Natural remedies for flu, cold, sore throat, etc.

Sheilasue I think dairy products help produce mucous so what you do is also what I believe.

Unfortunately there is no cure in terms of medication, but I do think the natural stuff helps relieves symptoms. Along with a lot of moaning, chocolate, and perhaps a wee dram of whatever you fancy. I swear by Obas Oil for unblocking the old nose.

Smiled at Marmight's memory of Parishes Food. Thick black revolting stuff which my mother doled out liberally when we were children.

"Jewish penicillin"? Chicken soup - though I would add loads of onion and tons of ginger too...
Hot honey and Lemon drinks are good too.
Basically, look after yourself and be kind to yourself; none of this struggling "because you are essential"!

I once heard a doctor on the radio, a very long time ago, he said there was only one cure for a cold: you need a candle and a bottle of whisky, drink the whisky till you see two candles then blow them both out and go to bed!

I firmly believe that if you treat a cold it lasts for a fortnight, and left untreated it lasts 14 days.

My father always swore by the Top Hat cure. Go to bed with a bottle of whisky and a Top Hat. Place the hat at the end of the bed, and drink the whisky until you can see two hats. Well, it worked for him!

Grannyguitar, my grandfather [a doctor] used that remedy too, for a cold! Except he would carry on until he saw no hat at all...

Some inaccurate advice being given here so I will stick to night nurse and sleep it off

So how do you know what is accurate or inaccurate, W11girl?
Nobody's managed yet to find a cure for the cold or flu - unless you know something the rest of us don't?

I have been taking Sambucol every day this winter ( basically elderberry with added vit c, zinc and other vitamins and minerals). So far so good - but watch this space!

Wilmaknickersfit,
As a child I was prone to tonsillitis, and remember my granny blowing flowers of sulphur down my throat from a spoon. It was disgusting!

Perfect timing Gransnetters as I have a stinking cold at the moment.☹️☹️

My grandmother sometimes gave me cinder tea. She would put a hot cinder in a cup of water then I'd drink the water. Not sure what it cured - tummy ache maybe? . Arrowroot custard was supposed to 'bind' and stop diarrhoea.

At boarding school in the early 60’s we were given a revolting medicine called sulpherdew (not sure it was spelt like that) it was bright orangey yellow and smelt and tasted like rotten eggs. It would nearly make you vomit. The cure was definitely worse than the cold.

I had Parishes food, Marmight. It was supposedly a tonic with iron. I remember having to drink it through a straw as the disgusting black mixture stained the teeth.

I know it's daft,but at the first sign of a sore throat,a small squirt of toothpaste on the back of the tongue seems to help,also Jakeman s throat and chest sweets,do the trick with me

I've never managed to test the saying, 'feed a cold and starve a fever', but the cold I have at the moment is making everything taste disgusting, including tea, even water. Still, I have now lost most of the weight I put on over Christmas.

*Daddimaf is sounds disgusting! ?

A couple of questions, I've never heard of French suppos, whats in them? How do you make Kefir? Love the sound of vege broth. When I get the tiniest sniffle I take Echanacia tincture in water. Usually gone by morning. I've heard it gets the white cells going. Also bedrest panadol whiskey lemon n honey drinks. Mainly whiskey! Boiling hot in NZ, 35 degrees! Roll on Autumn

For sore throats my husband picks leaves off the sage in the garden and chews them. I prefer to make an infusion and gargle (not swallow) it - as hot as I can bear. I hate gargling, but spitting out the germs seems to make sense to me.

Sage does have disinfectant properties, and it can't do any harm.

These methods usually work, but you have to act as soon as the first sign of the sore throat manifests itself.

The sage remedy reminds me of the rue tea my mother used to make. It was very bitter but I have no idea what it was for. Does anyone grow rue?

Feed a cold and starve a fever: I always find that when I have a cold (as I have today!!) I often want to eat more, so it certainly doesn’t affect my appetite, but, as I said, with flu I couldn’t eat and had to be pressed to drink. I am still a firm believer in the antibacterial properties of fresh ginger, though.

Farmgran, I make kefir, you can buy the grains from Amazon. I have a glass every night, it helps me sleep better. Only had one cold so far this winter and I'm sure that was because I took a break from the kefir. You can use it in smoothies too. It's an acquired taste but I like it, it feels as if it's doing you good!

I find a hot tea/coffee with a sizeable slug of rum does the trick - well it certainly makes me feel better anyway!