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

(66 Posts)
polyester57 Sun 21-Jan-18 20:29:35

In response to the thread about not receiving proper care from GP for flu. What are your natural remedies? Iˇve not been to my GP for about 5 years. My natural response, for a start, is to go to bed as soon as I feel unwell. An afternoon lying down does wonders. A couple of days (if you can afford them) are a cure for almost all common ailments. I have a wonderful cure passed down from my Eastern European grandmothers, which is to make a vegetable broth (onions, carrots, leeks, celery, parsley) all boiled up for about half an hour, then sieved and then drunk as hot as you can manage. Tastes wonderful. Honey also also works almost as an antibiotic . Any other natural remedies?

FlexibleFriend Tue 07-Aug-18 11:07:49

2000mg of vitamin c a day and never get colds or flu etc.

Jalima1108 Tue 07-Aug-18 10:16:33

Steam inhalation with just a drop or two of tea tree oil helps.
In fact, I may try it soon; this horrid cold is still lingering on.

Richa94 Tue 07-Aug-18 09:21:16

There are many natural remedies available for flu, cold and sore throat such as;
for flu and cold include honey, ginger, garlic and chicken soup in your diet similarly, for sore throat gargle with salt water and drink ginger tea.

phoenix Mon 29-Jan-18 07:50:29

There was a feature in the Telegraph on Saturday with recipes for various remedies.

WilmaKnickersfit Mon 29-Jan-18 02:38:11

Michael Mosley is a regular on TV here in the UK presenting the Trust Me I'm a Doctor series. As well as videos on YouTube he's published a lot of very good books.

Michael Mosley Books on Amazon

He's a doctor who's married to a doctor! grin

Michael Mosley Wikipedia

giulia Fri 26-Jan-18 20:03:32

Wilma- fascinating links! Especially Mosely.

WilmaKnickersfit Fri 26-Jan-18 18:43:53

giulia I'm not sure. I can't remember if the group was told to take it in the morning or when they felt like it. These links might help you though -

Trust Me I'm a Doctor article

Michael Mosley on Gut Bacteria

humptydumpty Fri 26-Jan-18 13:52:19

Oooh winterwhite I loathed and detested radio malt - my mother used to give us a big spoonful every day, and when I told her years later how much I hated it, she said I should have told her and she'd have stopped giving it to me!

giulia Fri 26-Jan-18 09:39:38

ps: Wilma How much should I take to start and is the evening a good time? Thank you again for any info you can pass on.

giulia Fri 26-Jan-18 09:37:57

Thank you Wilma. Unfortunately, I don't live in the UK but kefir is very easy to find here in Italy at most supermarkets. A lot of it seems to come from Rumania - don't know if that is good or bad(?)

WilmaKnickersfit Thu 25-Jan-18 18:58:46

giulia I think it probably is because I Googled it and it looks like people sometimes struggle with making it and there's plenty of shops that sell it now. Good reviews too.

Wloszczowa Kefir 400g is sold in Morrisons and gets good reviews. It sounds like it sells out fast though and that might be because kefir was on Trust Me I'm A Doctor.

I might try it.

giulia Thu 25-Jan-18 05:39:58

Is the kefir I can buy in any supermarket here also useful, or is it a waste of money?

WilmaKnickersfit Thu 25-Jan-18 01:36:46

I remember my Mum giving us Delrosa syrup when we were little. It tasted lovely so it was probably full of sugar and bad for your teeth! grin

winterwhite Wed 24-Jan-18 20:10:44

The parishes food that was forced down me was red. Quite revolting, but perhaps not as bad as Sanatogen, which I had a bit later - a foul powder mixed with milk. Anyone else remember that? But on the credit side I also had yummy Radio Malt, with a blue and yellow sun on the label. Not sure what all this could have been for - none of my sibs had to have it tho they yearned for the Radio Malt.

Magrithea Wed 24-Jan-18 19:41:39

I was told by an aromatherapist that a drop of frankincense oil rubbed onto the skin of the throat when you have a sore throat will cure it - and it does.

My DD swears by Vicks rubbed on the children's feet at bed time then socks on top for colds

humptydumpty Wed 24-Jan-18 14:33:31

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

Nannyben61 Wed 24-Jan-18 13:46:03

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!

Greyduster Wed 24-Jan-18 09:00:12

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.

annsixty Wed 24-Jan-18 08:56:38

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?

JackyB Wed 24-Jan-18 08:30:00

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.

farmgran Tue 23-Jan-18 23:36:00

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

WilmaKnickersfit Tue 23-Jan-18 22:20:34

*Daddimaf is sounds disgusting! ?

annodomini Tue 23-Jan-18 22:14:31

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.

squirrel5 Tue 23-Jan-18 21:59:05

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

Gaggi3 Tue 23-Jan-18 21:05:30

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.