Home Remedies for Cold - Causes, Symptoms & Cures

Cold is the most common illness that affects infants and elderly alike. Unlike the contrary belief cold weather is not the cause of colds. There are 200 types of viruses, which cause cold. The common cold is usually mild with symptoms of running nose, sneezing and throat sore. The symptoms may last for one or two weeks. Cold is common among the children and decline with age. On an average people may get 2 to 4 colds per year depending on their body immunity.

Causes of Cold

• There are more than 200 viruses that can cause it which makes the task difficult. The rhino virus is the one most frequently responsible, and not surprisingly, it is also one of the most contagious.
• A person with a cold is usually contagious for a day before they develop cold symptoms and for about five days after, and the virus is easily spread through sneezing, coughing, yawning and sharing objects handled by an infected person.
• The good news is that colds are very rarely serious and are only of concern if they lead to secondary infections such as strep throat, pneumonia, bronchitis and croup.

Cold Symptoms

• Watering eyes
• Runny nose 
• Running or blocked nose
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Congestion
• Headache
• Low fever with body pain

Home Remedies for Cold

• The body should be kept warm - especially the feet, chest, throat and head. Sweating is very helpful.
• Take half a teaspoon of ginger juice with half a teaspoon of honey, three times a day (morning, noon and night). In winter, warm the mixture by mixing a teaspoon of warm water in it.
• Mix half a cup of warm water with one teaspoon of lemon juice and one teaspoon of honey.
• Dosage: Take several times a day.
• Eating a small piece of Onion (pea size) or sucking a piece of Clove (Laung) helps to get instant relief from cold or running nose.
• Boiling Long pepper (pipple) in the Milk with Sugar candy (Mishri) and drinking this milk helps in curing running nose or cold.
• Making Tea with few Mint (pudina) leaves or with Ginger or with Basil leaves and drinking cures running nose or cold.
• Taking Garlic in any form helps in curing running nose, sneeze or cold.
• Eating half spoon of Turmeric powder and drinking hot water for few days helps to overcome running nose or cold.
• Drinking hot water with Lemon juice and Honey in the night helps to overcome running nose or cold.
• Smelling Asafoetida (Hing) helps to reduce cold or running nose.