Natural Remedies for Cold

It is true, that there is no cure for cold. It comes of its own and goes by its own no matter how much prevention you take. But you can cure its symptoms. You can take antibiotics and pain killer; however natural remedies are the best as they boost your immunity and have absolutely no side effects on your body.

Here are a few natural remedies that you must try:

Drink plenty of fluids: Fluids, especially water or juice shall keep you hydrated and remove the toxins of your body. It moisturizes the linings of the nose and throat, making it much easier for the mucus to be cleared. Avoid coffee or alcohol as they tend to dry your throat. You can also have warm water, this will soothe your throat as well.

Maintain proper hygiene: Since you are down with cold, you are likely to sneeze and cough. Cover your mouth while coughing or sneezing and throw away wet tissues. Wash your hands and face regularly so that you do not transmit your cold to anyone else.

Eat chicken/vegetable soup: Eating soup is good for you during cold as it loosens the mucus, as well as its warmth have a soothing effect on the throat and body. The nutrients in the soup help to build up your body’s immunity. Try adding pepper to your soup, this shall provide relief from congestion.

 Ginger: Ginger acts as natural cough suppressants. You can have raw, fresh cut ginger or drink Ginger tea several times in a day. To increase its effectiveness you may also add a few drops of lemon and honey into it

Salt water gargle: Salt water gargle reduces and loosens mucus thereby soothing your sore throat and nasal congestion. You can do it 3-4 times a day. You may also add apple cider vinegar which acts as a pain relief for the throat.

Honey and Lemon: Warm water along with honey and lemon if drunk early in the morning soothes the agitated throat as well as is very effective in reducing tummy fat.

Yogi Kanthika: You can also try Yogi Kanthika, which is a purely natural and sugar free product made of herbs like Licorice, Holy basil, Ginger etc. It is very effective for sore throat and cough congestion.

Milk and Turmeric: Add few teaspoonful of turmeric powder to milk and then boil it. Leave it for some time to cool down and then drink it. It provides relief from cough in a few days and is most effective for cough caused by bacteria. Roasted turmeric powder along with honey provides relief from dry persistent cough. In case you don’t like consuming milk, you can also have turmeric powder with warm water.

Happy Healing!!!

Treat your Voice ! Sing Out Loud

Every good song that you hear makes you sing along. You are famous for your voice and you would do everything to make it sound that way. One the few things that you hate the most is “Hoarseness of voice”. Other than the blowing noses, irritating throat congestion, sneezes, and coughs, cold also takes away the melody from your voice making it sound hoarse. It is those days when you would anything to make your voice sound as earlier, as your day and your job depends on it.  You take all precautions to keep cold away from you, which include sacrificing your ice-creams, drinking tea instead of cold drinks, every morning hot water gargle. But still sometimes you suffer from hoarseness of voice. For singers and other heavy voice users there are also other causes like vocal strain due to over-using the voice and bad technique. This causes swelling, immobility of vocal folds which in turn leads to the feeling of stiffness and a hoarse voice.

Scared to face it? Have a look at a few things you could try:

 Stop Smoking: If you are smoker, it is high time to realize the effect smoking can have on your throat and voice. Quit smoking at once. Refer http://smokefree.gov/steps-on-quit-day to know how to quit smoking. Avoid secondhand smoke as well.

Drink Water: Drink plenty of water that will hydrate your throat and heal it faster. You can also have hot water with honey and lemon and avoid alcohol and caffeine based drinks.

Proper Diet: Take care of your diet and avoid spicy foods as they may increase the throat inflation. 

   

 Rest: Take ample rest and try not to use your voice too long or too loudly. Proper rest to your throat and vocal cords will soothe and provide relief from pain. 

YogiKanthika: You can also try Yogi Kanthika, which is a natural, sugar free, no side effect pill , very much effective for throat issues and hoarseness of voice. The presence of mulethi and sunth provides relief from sore throat and hoarseness of voice. See for details at how it cures.

Consult a Doctor: If problems persist for more than a week, contact the physician.

We also recommend you to use Kanthika as prevention for such issues, as nothing should ever come between you and your music and the show must go on.

Cold during Summer

With 44 degree temperature of today, you must be thinking that it’s definitely not cold in summer and definitely not a time to catch cold. It is hot outside and a perfect time to sit in a well furnished air conditioned room; you feel active and want to get all your work done. And if you feel you are having cold in this scorching heat, there is nothing to be worried and it is absolutely normal. Even though chance of catching cold in summer is less likely than in winter, cold in summer is a common phenomenon. But, unlike winter cold which is nasty and short, summer colds are generally longer. As the virus which causes cold in winter is different from the one infecting you in summer. So, do not worry if it stays more than five- six days.

There are a few things you might want to know about your summer cold:

 Reason: We think that summer is the best time for having chilled drinks, but sadly our body doesn’t think so. The most common reason for such cold is the frequent shift of people between warm and cool environment. Frequent moving in and out of air conditioned room might actually increase the vulnerability of sickness in summer decrease. The sudden chilling lowers the defenses in the nose and throat and if a virus is already present, this reduces our immunity to fight against it.

Cold and Allergy: But summer colds can have more severe, flu-like symptoms, in addition to sneezing and coughing. Since it stays longer, people often confuse it with flu or allergies. It is common for cold in summer to last longer. However, if there are symptoms of itching eyes or ears, rashes etc you might be suffering from allergies.

Work-Outs: If you have cold, working out in summer, with the hope that your body shall feel warm and eventually you shall be relieved from the cold, is actually a very bad idea. Since exercise and work outs drive out the energy of the body, decreasing the energy left to fight the virus.           

 Proper rest and water: The best treatment would be to take ample amount of rest and plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. Prefer drinking water and avoid beverages that can dry you out, like sodas, coffee, and alcohol, especially during the hot days of summer. However, a hot soup or green tea shall be beneficial.

Yogi Kanthika: Zinc lozenges are expected not to work as good as in case of the common cold in winter. However, you can also try Yogi Kanthika which is purely herbal and sugar free pill. It shall protect your throat from being dry; the herbs present in it shall soothe your throat and provide relief from cough congestion.

Consult a physician if fever and rashes persist for over 10 days. Please view the next article for more home remedies for cold.

How To Treat Cold At Work

Hey Friends,

I am sure every working guy will surely relate to this!

There is no fixed time when your morning starts; it could start with the early morning client call which you take up from home before reaching office. Or it could even start when you reach home from your late night shift, working on your deliverable. If you are lucky then you might have no early morning client calls, with ample time to gulp your breakfast and reach your desk before your Lead.

Working all day in the AC and long client calls, might appear exiting, but it is not so for your throat. It is very likely that you face throat irritations, cold and dry cough often leading to throat congestion and pain due to sore throat. As a result you consume lozenges, candies (which are still there in your drawer) or gulp down hot coffee available at the nearest vending machine which provides relief to your scratching throat as well as keeps you awake. Looking out for a cure?

A few things that you should consider:

• Know your cough and the reason behind the same: Cough due to Cold, or long calls over the phone or due to smoking are different and needs to be treated differently.

•  Hot Tea/ Coffee:Instead of your regular practice of drinking cold water after hot tea, doing the opposite actually solves  half the problem. 

•  Warm water: Drinking warm water or Soup is also a good way of soothing the inflammation in the throat.

• Sugar Lozenges: The lozenges or candies that you consume all day, is a strict NO NO if you are trying to reduce  tummy fat or already halfway in the battle if tooth cavities.

•  Yogi Kanthika: Try a Yogi Kanthika, easily available at a medicine store near you or online. It is 100% Ayurvedic and 0% sugar and it has a good record of providing relief from throat ailment.        

• Raw Ginger: One of the few things effective things you can try at office is to chew raw ginger on and off throughout the day to reduce your cough.

• Lemon and Honey: Lemon juice with honey added in hot water makes a good cough syrup and if consumes empty stomach in the morning helps reduce Tummy Fat as well.

   

  However, if problems persist over more than a week, then consult a doctor. Go, Rush Now before it leads to Flu !!! If you have any other suggestions, please mention them in the comments.