Healthy Living
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Help a reader out: Know any cures for summer colds?
Ugh, summer colds. Winter colds aren't exactly a walk in the (snowy) park, but at least most people are stuck inside anyway. Summer colds always seem to land during the most glorious days filled with sunshine and barbecues and day trips to the beach. And if you are like
Shine reader Jess, they land irritatingly and snottily as a holiday approaches.None of us wants to celebrate the birth of our nation with incessant nose blowing. Nobody wants to not be able to taste our mom's famous Patriotic Potato Salad. No woman needs to chase a big frosty mug of lemonade with zinc cough drops.
Help Jess avoid all this and tell her what she should do in the next few days so she can enjoy the Fourth with sparklers and sunshine, not anti-histimines and hibernating inside.
What are your cures for summer colds? Extra points (or scoops of potato salad) will be awarded to natural remedies and anything
not involving booze.
Got some more love to give? Help these readers out with:
[photo credit: Getty Images]
Related: summer, remedies, outdoors, help a reader out, flu, colds
-
Posted by fools_and_sages Tue Jul 1, 2008 6:55pm PDT
This is going to sound contradictory. . at least a little.
But I get rid of a summer cold by sweating it out. I will work out without the AC and sweat my germs out. Then I will eat boiling hot soup for dinner to make myself sweat more. I will also drink hot tea instead of iced. Then I take a shower to steam open my sinuses. I also do the same stuff I do when I have winter cold-- take loads of sudafed 12 hour severe cold formula and use nose spray to supplement it, chase the mucus out of my chest with Mucinex, drink watered down juice to cut the sweetness, eat a lot of citrus fruit, and up the vitamin C.
Here's the contradiction. To sleep at night with a summer cold, I sleep with the AC on high. I think the AC does two things. First, it reduces the feeling and effects of being feverish. Second, it dries out my steamed open sinuses and helps me breathe. However, I do usually wake up with a killer headache in the morning from the dryness caused by the AC combined with the Nyquil Hangover.
But my summer colds rarely survive more than 4 days. They come on, do their thing, and are gone in 4 to 5 days. And I sweat it out during the day and freeze it at night. Not sure why it works. But it does for me.
Report Abuse
-
Posted by tricia Wed Jul 2, 2008 11:19am PDT
#1 Neti pot - AKA nasal irrigation helps with colds, sinus infections and allergies it is completely natural just salt and water wich is the closer to the natural PH level your body and is more gentle than plain water.
Tests have proven it is just as effective as most prescription drugs on the market so why over tax you liver when there is a natural proven remedy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neti_pot
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nasal-lavage/MM00552
#2
Humidity. Cold viruses thrive in dry conditions — another reason why colds are more common in winter. Dry air also dries the mucous membranes, causing a stuffy nose and scratchy throat. A humidifier can add moisture to your home, but it can also add mold, fungi and bacteria if not cleaned properly. Change the water in your humidifier daily, and clean the unit at least once every three days.
# 3
Honey - Studies show Honey to be just as effective as cough syrup
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/honey/AN01799
Report Abuse
