How To Take Care Of Winter Ailments
posted November 4, 2009 - 8:37am
November is here and with it comes a season change, the onset of winter. As the season changes, there is a high fluctuation in the day and night temperatures, causing it to be hot in the day and chilly during the night. These temperatures provide an ideal environment for the
growth and spread of viruses and bacteria, which is the common cause for catching a cold, cough, flu or the sore throat, more so during the winter. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
As the winter approaches, the days get shorter and nights longer that results in lesser exposure to sunlight that gets blocked due to the smog (in cities like Mumbai) or fog (in the mountains or higher altitudes). This lack of sunlight weakens our body immune system thereby making it a suitable environment for the viruses to survive in the body much longer than they can during the summers when the temperatures are much higher.
Winter ailments like the cold, cough, congestion, flu, and sore throat are very common and most people, including children of all ages, suffer from one or all of these as the season changes. It is particularly common to find small children sneezing or sniffling with a runny nose, having fever with sore throat and or chest congestion with a blocked nose that makes it difficult to sleep at night. The cold winter also brings with it different kinds of allergies and a problem of dry and itchy skin. People suffering from asthma may find their symptoms getting aggravated more during the winters.
There is a saying that is common in the medical fraternity, “prevention is better than a cure” and this couldn’t be far from the truth. There are many ways in which one can prevent the onset of these symptoms and deal with the cold in a safe and effective manner without many side effects. The first and the most obvious step to take would be to take good care of your health and immune system by eating healthy, resting properly and also doing some exercise that will help keep your body fit. Also try to get some exposure to sunlight during the day.
As the temperatures fluctuate between the day and night, make sure that you wear appropriate clothes to suit them. Since it gets chilly at night, it would be sensible on your part to cover yourself adequately to keep warm. Make sure that your children are warm during the night; in particular, keep their chest, head, ears and hands warm and covered. You may need to regulate the fans or air conditioners at night, depending on the dip in temperatures. Make sure that your children do not sleep directly below the fans or next to the air conditioners.
The cold winter causes the skin to get dry, flaky and itchy and the best solution to that is to remember to drink plenty of water. We tend to drink lesser water in the winter that causes dehydration and is the reason for dry nose, lips and mouth. Make it a point to drink plenty of warm water throughout the day, or indulge yourself in hot soups of all kinds; tomato soup, spinach soup, clear chicken soup, vegetable soup etc. For dry skin, moisturize it with appropriate creams or body lotions that suit you. The most effective way is to apply oil (natural oils like Jojoba, Avocado, Coconut Oils) all over your body. This will soothe the skin and allow it to absorb the essential oils that normally get washed away when we have hot or warm water baths. The best policy is to use “luke warm” water to have a bath and use mild soaps in order to retain your natural skin oil as much as possible. Remember to use a chap stick to keep your lips moistened and to prevent them from cracking and bleeding.
Good nutrition plays a very important role in strengthening the immunity of our body. Therefore, we need to supplement our food with lots of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are vital to boost the body defense mechanism in order to fight the viruses and bacteria. Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) in particular, is known to be very effective in fighting germs and also to help prevent a cold. Vitamin C can be found in green leafy vegetables, berries, citrus fruits (oranges, lemons), guavas, tomatoes, melons, papayas etc.
Most people rely on “over-the-counter” (OTC) medicines to treat the symptoms of a cold or cough. However, these medicines could prove to be dangerous (particularly in children below 4 yrs), if not prescribed in the proper manner or dosage.
Home Remedies To Treat Cold, Cough, Congestion and Sore Throat
Before you resort to taking medications, try some simple home remedies to cure your cold, cough or sore throat. The most effective of all is drinking warm water throughout the day, drinking hot soups and or drinking green tea with a bit of ginger. Warm saline gargles help in soothing your throat and also killing the bacteria. If you have congestion in your lungs, then steam inhalations are the most effective in diluting the mucus and relieving your symptoms. Apart from this, it is also very important to take complete bed rest and relieve yourself from any stress. Keep yourself warm at all times. Normally, your cold gets better in just two or three days time if you follow the above steps diligently. Ginger, honey and garlic are very effective in treating common cold and cough. A little honey mixed in warm water along with a few drops of lemon can take care of your cold.
However, if one has fever and flu-like symptoms then the best way to deal with it is by taking adequate rest, plenty of fluids, hot water and avoid contact with other people in the house so as to avoid its spread. Visit your physician to get a proper diagnosis of the condition and for the correct prescription. Take medicines as prescribed by your doctor in the correct dose. Hygiene is very important to prevent the spread of viral and bacterial infections, so make sure that you wash your hands properly before eating food or touching anybody else. Cover your nose and mouth whenever you sneeze or cough to avoid spreading the germs through the air. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons.
For treating children and kids with cough or cold medications, be sure to consult a doctor as OTC medicines that include cough syrups could prove to be dangerous if not given in the correct manner or dosage. Also two or three medicines when combined together could have adverse effects with one another. For e.g. Antihistamines and Decongestants.
Take care of your health, folks, and enjoy this winter. Don’t let it get to you and cramp your style. Get outdoors and play in the snow, if you must. Winter is also a festival season for the people all over the world. There is a lot to be cheerful about and lots to look forward to. So, chill out and don’t get the winter blues!
Reference Books:
The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Colds and Flu
The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies
Own Your Health : Your Sick Child: Fever, Allergies, Ear Infections, Colds and More
Common Colds (My Health Series)
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Comments
great article
i have favorited it. having to deal to cough and cold on an almost daily bASIS I HAVE TO RELY ON ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT A LOT. EUqalyptus drops on the pillow, cod liver oil, vit C, Dabur chawanprash are some of my favs in alt medicine. in fact the last three i gave to my children on an almost dai;y basis when the swine flu scare was at it's peak. another "keep away cold" remedy that i have found pretty effective is a visit to the sea. maybe the saline water helps!
the capslock got "on" by mistake - cant bother to switch fonts!
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I grew up on Vick's Vapor Rub
My grandmother use to put in on my chest and neck and wrap a towel around it to keep it from touching my clothing. As I grew up, I would use it myself. There is somethiing about the "burning", tingling sensation and the vapors that is both sinus clearing and soothing. While in school, I would use the inhalers.
Yup, Hot tea with lemon and Vick's... my illness comfort meds. Funny how even when I was ill, I looked forward to lying on the couch with my pillow, blanket, Vick's vapors and tea. Aaahhh... sweet comfort.
MJ
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Re: Very Informative
Thanks a lot Saffire, I am glad that you found it useful..
The biggest challenge is treating small kids with nasal congestion (nose blocks) as they find it difficult to sleep at night. Using nasal drops is not indicated for children below 5 yrs old. Instead of that one can try saline drops in the nose.
One can also try inhalers like "Vicks" inhaler, personally: I have always used Vicks vapour rub on my kid, rub it on his chest, back, forehead and neck. Only make sure that the Vicks is not ingested. Do not apply it to the nose. It is very effective.
Eucalyptus oil is also said to be very effective for cold and congestion.
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Very informative!
Great compilation of information to prevent these nasty ailments from getting worse. I knew most of the things mentioned, but didn't know of others like the effectiveness of honey, and steam inhalation. I was prone to getting colds and flus when I was little so I learned a lot lol. This is a good resource for anyone that doesn't like medicine =)
Thanks Wdzzz and Doodlebugs
for your inputs and feedback. There are many effective ways of curing a simple cough, cold and congestion using home remedies that are herbal and without any side effects whatsoever, and whats more, they are all so cheap and very easy to prepare at home. At times there is absolutely no need for buying expensive antibiotics or other medicines. A simple hot water bottle can do wonders to improve your condition...and like I said "Prevention is better than cure"..!
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Cold remedies.
Vitamin C is one of the best things you can take, along with echinacea to ward off a cold. Thanks for these very good wellness tips, they are very timely with all the types of flu going around.
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Great advice for winter ailments...
I too drink hot tea with honey and lemon for any kind of winter illness. I once read somewhere (cant remember where now) that black tea has an effect on helping to open bronchial...not sure if it is true but it sure feels good.
Great article. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks MJ
:-) yeah, I love drinking hot soups when it gets really cold....Nothing like Chicken soup for the soul.
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Winter ailments - Be gone!
Great information rawnak!! I really like the green tea and ginger... sounds yummy! As a kid, if I had a soar throat I drank basic black tea with lemon. The hot tea and lemon was soooo soothing!
Now, tehee, I don't wait for illness, I enjoy my hot tea year round!! Something just so soothing about it...
MJ
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