Common Cold…………..GRRRRRRRRRR

This is winter…High possibility of being attacked by an irritating disease called Common Cold. I found that there is no bloody proper cure for Common Cold till date. I know the effect of it more because I often become the victim of it, irrespective of the weather and season. It has always been a nightmare.

Common cold worries me a lot because I suffer sleepless nights due to nose block. It’s a horrifying experience and you roam about the house, you will envy people at home in deep slumber. You must be terribly tired yet your nasal blockade will hold you from sleeping. Roam there, roam here, you wait for someone to wake up to see your plight. Give you a cup of horlicks. (There are few selfish people who wake up others if they don’t get to sleep properly). Bad day if they seldom notice your plight.

Now, you enter kitchen with the motive of finding something to drink. Your throat is dry and it is waiting to cough. U suppress with all might because if your parents happen to hear it, they will surely yell at you. For next couple of days, they will blame you for disturbing their sleep and dreams.

You look for pills like crocin in the night. Unfortunately, you would have disposed the old stocks and forgot to the buy the new stuff. The thought will just ring only during the frantic search and all your efforts go in vain. By the time, you manage to find a pill and get back to bed, you hear the cuckoos sing and crow’s kaaa…ya its dawn. That’s it cold just steals the entire normalcy out of your life.

“Prevention is better than Cure” is a beautiful proverb. Anyways who gives a damn to it? We would say to our self, oh!!!! Shouldn’t have done this, done that and stuff. In end you suffer. Of course I give a damn to it. Eat ice creams in winter and pay heavily to doctors. I dread if I start experiencing the symptom of catching cold.

From my knowledge and few things from paati’s ideas, I suggest few home remedies that are practical and very beneficial during cold. They have no side effects and are absolutely harmless. These remedies are feasible and do give you a good relief. I know a lot of people might know few remedies yet I would like to share a few.

1. If you have solid turmeric, (not turmeric powder and I guess most of house will have solid turmeric), heat the turmeric in the direct flame, inhale the fumes. They offer best solution to your nasal blockade. The fumes are bit irritating yet the give you good relief after sometime. This remedy is damn good effective for nasal blockade. I felt it reduced the density of phlegm and brought enormous relief to my nasal block.

2. If you are willing to color your hair with red, then here it goes a remedy that is best suited for removing excess water content that causes sinus and head ache. Mix kumkum (kungumum) and Vibhudi (thiruneer in pure tamizh) with hot water and make paste of it. Apply it on your forehead and a bit on your head. This gives to excellent relief. This is called the pathu in Tamil. One the greatest remedy suggested by our good old paatis.

3. Mix pepper powder with honey and consume it for curing sore throat and throat pain. Pepper is the best relief for sore throat and so is honey.

4. Ask your mother to mix turmeric powder and pepper powder in milk. Heat the milk and drink it by adding less sugar. This is a very good remedy and soothing relief to throat infections. Don’t often drink coffee and tea under the pretext that it will relieve the stress. Drinks with caffine is more detrimental to health during cold.

5. You can also eat clove, or eat a piece of onion to help controlling running nose and nasal blockade.

6. Drink ginger tea. Ginger controls spreading of cold. You can also boil ginger with milk and little pepper in it would give you a good relief.

7. There is a stinky remedy for your ear blocks… I know most of them would go deaf when we have severe cold. Just fry few and small pieces of garlic in little oil. Keep it in the entry point of your ears. It removes the block and improves hearing ability. Garlic consumption also helps to control sneeze. People sensitive to it may avoid. Have garlic rasam, its tasty and a good relief for cold.

8. Add few drops of lemon in hot water with a teaspoon of honey will reduce common cold. There is a double benefit. This will also help you reduce weight. For people who are following the strategies to reduce weight might opt for this remedy as well.

9. Apart from all this, Personal hygiene is very essential. Always wash your hands and keep them clean.

10. While bathing, mix few drops of Eucalyptus oil. Makes you feel very good.

The remedies are pretty simple and most of products suggested here would be surely available at home. I guess there is no need for a strong dosage of medicine, which are mildly soporific and puts you in good slumber, reducing your performance. If the above therapies don’t work out don’t blame me. All these have worked out for me pretty well.

There is no Universal cure for cold. These remedies just give you relief and sometimes prevent the attack. They don’t cure. Don’t hold me responsible if its not working out for you. It surely worked out for me.

P.S: Kind advise to people who suffer cold. Please don’t split the phlegm in a public place like roads, bus stops etc. Be educated and be civilized.