At the first sign of a cold....

[Homemaker]

My MIL gave me a book called "The Herb Book". It is fairly old and she just had it lying around so she let me keep it. I found this tip when you are getting "that tickle in your throat " or " I might be getting a cold feeling." Before bed take a nice hot relaxing bath. Then before you lie down for the night take the juice of one lemon and a little water. Heat it up so it is warm. Mix in one Tablespoon of honey and two Tablespoons of liquor. Drink and go to sleep. It should lessen your symptoms or stop the cold completely.

I was skeptical. But, I tried this a month ago when I thought I was getting sick. I woke up feeling fine. I have that same feeling tonight. And my Dd is just getting over a nasty head cold. I do NOT want to spend Christmas sick. So, tonight I'm trying it again. I'll let you know how it goes.

Does anyone have a clue as to why this would work. I was a little disappointed that the book did not explain this. Other sections of the book where very thorough. But, not in this case.

 

[CheerioLounge]

Sounds like the inspiration for TheraFlu. I know folks who have done similar things for years. But I have no clue as to why it works.

 

[BirdBrain]

Other things that can be done are:
1. Hydrogen peroxide bath
2. Lots of Vitamin C and fermented cod liver oil
3. Saline nasal rinses followed by gargling with salt water

 

[Marianne]

I've had good luck by gargling with Listerine mouthwash several times a day (the milder, better tasting stuff) and taking a lot of VIT C and some zinc at the first signs of the crud.

 

[Gypsi]

I've had good luck by gargling with Listerine mouthwash several times a day (the milder, better tasting stuff) and taking a lot of VIT C and some zinc at the first signs of the crud.

I beat one back without getting sick a couple of weeks ago. took Stresstabs with Zinc a couple of times that day, (my stash - they are discontinued now), and gargled with a 50/50 mix of warm saltwater and peroxide. Slept with a heating pad on low behind my neck and shoulders. Didn't get all the way sick. Grandkids are wonderful but they carry germs!

 

[Marianne]

I like the idea of salt water/peroxide gargle. I'm going to give that a try next time.

 

[hqueen13]

Lemon and Honey actually do work. The lemon acts as a decongestant, and also has properties that are antibacterial and antiseptic in addition to being an immune stimulant (increasing white blood cells) (information from the Essential Oils Desk Reference). Honey is also anti-fungal and antibacterial, and has that nice ability to coat the throat The liquor, well, it has a lot of nice properties, including sleep but it also helps to attack the germs

I get really awesome wildflower raw honey that has comb whipped into it from the local farm where we get all our meat and dairy and there is nothing that beats that honey and lemon in hot water when I am feeling yucky. It is about the only thing that sooths my throat. I can drink 6 or 8 mugs of it in an afternoon.

 

[Beekissed]

Heating up your body, then heating up your core, can simulate a fever. A fever causes an increased immune response of white blood cells that hurry to the source of invasion and helps your body fight off an infection/allergy response. This is one reason I always let children and the elderly have low grade fevers and do not administer anything to stop the process unless the fever gets more severe~your body's own response is the most important one and is among the first line of defenses your body has available.

The Vit C in the lemon juice is also an immune system booster and helps fight infection right when you need it most. The alcohol helps you sleep and gives your body a chance to direct all energy to fighting infection instead of to coughing. Coughing is an enormous effort that redirects blood flow to the muscles involved in the cough reflex just when that blood flow is needed at the source of infection.

 

[Denim Deb]

Wonder if it would work w/out the liquor.

 

[Homemaker]

Woke up this morning feeling fine. I'm so excited that this worked.

Lemon and Honey actually do work. The lemon acts as a decongestant, and also has properties that are antibacterial and antiseptic in addition to being an immune stimulant (increasing white blood cells) (information from the Essential Oils Desk Reference). Honey is also anti-fungal and antibacterial, and has that nice ability to coat the throat The liquor, well, it has a lot of nice properties, including sleep but it also helps to attack the germs

I get really awesome wildflower raw honey that has comb whipped into it from the local farm where we get all our meat and dairy and there is nothing that beats that honey and lemon in hot water when I am feeling yucky. It is about the only thing that sooths my throat. I can drink 6 or 8 mugs of it in an afternoon.

I used comb honey too. Although I have never heard of whipped comb honey that sounds like it would have a wonderful texture. Is it literally just whipped or do they do something else to it? I might try whipping my own if that is the case.

Heating up your body, then heating up your core, can simulate a fever. A fever causes an increased immune response of white blood cells that hurry to the source of invasion and helps your body fight off an infection/allergy response. This is one reason I always let children and the elderly have low grade fevers and do not administer anything to stop the process unless the fever gets more severe~your body's own response is the most important one and is among the first line of defenses your body has available.

The Vit C in the lemon juice is also an immune system booster and helps fight infection right when you need it most. The alcohol helps you sleep and gives your body a chance to direct all energy to fighting infection instead of to coughing. Coughing is an enormous effort that redirects blood flow to the muscles involved in the cough reflex just when that blood flow is needed at the source of infection.

Thank you. That is really interesting to know. I knew I could count on the people of this board. Really! this place is such a wonderful resource. I think I am going to wright an article about this in my blog. Would it be alright if I quoted some of the information you gave me? I would just reference this thread since it is mostly family and other SSers who view my blog. I don't have many followers but, this is interesting and I would like to share it with people. No one likes a cold. I'm sure this has its limits but, hey, if I can prevent even one cold it is worth it. Plus it doesn't taste too bad. Not like the GIGANTIC CUP filled with warm water salted like the dead sea that I would have to gargle when I was a kid. my mom use to make me endure these. Yes, they helped with sore throat symptoms but,.....was it worth it? I don't know.

And thanks for the other tips from pp.