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.