Many different viruses can cause colds and flu. They are passed on by inhaling infected droplets that have been sneezed or coughed into the air or by touching an area with live infection.
Symptoms of cold & flu
A runny or blocked nose, sore throat, sneezing, cough, headache and mild fever are all signs of the common cold flu symptoms are similar but the fever is usually higher, alternating with chills and accompanied by sweating, aches and pain and fatigue.
Try It: Vitamin D
In a study published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, children who took daily vitamin D supplements (1,200 IU) were 40 percent less likely to get a common flu virus than kids who took a placebo. Laboratory studies indicate that the nutrient may help immune cells identify and destroy bacteria and viruses that make us sick, says Adit Ginde, M.D., M.P.H., a public health researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver.
Want to try something different?
Here are natural ways to knock out a cold or flu using herbal a remedies.
1. Eat plenty of leeks and green onions.
These herbs have powerful cold fighting properties.You can eat healthy vegetable soup with leeks or green onions in it. This will make you sweat , but don't take a shower whlie you have fever. Just clean your body with wet towel and change the night clothe and sleep well.
2. Take a large clove of Garlic, peel and keep it in your mouth.
Bite down every so-often to release the natural juices. Replace with a new clove every four or five hours. Your cold symptoms should be to gone in twenty four, to forty eight hours.
3. Your nose all stuffed up?
Try eating some hot or spicy foods which should open up those blocked nasal passages and you won't have the rebound effect of taking too many nose drops!
4. Not hungry?
Try a few minutes of vigorous exercise. The increased oxygen demand of your body will almost certainly cause you to breathe deeper and help open-up your blocsked nasal passages naturally.
5. Chest congestion
can be effectively cleared up by breathing a mixture of hot vinegar, or white wine. Breath in the vapors for a few minutes, and you should get relief!
6. Coughs and sore throats can be controlled with several home remedies.
A classic requires a large lemon. Start by slowing roasting it until it just splits open. Now take up to half a teaspoon of honey with the juice from the lemon. Repeat at hourly intervals until the cough is under control.
7. Feel better with elderberry
Elderberry tea to treat respiratory infections, now scientific evidence suggests that taking a standardized elderberry extract can shorten the length of time you're sick by 50 percent.
8. Soothe a sore throat
Drink a tea made of mucilaginous herbs such as marshmallow or slippery elm, which coat the throat.
9. Stop the cough
When you can't quit coughing, drink hot ginger tea. Ginger stimulates circulation and helps clear your sinuses and lungs of mucus. You may also get some relief with the natural cough suppressant, bromelain, an enzyme from pineapple.
10. Breathe easier
One of the best ways to open clogged sinus and bronchial passages is to breathe warm steam to which you've added essential oil of eucalyptus.
Raymond is an author of "How to blast your allergies away forever!". He cured himself of his hay fever, itchy skin and also discovered quick relieve for cold and flu using his original natural remedies. thenaturalremedies.com
