natural remedies for illnesses

[MrsH]

Do you have any natural remedies you use when you get sick?

I have one I use when I get a sore throat and a cough

In a cup or mug:

Juice of 1/2 lemon
2-3 spoons of sugar

fill up with boiling water.

Drink while hot. It should taste sour, but not so sour that you can not drink it. Add more sugar if needed. Apart from help your throat because it is a hot drink, the lemon sort of 'coat' your throat and it feels much better.

[ammulu]

I take a cup of milk boil it with a pinch of pepper & once it is perfectly boiled, just filter it and have it when hot. It helps the ones suffering from cold & throat infections or cough. This is my grandma tip whenever I fell sick with cold.

[3plus3]

When I am sick I normally drink room temp. ginger ale. Just makes me feel a bit better. That or hot tea with honey.

[SageMother]

There are tons of combinations that ease the symptoms of common, relatively mild viral attacks. Even with symptoms treated it is important to remember to stop and get rest. Of all the "natural" remedies, rest is the one that is often ignored.

[tater03]

I have always been told that gargling with warm salt water will help a sore throat heal faster. My mom passed that one on to me.

[Liza]

I have heard about the lemon juice bit, not with sugar, but with honey. What I have never heard of is the milk recipee, I may try sometime, I almost always have a sore throat or cough.

[tater03]

Has anyone tried the new things out now with zinc in them? I guess they are supposed to shorten the duration of a cold. I have never tried them though.

[MrsH]

Originally Posted by tater03

I have always been told that gargling with warm salt water will help a sore throat heal faster. My mom passed that one on to me.

My favorite GP (the one I had while I was in Uni) actually told me to do this too. I had the most awful cough and sore throat. I was given a prescription for cough mixture and told to gurgle warm salt water. It taste yuk, but it sure worked.

[baldmonkee]

Originally Posted by tater03

I have always been told that gargling with warm salt water will help a sore throat heal faster. My mom passed that one on to me.

This is the one I remember from childhood, and in fact I just got over a cold with a sore throat - and guess what I used for the sore throat: gargling warm salt water

[SageMother]

As far as I can tell, zinc doesn't change the duration of a cold. The virus has to run its course.