Easy things to have on hand for cold and Flu season
This information is for education and informational purposes. Please consult your health care provider.
These are the things I travel with, or have on hand at home, to use in the beginning stages of feeling unwell. They work best taken at early onset of symptoms.
Bronchial Tea Blend- Helps support the lungs, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, diaphoretic.
Raspberry leaf, Spearmint, Elderberry, Pearly Everlasting, Yarrow, Mullein, Stevia.
This is a tea I make myself. Gypsy Cold care, and Breathe Easy tea, are also good choices and easy to find.
Oscillococcinum- this is a Homeopathic Remedy. It works best if you take it as soon as you have the feeling you are going to get sick. The box contains six small tubes. Take one tube, every 6 hours, three per day, for 2 to 3 days in a row. This is often enough to stop the infection. (Buhner2013)
Things like Airborne are also a good choice.
Fresh Ginger Juice Tea- 3 to 4 oz fresh juice, ½ of a lime juiced, large tablespoon of honey, 1/8 tsp Cayenne,6 oz hot water. Drink 2 to 6 cups daily. This is used for a mild infection. If you do not have a juicer, you can chop or grate about two inch piece of ginger. Steep in 8 to 12oz hot water for 2 to 3 hours, covered.
Ginger is a synergist, it helps move other herbs more easily in the body increases their effectiveness. (like Pepper and Licorice) it is a circulatory stimulant, calms nausea, reduces diarrhea, cramping, and fever. Reduces cold chills, and inflammation in the bronchial passageways, thins mucus and helps move it out of the system. Reduces coughing (as much as codeine cough syrup) ameliorates anxiety, and provides analgesic relief equal to or better than Ibuprofen.(Buhner2012)
TheraZinc- I like this for coughs and helping reduce viral replication in the throat. Any zinc lozenge will do. I also take daily zinc for immune support.