Remedicated

Is there anything worse than a summer cold? Well…yes, but they are pretty annoying. Who wants to deal with a stuffy nose when there’s gardening to be done and fun to be had? If you want to relieve the stuffy nose and congested head that go along with that cold without the fuzzy medicine feeling, try these easy remedies for relieving a stuffy nose the natural way.

1. Nasal Saline Irrigation. This is an ancient remedy that’s made its way into drug stores almost everywhere. The little plastic spray bottles that you stick up your nose can bring almost immediate relief from congestion. The saline moisturizes the nasal cavity while flushing out excess mucous and relieving painful pressure.

2. Hot peppers. No, don’t stick them up your nose. Just chew on some spicy food and you could find yourself breathing easier…temporarily, at least. Chips with salsa or a hot curry dish are excellent ways to encourage some nasal drainage. Unfortunately, the result is not very long-lived.

3. Steam inhalation. This is probably the very last thing you want to do on a hot summer day, but if you can stand the treatment it’s a good way to loosen up and drain some of that cruddiness in your head. Add some eucalyptus or rosemary essential oil to the steam to further loosen the mucous.

4. Stay well hydrated. This is one tip you see repeated here over and over, and for good reason: keeping your body hydrated is possibly the best thing you can do to keep yourself healthy. In this case, staying hydrated makes your nasal passages less sticky and keeps your head from feeling all stopped up.

5. Avoid dairy products. Dairy thickens the mucous and makes you feel more plugged up all around. Avoid all dairy products when you’re trying to recover from a stuffy head and you’ll get over the stuffiness much faster.

6. Garlic. This is another awesome natural treatment that can be used for numerous conditions. Eating garlic (cooked or raw) when you have a stuffy nose may help to relieve congestion and heal the condition that’s causing it.

You can feel a sore throat coming on from days away. The tinge or tickle at the back of your throat is just the beginning. Soon it becomes a scratchy feeling, maybe accompanied by a dry cough. Eventually, just swallowing a swig of water feels like a task of Herculean proportions.

When a sore throat strikes, whether or not it’s accompanied by other symptoms, you know you’re in for at least few days of discomfort. At worst, you might be in for a bout of mono, strep throat, or tonsillitis.

Whatever the cause of your sore throat, you will want relief quickly. Herbal remedies for a sore throat can give you instant relief from the discomfort while you wait for the underlying cause to heal.

Herbal remedies for a sore throat can range from simple to complex and vary in their degrees of effectiveness. The best way to choose the most effective home remedies for sore throat is to try several different remedies until you find one that works well for you.

The herbal remedies for sore throat that most of us are familiar with involve sipping mint tea with honey or gargling with warm salt water. These are great remedies that can soothe the pain and scratchiness almost instantly.

Other, less well-known, herbal remedies for sore throat are gargling with warm water infused with various herbs. Ginger, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and thyme have all proven to be effective for reducing the pain of a sore throat.

For the heavy-duty colds with a sore throat, try inhaling steam that includes essential oils like eucalyptus, lavender, or tea tree oil. These herbal remedies for your sore throat will open up your respiratory system, help you breathe, and ease your suffering.

The perennial favorite home remedies for a sore throat are warm tea, lemon, and honey. These are extremely effective - especially together - and should be used as often as you need them. If you’re of legal drinking age and have nowhere to go for several hours, try a hot toddy with the above ingredients and a shot of brandy or bourbon. Take a hot bath infused with lavender flowers while you’re drinking it. Don’t try driving after this treatment - even walking could be a challenge - but it’s guaranteed to ease your sore throat.