Common cold is a virus infection that affects the upper part of the respiratory tract. It is common than other diseases and occurs more frequently. The normal duration of common cold is four to nine days. For the first four days the patient feels miserable.
The primary symptom of cold is congestion of the nasal passage or a feeling of soreness of the throat. All parts of the body are affected by this disease even though it begins in the nose and throat. Its common symptoms are headache, aches and pains in the body, sore throat, a rise in temperature, sneezing and a loss of appetite. The skin around the nostrils also becomes sore.
One of the major causes of common cold is exposure to a virus infection. The intensity however depends upon the health of a person and other environmental factors. Chilling of the body, lowered vitality, allergic disorders of the nose and the throat, lack of sleep, depression, fatigue, sudden changes in temperature, irritating inhalations and dust are other causes responsible for common cold.
The major cause of cold however is the toxic condition of the body brought about by wrong eating habits such as excessive intake of carbohydrates, starch, proteins and other acid forming foods. A cold is therefore a natural mechanism of removing the toxic waste from the system.
Nature Cure for Common Cold: Use of suppressive drugs such as cadeline and aspirin for cold does not remove the root cause of the disease. Moreover these drugs put a break to the eliminative process taking place and push the toxic wastes back into the tissues again. Even if drugs are not taken for common cold it automatically subsides in about six days.
Taking a proper diet is the only real treatment for common cold. The treatment should first commence by putting the patient on fast for two days. Nothing except warm water mixed with lemon juice and honey should be given during this period. Pineapple juice is also very beneficial. A warm water enema should be administered daily during this period for cleansing the bowels.
The patient should thereafter switch to an exclusive diet of fresh fruits for four days. During this regimen the patient should have three equal meals of fresh juicy fruits such as grapes, apples, oranges, pears, peaches, pineapple, melon or any other juicy fruit available during the season. Dried, stewed or tinned fruits, bananas and other foodstuff should be totally avoided during this fast.
The patient should also try to strengthen his natural defense mechanism by adequate intake of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin C is very effective against infections and is found in good amounts in green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits.
Certain home remedies have also been found useful in the treatment of common cold. Among these use of lime is very beneficial in all types of fevers and cold. The process is to dilute the juice of lime in a glass of lukewarm water and a teaspoonful of honey should be added to it.
Another useful home remedy for cold is the use of garlic soup. It helps in flushing out all the toxins and poisons from the system and brings down the fever. Garlic oil combined with onion juice and diluted with water should be drunk several times a day.
Ginger has also been found to be an effective remedy for coughs and colds. The procedure is to cut ginger into small pieces and boil in a cup of water. After straining, half a teaspoon of sugar should be added to it and drunk several times a day. Ginger tea prepared by adding few pieces of ginger into boiled water before adding tea leaves is equally beneficial.
Another useful remedy for common cold is the use of turmeric. Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder mixed well with about thirty five grams of warm milk is effective for treating colds.
Above all the patient should also resort to yogic treatments such a performing shalabhasana, dhanurasana, bhujangasana, yogamudra; yogic kriyas such as jalneti and vamandhouti and pranayamas such as anuloma-viloma and kapalbhati.
Thus it can be said that natural treatments have been found to be very useful and effective in acute conditions such as common cold.
Written by M Banker2010
Stuffy nose, sore throat, persistent cough…ugh, it’s the flu! Let’s look at some common home remedies that can help.Watch More Health Videos at Health Guru: www.healthguru.com
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