When it comes to avoiding coughs and colds we all know about the importance of hand-washing but supplements such as Echinacea, Probiotics and Garlic can also be of great benefit. But despite your best efforts you may have already managed to catch a cold, perhaps your child brought it home from school or your partner couldn’t quite avoid sharing their germs with you.
As great as it is to manage to get through the winter without getting ill, most of us mistakenly imagine that never getting ill is a good thing, but actually this is suspicious. No matter how well we look after ourselves generally we all catch something at some stage.
If, however you are one of the seemingly lucky ones that appears to be immune, perhaps you are not actually well enough to get ill! I know that sounds strange but when we are exposed to a virus our immune system should kick into action to fight off the barrage of germs, but if we are not up to par this won’t happen, we’ll just feel vaguely off but nothing much will come of it.
Whereas getting ill can actually be a good thing! When we do fight off those germs then yes we do get ill, very inconvenient I know, but we do reap the benefits; not only do we build immunity to that strain of bug we also receive an immune boost, so we might feel far better afterwards.
Ideally we shouldn’t just soldier on when we get ill, rest and hydration are key but there are also some natural remedies that you might find useful:
Raw set organic honey: mix two teaspoons into your regular herbal or green tea then add a splash of freshly squeezed lemon, this can help sooth a persistent cough,
Peppermint oil: add a few drops per 150 ml of hot water and inhale deeply, this can cut through congestion and clear your airways,
Thyme: crush fresh leaves and add to boiling water, cover and steep for ten minutes then strain and drink once cool enough to relax your throat and sooth your cough,
Epsom salts: mix half a teaspoon with eight fluid ounces of water and gargle several times a day to sooth your throat. Do not, however, drink this mixture!
It might even be worth having a Treatment, some people find this brings out the cold and speeds their recovery.
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