Cold and Flu Remedies that WORK!

My husband unknowingly brought home to our family some kind of flu/cold/allergy bug.  He had been away for several days, and told me while he was gone that he wasn't feeling well.  Once he got home, it seemed all the stops were unplugged, and for two days straight, he sneezed, and sneezed, and sneezed!  He was very miserable with whatever bug it was that had infected his body.

At first we thought it was just an allergy that would pass, and didn't get real aggressive with treatment initially.  But, as several days progressed, with him not getting any better, but worsening, it was time to pull out our tested and tried cold remedies.

So, if you'd like to know what our treatment regimen consisted of, here it is, in all its simplicity!  I would have to say that the central core of treating a cold should begin at the first sign of distress.  Jumping on the bandwagon a bit late, leads to a bug that has dug its heels in, and its harder to knock its socks off, so to speak.

So, at the very first sign of distress, i.e., runny nose, headache, sinus pressure, etc., the first thing you want to do is take some elderberry, echinacea, and garlic.

The first thing you need to do when you feel a cold coming on, is to take some garlic, at least 1 capsule a day.  You cannot ingest enough garlic (without running off everyone within a few feet of you!) to get enough in your body to work effectively.

Then, elderberry syrup, is the next step in our battle against the nasty bug invaders.  Here is the recipe I used to make my own syrup.  You can find elderberries at your local health food store, or online.

Elderberry Syrup

2/3 cup elderberries 

3-1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons fresh or ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves, whole, or powdered

1 cup raw honey - best if bought from a local farmer

Mix ingredients, EXCEPT HONEY in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes or so, until liquid has been reduced to half.  Remove from heat, and let cool.  Strain the mixture into a glass bowl or measuring cup.  Add raw honey and stir well.  Pour mixture into a 16-oz canning jar with lid.  Label the syrup.  Store in the refrigerator.  

Standard dose is 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp for kids and 1/2 Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.

The next thing I would recommend is finding a high-quality organic tea to drink.  The one I've found locally is this brand, Traditional Medicinals.  Our local health food store sells this.  It tastes absolutely awesome, and opens your nasal passages up immediately, and the hot tea feels so good to a sore throat.



Another option, if you cannot find a high quality organic cold care tea, is to take this cough syrup remedy.  It really works great as well.

Sweet & Spicy Cough Syrup

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne

1/4 teaspoon Ginger

1 Tablespoon Raw, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Tablespoon Warm Water

2-3 Tablespoon Local, Raw Honey

In a small, clean 4 oz. jar, dissolve cayenne and ginger in apple cider vinegar and water. Add honey and shake well.  Take 1-2 Tablespoons, as needed, for cough or sore throat. Shake well each time. Does not need to be refrigerated if using in a few days time.  For children 2 and up, adjust dosaging per weight. My 10-year-old will take 2 teaspoons, one down each side of her throat, but my 3-year-old would do say 1/2 tsp down each side.  Do NOT give to a child under a year because of the honey. 

Note: Often, I will just mix up a mixture of the above ingredients in a coffee cup, and add hot water, stir, and serve.  

My husband drank this syrup that I made for him, as did my son, and reported that their sore throat immediately was soothed upon drinking this tea.  It really does work! 

This is a picture of the "arsenal" against the flu bug I kept sitting out on the counter, until all effects of the bug had been eradicated from our house.  We also took Oil of Oregano 1-2 drops in orange juice every 3-4 hours during the worst of the battle against the bug.

This was one of our favorite ways of treating the sinus pressure and congestion. It is a eucalyptus steam bath.  This, in itself, is probably the quickest way to get relief from a sinus congestion.  It is very simple too.

You just need some eucalyptus essential oil, which can be found online or in your local health food store.

Then, boil some water in a saucepan, and bring it to a boil.  Turn the water down to a low simmering boil, and add in your eucalyptus oil, about 3-4 drops.



Drape your head with a hand towel and lean your head over the simmering water, and inhale the steam for about 10 minutes.  Most of the time, we can only last about 5 minutes, before your nose begins to run, and the eucalyptus and steam have done their job!  It is just about the most instant relief you can receive for sinus congestion... so just be sure you have lots of these handy, because you'll need them!




And then, just for good measure, cut up an onion, and place it an open container,such as a bowl or glass, and put it in the room where the sick person is spending most of their time.  

This is an old remedy used back in the 1900s when the flu bug was so prevalent, and many claimed that the onion absorbed the bacteria in the air, and so in sick rooms, there would be a cut onion present.  

You can check this link here for more information on this idea.  http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/onion-flu-remedy/ 

Well, that about sums up our fight against the cold/flu bug that invaded our home just a few weeks ago. My son contracted the bug, and it turned into pneumonia for him.  He had large globs of green goop coming up from his chest, and he complained that his chest hurt, and it hurt to breathe.  He was also running a fever of about 102.  He was very sick, and could barely get out of bed, and walk around.  

We employed all of the above measures in his treatment, and in addition, I rubbed eucalyptus oil mixed with a bit of olive oil on his chest, and then used hot water compresses for 5-10 minutes at a time every hour or two to help break up the congestion.  This worked wonders, and within a day, he was able to cough, and bring up the green goop and was back on the road to his happy healthy self.   

These natural measures saved us a trip to the doctor and lots of $$!  Normally in the past, I would have had to take him to the doctor for strong antibiotics to clear up the pneumonia (he is quite susceptible to pneumonia, having had severe RSV as a child and typically getting pneumonia just about every winter). However, all these treatments were very effective, along with prayer for his healing, and far cheaper than the alternative of seeking out a doctor with all the $$!  

So, if the flu/cold bug is invading your home and stressing you out... give these natural, no side-effect remedies a try... and see if you are not feeling better in just a day or two!