in almost a day. But it should be borne in mind that such procedures cannot be carried out at elevated temperatures.

Badger fat has proven to be an indispensable cough remedy (and not only). Due to its composition, badger fat has a tonic, anti-inflammatory and even immunostimulating effect on the human body. This fat should be rubbed at night on the back and chest area. And in folk medicine, such a recipe is very popular: mix 100 g of badger fat, honey and cocoa powder with 50 g of butter and 50 g of crushed aloe leaves (agave). Add 5 g of mummy and propolis, as well as 50 g of medical alcohol. Mix all ingredients until smooth.

For the treatment of cough with a cold, 1 teaspoon of this mixture is diluted in a glass of water and rubbed overnight on the back, chest and calf muscles of the legs. And for internal use - as a powerful tonic - 1 tbsp. a spoonful of the mixture is dissolved in a glass of hot milk and drunk in small sips (before meals).

Instead of tea to treat a cough with a cold, you need to drink decoctions of medicinal herbs: oregano, coltsfoot, elecampane, sweet clover, thyme, peppermint. A handful of herbs is taken into a glass of boiling water and brewed like tea, which after 15 minutes of infusion is ready for use - a glass three times a day. Special chest cough preparations are sold in pharmacies. For example, “Breast Collection No. 1” contains marshmallow root, coltsfoot leaves and oregano herb; and in "Breast Collection No. 2" - coltsfoot leaves, large plantain leaves and licorice root. These herbal remedies are available in filter bags and are very easy to brew.

A good remedy for severe coughs is fresh black radish juice, which has anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties. The radish should be washed, peeled and finely chopped. Then mix with sugar in a ratio of 1: 1 and put in a jar, tightly closing the lid. After 4-5 hours, the radish will give a healing juice, which you need to take - 1 tablespoon at least three times during the day.

One of the effective methods of treating cough is steam inhalation. For example, with eucalyptus, mint, juniper or pine oil. Put a few drops of oil into a bowl of boiling water, sit down, tilt your head over the container, cover yourself with a towel and breathe in the steam. These simple home treatments have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, expectorant and bronchodilator effects.

Aerosol inhalations are also useful, which are carried out using pocket inhalers. Most often, the mixtures include essential oils (menthol, anise, eucalyptus, peach), as well as natural honey and propolis (alcohol solution). Here is a recipe for honey inhalation with propolis: dissolve 1-2 teaspoons of honey in 0.5 cups of boiled water and drip 6-8 drops of propolis. Water can be replaced with a 0.2% solution of furacilin. The duration of the procedure is 5 minutes.

If we talk about pharmaceutical cough remedies, then drugs such as Glauvent, Libexin or Tusuprex inhibit the cough reflex, but do not depress breathing. And "Tusuprex" has not only an antitussive effect, but also a weak expectorant. Doctors recommend taking these medicines three times a day, one tablet.

The group of drugs that have an enveloping, expectorant and mucolytic (sputum thinning) action includes Acetylcysteine, Bromhexine, Ambroxol (synonymous with Lazolvan), etc. Remember that many drugs have a side effect and often not one. It is for this reason that cough medicines for colds are recommended to be taken after consulting a doctor.

The disease often disrupts our plans, preventing us from attending an important event, going on a trip or solving urgent issues at work. A cold - the most common ailment in the off-season - brings a lot of problems and troubles. Therefore, today it is simply necessary to have information on how to quickly cure a cold so that the disease cannot unsettle you.

Cold symptoms

Let's start with the fact that in medicine such a disease - a cold - does not exist. However, in everyday life, such a name is often assigned to diseases that are caused by hypothermia, and a person has the following symptoms:

  • sore throat;
  • increase in body temperature;
  • headache;
  • runny nose;
  • cough;
  • pain in the eyes, lacrimation;
  • aches in joints and muscles;
  • weakness and fatigue.

Common cold treatment mistakes

  • Bring down the temperature if it has not reached 38º. This temperature indicates that the body is fighting a cold on its own.
  • Taking medications without a doctor's recommendation can lead to unpleasant consequences and only worsen the patient's condition.
  • To warm up the body at an elevated temperature. These procedures contribute to an even greater increase in body temperature and can provoke an increase in pressure and fainting.
  • Eat cold and very hot food. Even when treating a sore throat, scalding hot drinks should not be taken, you can get a burn of the larynx.

Simple rules for treating a cold

Of course, everyone wants to get well as soon as possible. This is quite possible, you just need to follow certain rules that will help you beat a cold in a short time. Let's list those of them with which you can cure a cold in just one day.

  • Don't take a cold on your feet. Even the most pressing matters cannot be more important than health.
  • Start treatment as soon as you feel unwell and the first signs of a cold. You can get rid of in a short time only from a barely begun illness.
  • Ensure comfortable conditions in the apartment: often ventilate the room, but do not create a draft, humidify the air.
  • Do not forget that sleep will help to cope with a cold much faster. Observe bed rest.

If you don't feel like eating

When a cold comes, the appetite disappears. But to cope with lethargy and a feeling of endless fatigue on an empty stomach is unlikely to succeed. Of course, it is difficult for the body to cope with heavy food, so it is much more useful to cook light vegetable broths and salads from fresh tomatoes with sweet peppers or crispy cabbage with onions.

Plentiful drink should be present in the diet of a sick person with a cold. The fluid will rid the body of toxins. You can drink the following healthy drinks:

  • herbal tea with raspberries or honey;
  • rosehip infusion;
  • lingonberry or cranberry juice;
  • compote of dried apples, dried apricots and prunes;
  • lemon decoction made from a pair of citrus fruits boiled in two liters of water with the addition of honey.

To quickly defeat a cold, it is necessary to take a set of measures to eliminate the main symptoms: runny nose, cough, pain and sore throat.

How to cure a runny nose with a cold?

The beginning of a cold can be recognized by the first sign - a runny nose. The easiest way to get rid of it is immediately after the appearance of nasal congestion. From the common cold well help:

  • Washing the nose every two hours with a saline solution (possible with the addition of soda) or a decoction of dried calendula flowers.
  • Drops from aloe juice, potatoes or beets, diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 2.
  • Drops from onion and honey: grate the onion, add 50 ml of warm water and half a teaspoon of honey to the gruel, mix and set aside for 30 minutes. Then strain the gruel. The resulting liquid is instilled 2 drops into the nasal passage 4 times a day.
  • Freshly squeezed Kalanchoe juice moisturizes the nasal mucosa well. With a cold, juice should be lubricated with nasal passages 2-3 times a day.
  • Any vegetable oils (olive, sea buckthorn, burdock) will help get rid of crusts in the nose that make it difficult to breathe, a couple of drops of which must be injected into each nasal passage.
  • Steam inhalation of jacket potatoes or alkaline mineral water. You need to breathe in vapors for at least 15 minutes, bending over a container of hot liquid and covering your head with a towel. After the procedure, you need to drink tea with honey and go to bed.
  • Cold inhalations from onion or garlic. For such a procedure, you need to chop the root crop, let it stand in a closed container for about thirty minutes, and then take a few breaths with your nose and mouth from this container.

How to get rid of a cough with a cold?

It can be cured quickly by taking intensive measures for its treatment, which include rubbing, drinking medicinal drinks, inhalations and warming up the body. But first things first.

Rubbing

Rubbing is a method of treating many diseases, which involves intensive massage of certain parts of the body with the use of therapeutic agents. With a cold, as a rule, massage the chest, back and legs. This procedure helps to quickly recover without the use of drugs. Rubbing with the following remedies will help to cure coughs and colds:

  • Castor oil for cough. Heated oil in the amount of 2 tablespoons is mixed with 1 tablespoon of turpentine and rubbed into the chest area (with the exception of the heart area), and the feet are also rubbed with this mixture, after which you need to wrap yourself up and sleep. The cough that has begun disappears after two or three such procedures.
  • Honey. It should be heated to a temperature of about 40º, no more, so as not to burn yourself, and rub the chest area when coughing. Wrap yourself up and leave the honey to cool completely, and then you can wash off the remnants with warm water and apply a warm cabbage leaf, it will prolong the effect of rubbing.
  • Camphor oil. It dilates large blood vessels, thereby increasing the intensity of blood flow, which significantly increases the body's resistance to infection and relieves coughing. The oil is applied with massage movements on the chest and back.
  • Garlic. They can treat colds and coughs if you add 3-4 crushed slices to the above remedies. Garlic is able to stimulate blood flow to the site of exposure to these agents.

Healing drinks

We have already said that drinking plenty of water helps to recover faster. However, there are specific drinks that help resist coughs and colds. Let's talk about how to treat a cough with flavored drinks.

  • Decoctions of medicinal herbs help to defeat a cough that is just about to start and makes itself felt only with occasional coughs. Oregano, coltsfoot, elecampane, sweet clover, thyme, mint are considered useful. These herbs are also very effective for dry cough, which can be dealt with by using their infusions as an addition to the main treatment prescribed by a doctor. It is not difficult to prepare a drink: you need to brew a handful of herbs in a glass of boiling water and insist for 15 minutes. A glass of this herbal tea should be drunk three times a day.
  • Freshly squeezed black radish juice will help get rid of cough and phlegm. To prepare it, washed and peeled radish should be chopped as finely as possible, add honey and put in a container that needs to be closed with a lid. Leave the radish for 5 hours to release the healing juice, which should be taken 3 times a day, 1 tablespoon.
  • A mint drink will warm the throat and quickly drive away the cough. A tablespoon of mint leaves should be poured with a glass of boiling water and left for 10 minutes. Add a spoonful of honey, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a finely chopped garlic clove to the infusion. You need to drink the drug warm, and then you need to wrap yourself up well and go to bed.

Inhalations

Hot steam inhalations are perhaps the best way to treat a cough that is about to start because of a cold. At home, inhalations are often carried out by inhaling hot steam from a pot of water to which therapeutic agents have been added. In this case, the patient covers his head with a towel for a deeper effect.

This method is justified for a mild illness, but if the disease is more severe and is accompanied by damage to the lower respiratory tract, then a nebulizer is used for treatment - a device for spraying drugs. For such a device, the doctor prescribes the appropriate drugs.

When a cough begins, inhalations are very effective using the following means:

  • Essential oil of eucalyptus, mint, juniper or pine. It is enough to add a few drops to a container of boiling water and inhale the steam under a towel for 15 minutes. During this time, the microbes will die, and sputum will easily begin to leave.
  • Infusions of chamomile, linden flowers, thyme, lingonberry leaves also have a good effect on mild colds. You must first pour the grass with boiling water, leave for half an hour in a thick-walled saucepan (to keep warm longer), and then pour it into a small bowl and start inhalation.

warming up

Heat is the worst enemy of coughs and colds, so warming up is the best and fastest way to deal with it. Traditionally, pharmacy mustard plasters are used, but they can be successfully replaced with a mixture of dry mustard and honey. How to cure a cold at home with homemade mustard plasters? It is necessary to make a thick plastic mass, mold cakes from it and attach it to the chest and back.

Compresses are good for warming up. They are made from several layers. The first layer is a piece of fabric that is impregnated with a healing agent; the second layer is parchment or film, and the third is a warm scarf or woolen scarf (for warmth).

To impregnate the compress, you can use:

  • grated raw potatoes mixed with red pepper;
  • potatoes boiled in their skins, mixed with mustard and honey;
  • apple cider vinegar, vegetable fat and camphor oil, mixed in a ratio of 5:3:2.

Sore throat

If you experience a scratchy and sore throat, it has begun to turn red - immediately begin treatment for a cold, even if there is no cough. What can cure a sore throat?

Emergency assistant for sore throat - gargle. Decoctions for gargling from sage, chamomile and St. John's wort will help you quickly get rid of a cold. To prepare a decoction, you need to brew a tablespoon of herbs in a glass of boiling water, bring to a boil, immediately remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes. You can rinse your throat when the broth cools down a bit.

You can prepare another solution. Pour 1 teaspoon of soda and salt into a glass of boiled water, add 10 drops of iodine. This mixture will relieve inflammation some time after rinsing and remove uncomfortable sensations.

We strengthen immunity

It is impossible to fully talk about how to quickly recover from a cold without mentioning ways to strengthen the body's defenses. The following products will help strengthen the immune system and defeat colds, coughs and other unpleasant symptoms:

  • Chilli. It promotes the activation of metabolism, is able to help with difficulty breathing, killing pathogenic bacteria.
  • Nuts contain vitamin E and are a good antioxidant.
  • Ginger root, onion and garlic protect the body from infectious diseases.
  • Citrus fruits, apples, kiwi, persimmon, cabbage, bell pepper will replenish the body with vitamin C - the best friend of strong immunity. With a sufficient amount of this vitamin, colds pass faster.
  • Currants, raspberries and blackberries will replenish the supply of biologically active substances in the body, and cranberries and lingonberries will help all diseases go away in a matter of days.

Knowledge is power. Having useful information in your arsenal on how to cure a cold in a short time without using pharmacy medicines, you will emerge victorious from any battle with colds.

If you take all the necessary measures, then you can get rid of the disease in just a couple of days. And then you can safely make plans for the weekend, because nothing can stop you from going to an important event, going to the country or flying to warm countries for a portion of the bright sun.

The peak of colds falls on the autumn-winter periods. Firstly, weather conditions contribute to hypothermia of a person.

Secondly, in enclosed spaces, thanks to heating devices, air humidity is minimal, as a result of which the nasopharyngeal mucosa is greatly dried out and ceases to be a protective barrier for the penetration of viruses.

Hence, epidemics arise in collectives. But the risk of getting a cold exists at any time of the year.

Possible reasons

The main reason is a decrease in immunity. Immunity is the ability of the body to resist infections, the severity of which depends on lifestyle.

Strengthening of the body is carried out with the help of hardening and physical activity. With depressed immunity, for the disease of acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections, hypothermia of the body or contact with the sick person in the early acute stage is sufficient.

Characteristic symptoms

  • Dryness and itching in the throat.
  • Frequent sneezing, and nasal discharge of liquid clear mucus (on the second day, the discharge stops, it becomes difficult to breathe, swelling of the nose occurs)
  • Headache and general weakness
  • Cough usually appears on the second or third day after the onset of the first symptoms.

As for the increase in body temperature, it can either increase slightly (up to 37 - 37.2 0 С), or, if the cold was caused by severe hypothermia, it rises to 38 - 38.5 0 С.

The common cold is a viral disease, it can be cured with both medication and home remedies. Treatment takes three to seven days. To recover as quickly as possible, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

  • Plentiful drink (so that the body has something to sweat, all toxins are removed with sweat)
  • Bed rest in a ventilated and humid room (to keep the nasal mucosa moist)
  • Warming up the lower extremities (warm socks, hot water baths)

Traditional medicine recipes

  • Throat treatment. For a disinfecting and anti-inflammatory effect, a rinsing solution of soda and salt will help. In a glass of water, dilute a teaspoon of soda and salt, add three drops of iodine. Gargle with this solution every two to three hours. Relieve inflammation infusions of herbs chamomile, calendula, oak bark. Herbs are sold in pharmacies in ready-made filter bags. Pour two bags with a glass of boiling water and let it brew for 15 minutes. Infusions are used for rinsing. Advice: For young children, aged 2-3 years, who do not know how to gargle on their own, you can irrigate with a small syringe. To do this, we dilute the resulting solution of chamomile with water for a lower concentration, collect it in a syringe and inject it into the baby’s throat, bend the child’s head over a basin for spitting.
  • Runny nose treatment. In the first days, when the mucus in the nose is liquid, we wash the nose with a concentrated salt solution (1 teaspoon per glass of water). We inject the solution with a syringe into each nostril. For the treatment of a cold, we prepare beetroot juice. Washed, peeled raw beets, rub on a grater. Then, using gauze, squeeze out the juice. We bury two drops three to four times a day. Rinse your nose with salt water first. Before going to bed, we rub the sinuses and the bridge of the nose with menthol oil with massage movements.
  • Cough treatment. We cut off the upper part from the raw radish, make a depression in the center and add a couple of teaspoons of honey there. We use the infused juice inside a teaspoon several times a day. To relieve inflammation, take infusions of sage and mint herbs. A tablespoon of sage (one filter bag) and half a teaspoon of dried mint leaves, brew with boiling water for 15 minutes. We use inside a tablespoon 3-4 times a day.
  • Cranberry or lingonberry fruit drinks will help to reduce the temperature. Grind a glass of berries in a sieve over a saucepan, add the squeezed berries to a saucepan and pour two liters of water and add sugar (two tablespoons), bring to a boil and leave on fire for five minutes. We filter the finished fruit drink, take it inside hot before going to bed, cover ourselves with a warm blanket. Within an hour, the body will begin to sweat intensely, and the temperature will drop.
  • Immunomodulating agent. Grind 200 gr. dried apricots, raisins and 100 gr. walnuts, dried berries (lingonberries, currants). Mix everything with honey and put in a container. Take every day in the morning a tablespoon.

The use of the above methods for colds will help to cure the disease in a short time.

In order not to aggravate your situation and not get complications, no need to bring down the temperature on the first day if it is not higher than 38.5 0 C. It is necessary to allow the body to develop its own interferon to fight viruses.

In no case do not practice rubbing body with vinegar or alcohol-containing solutions, to prevent the penetration of harmful substances through the skin into the blood.

Do not ingest vodka with pepper or other similar cocktails so as not to get in addition to the temperature of alcohol poisoning. Lingonberry juice, tea with raspberries are optimal warming drinks.

Prevention

To prevent colds, you should increase your own immunity: hardening, physical activity, introduce foods containing vitamin C (citrus fruits, persimmons, cabbage, parsley, rose hips).

In the autumn-winter periods, one should responsibly approach the choice of clothing, it should not be too cold, in order to avoid hypothermia, and too warm so that a sudden wind does not envelop the sweaty body.

During seasonal peaks in incidence, use additional precautions - treat nasal passages with Oxolinic ointment, eucalyptus oil and do not neglect wearing a gauze mask.

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