There’s a nasty Spring flu that’s been making its way through my family- sore throats, runny noses, hacking and coughing. And as with many minor ailments, there is no cure for this one: only things to make us feel better while getting over it.
So, in the interests of self-preservation, the subject of today’s Tell Us Tuesday is frugal home remedies.
What do you do, make or take when you’re feeling poorly? Tea with honey? Warm washclothes? Grandmother’s remedies? Send your cures our way!
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{ 15 comments }
I have terrible allergies in the spring and a lot of those symptoms are like a flu or a cold. One of my favorite remedies is Sleepytime Tea right before bed. It clears out my head and relieves my headache, helping me sleep better. Also, I try to make homemade chicken soup when we get really sick. Just the scent of it cooking feels like medicine. Hope you all feel well soon!
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Hi Kelly,
Our frugal home remedy for sore throats is: boiled water with a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey. The warmth is comforting and the honey coats and soothes your throat. You can adjust the amounts of lemon and honey to suit your tastes we find it works really well.
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Like Sherri, I use the hot water – lemon juice – honey drink too. It works very well. Also, if I’ve got a nasty cough due to cold, I’ll also drink this wonderful soothing throat tea I buy at the organic grocery store. For some reason it helps a lot, and doesn’t cost alot.
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I find that just gargling salt water really helps my sore throat about as well as anything else.
Although it’s not fun, saline solution sprayed up the nose also helps clear the sinuses. Here is how to make it: mix 1/4 tsp table salt, 8 ounces warm water (filtered is best) and 1/8 tsp baking soda.
If I don’t use saline solution, I almost always end up with a sinus infection, but when do I use it, I almost never get one.
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We use a mix of the following to boost the immune system to fight off the flu virus:
* Hot tea with honey
* Chicken boullion / soup
* Lots of raw garlic
* Rubs / Massage with camphor salicylic paste / lotion to help ease body and muscle aches
* Meds – tylenol, halls, cough syrop – to releive symptoms
In our house, when someone is congested we add a bit of vinegar to our humidifier and put it next to the bed. By morning you are feeling much better and can breath a lot easier.
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We like the water with lemon, tea with honey and gargling with salt water remedies at our house, too. But in a home constantly battling sinus infections the Neti Pot is what really helps the most. We fill the pots with warm water, a bit of salt, baking soda and rinse several times a day when we aren’t feeling well. Instant relief.
Snuggling on the couch with a movie does us well, too.
Hope you feel better!
I have two: The first is suitable for all members of the household, except children under one year (or two, depending on what your pediatrician says). My mom used to mix honey and lemon juice…JUST honey and lemon juice in a teacup and put a spoon in it. She would leave it next to me when I had a cough, cold, congestion, etc. It makes your throat feel better than any cough medicine I have ever taken…and you can take as much as you want. The second remedy is suitable only for adult memebers…one cup tea, 1 oz whiskey, one squirt lemon juice, one Tablespoon honey. Mix well, enjoy hot. Makes the congestion feel much much better.
I don’t know if this is true, but I once read that a lot of the cold bacteria lives in your mouth and that drinking a hot drink can kill some of it off. I’m not sure if it really works but I’m all for any excuse to drink lots of tea!
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For a sore throat: I like to gargle with hydrogen peroxide (Careful not to swallow). For sinus infection: Stand in hot shower with water hitting your sinus area. or, stand over steaming pot of water on stove top with a towel over your head breathing in steam. works every time.
I love tea so I’m all for SleepyTime. Otherwise, any hot tea with honey and lemon. When dh got sick in January (happens once every 7 years…) we used saline spray to clear his sinuses, generic IcyHot, and hot broth since he hates tea. And of course, rest and avoiding over-exertion.
Hot lemon tea and honey as well as horehound drops for the throat.
L-Lysine (an amino acid) to kick one’s immune system into high gear.
Oregano Oil to kill stomach bugs. Both recommended by my chiropractor.
Albos oil- a few drops in a sink or bowl of hot water (NOT WHERE IT TOUCHES ANY SKIN) helps clear stuffy noses and a few drops on the edges of sheets or anything fabric at the edge of the bed is great for congestion (my son suffered terribly with asthma for a few years and this turned into a nightly routine for a while). Hot milky regular tea, vapor rub under the nose or on the chest for congestion and stuffy noses; Sprite, mint tea or ginger ale for nausea. Homemade lemonade is great too. Gives a boost of vitamin C, provides fluids, helps clear mucous from the throat and is one of the few things you can actually taste when you have a cold. My grandmother used to make a concoction of brandy or rum, hot tea, lemon, mint candy that always seemed to send whatever dodgy germs around on their way. Sip it slowly and only make a small amount. Hope all of you feel better soon.
Orange juice mixed with 7-up (or whatever bubbly soda pop you might have that would taste good with orange juice), half and half mixture.
It tastes pretty good and the bubbles in the pop help clear the throat.
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I also find that Sleepy Time works great, as does the Neti Pot. I wish I would have found that much sooner. I also use teas named Throat Coat and Breathe Easy. Google them for the Brand name. I find them at my local Supplement store and my local grocers.