The entire Bee family got hit with a virus last week. Fever, headache, coughing, runny nose, stuffy nose, congestion… it was not pretty x 4 and two of us are still sick. Charlie caught it first and had a fever as high as 104.9 last Wednesday. Olive woke up with a fever the following day that went as high as 104.6. Charlie’s fever lasted 5 straight days and we thought he might have croup because his coughing was so bad, but a visit to the doctor determined it to be a virus of some kind. He was finally fever-free on Day 6, while Olive still has a fever on Day 5.
I wrote an Ultimate Guide to Treating Colds and Coughs for kids last year, and we’ve been using a lot of those strategies to help treat our symptoms. But after seeing this thread on the boards about natural cold remedies while pregnant, I thought I would share my favorite natural cold concoction since many moms and moms-to-be are worried about taking medicine when they’re pregnant or nursing. It can be hard to determine which medicines are safe — Mrs. Wagon, for example, unexpectedly had her milk dry up completely at 7 months after taking a decongestant! So hopefully these natural cold remedies below offer some great alternatives that are safe for you and your little ones!
1) Apple Cider Cold Remedy – I saw this natural remedy on Pinterest when I had a horrible sore throat last year and Chloraseptic was doing absolutely nothing for me. This is the best sore throat treatment, and it also greatly alleviates the symptoms of colds/coughs. Combine 1 tb apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s is the best), 1 tb water, 1 tb honey (raw & local if you can find it), 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1/4 tsp ginger. Heat water, mix in the ingredients and drink. Other ingredients you can add include lemon and cinnamon.
All of the individual ingredients have natural properties that fight colds, but I think the apple cider vinegar and honey are the most important components. I usually omit the other ingredients if I don’t have them on hand. I think the apple cider vinegar kills bacteria, which is why it’s so effective. It honestly tastes obscenely horrible — it burns as it’s going down and I drink it as quickly as I can like a shot, but I always feel better immediately after taking it. I try to take it a couple times a day whenever I’m sick.
If you can get your kids to take it, great! We put it in those little syringes that come with children’s medicine so that it’s easier to administer. But Charlie and Olive are understandably not fans. Olive also stopped wanting to take Motrin because she thought it was apple cider vinegar, and the Motrin was more important since her fever was so high. Whenever the kids have a cough, we always make them a concoction of warm water + honey instead (a dash of cinnamon is also great to add).
2) Elderberry Syrup – My sister-in-law swears by this natural cold prevention remedy. She says her kids used to get sick all the time but rarely get sick since they started taking Elderberry Syrup daily. Elderberries are high in Vitamin C and antioxidants and have historically been used to treat ailments from respiratory problems, to colds, flus, allergies and inflammation. According to WebMD,
Studies have found that elderberry eases flu symptoms like fever, headache, sore throat, fatigue, cough, and body ache. The benefits seem to be greatest when started within 24 to 48 hours after the symptoms begin. One study found that elderberry could cut the duration of flu symptoms by more than 50%.
It’s easy to make your own elderberry syrup or you can purchase it pre-made.
3) Onions in your socks to bring down fevers – The first I ever heard of this remedy was through Mrs. High Heels, who tried it and said it was the only thing that worked to break a high fever. The onions are supposed to draw out the fever. We actually tried this last year when Mr. Bee had a high fever, but it didn’t work for him other than to make the entire room smell like onions. But countless people swear by this natural remedy including parents on our boards! I’ve read that you can also do this with egg whites, or an egg white + onion mixture, and even keeping a chopped onion in your room is supposed to help reduce cold symptoms.
5) Oscillococcinum – This wildly popular homeopathic OTC pill reduces flu-like symptoms. I tried it many years ago and couldn’t notice a big difference in my symptoms, but many people swear by this natural remedy. I’ve also tried their cough syrup which seemed to help, but nothing beats the apple cider vinegar concoction for me.
. . . . .
Other natural remedies include:
- Eat raw garlic (I can do this but might be tough for some people!)
- Neti pot
- Tea (particularly green) & OJ
- Breathe Right Strips
- Steamy showers
- Cool mist humidifier
- Eucalyptus oil (add it to your shower or simmer it in a pot of water)
- Extra vitamin d
For me personally, the apple cider vinegar concoction + Advil + hot tea combination seems to work best to treat my cold/flu symptoms. I’d like to give elderberry syrup a try though!
Do you treat colds and coughs naturally?
honeydew / 7488 posts
I’ll have to try this apple cider honey concoction next time I’m sick! My family swears by loquat cough syup, also known in Chinese as pi pa gao. It’s pretty effective for a natural remedy.
pear / 1846 posts
I love herbal remedies since I cured recurrent UTIs with Golden seal, antibiotics just weren’t touching them! I have tried the elderberry syrup, it works well. The tincture works better though, and is cheaper as you use less but the syrup is sooo delicious that is what I’d rather take when I can feel something coming on.
I also use, White vinegar on DH’s feet if he starts getting athlete’s foot (my dad does this too now) and a garlic suppository for thrush (I know, TMI but it works better than any cream or tablet).
nectarine / 2530 posts
I had the worst attack of heart burn/acid reflux ever after trying that apple cider vinegar remedy. Curled up in a ball, about to ask DH to take me to the hospital, 100x worse than childbirth kind of pain. I thought I was either having a heart attack or having a gall stone attack. I finally emptied my stomach and felt instantly better.
I have no idea why it affected me that way, because I know a lot of people have used it with great success!
pomegranate / 3503 posts
That apple cider concoction is what we use as well. I’ve actually gotten my son to take it when he was sick in the past. Our family also caught a bug the past couple of weeks. My husband caught it first from a conference he went to. He finally did go to the doctor and got prescribed antibiotics and the doctor said this particular strain takes 7 days to incubate. That was definitely true for us because my husband started feeling ill exactly a week after his trip and 7 days later, the rest of us got sick. I also like to gargle with salt water when my throat feels sore. And I’ve also been boiling vinegar so that it infuses in the air to kill germs.
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
You know, there’s a natural cough medicine for kids that I recently found and honey is the main ingredient! This time around Little P’s cold was WAY faster than ever and I think this has a lot to do with it! I’ll have to try your concoction for me though the next time I’m sick myself.
I do a “poor man’s NetiPot. I just fill the bathroom sink with warm water (after disinfecting it of course), dump in some salt, then stick my head in and breathe. It burns like crazy, but it’s SO good at killing germs and bacteria and really keeps it all clean in there.
I love ALL these tips!
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
I make a similar tea with lemon juice, honey, and fresh ginger slices! I love it! Supposedly lemon kills the bacteria, but not sure if it is more or less effective than apple cider vinegar. A little cayenne would’ve been a great addition
Mine is tasty, though! Make a whole pot! I need to try the elderberry syrup
pomelo / 5866 posts
Not sure if it’s natural but I take a bunch of zinc. It helps…
grapefruit / 4770 posts
Great post! Green tea, peppermint tea, and my neti pot are lifesavers for daily existence since I keep a constant cold!
papaya / 10560 posts
Great post!!! Woo hoo. I totally took the ACV on it’s own and I do feel better today! Definitely doing the mix next time.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
No, I don’t treat them beyond a cough drop. I should try some of these ideas.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
I do the ACV concoction on myself all the time, but never tried it on the kids. The onion trick worked on both myself and the kids (sorry to hear it didn’t work for Mr. Bee!). I put the onions in their socks (there was definitely a battle with it though), and in a bowl in their room. I’ve been hearing a lot about elderberry syrup lately… I should check it out.
My MIL always makes this daikon radish/honey concoction for my kids (sometimes she does an asian pear/honey concoction) whenever they’re sick. It’s something like this and it does help soothe the throat (tastes good too!) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibra29wcDlI
guest
ACV works the best for me as well! It instantly takes away the mucous i my nose when I gargle it.
watermelon / 14206 posts
I diluted some apple cider vinegar yesterday, at your suggestion, and it did clear me up for a while. I’m planning on taking some more in a few minutes so that I’m not coughing through my son’s little school performance this morning.
guest
Any recommendations for babies with a cold? My little one is 3 and a half months and has a pretty bad cold. She is exclusively breastfed and complains vigorously when given calpol.
Steam, elevating her head and taking her for walks seem to be the only things that makes any difference.
guest
Hello and thanks for linking to my Elderberry Syrup recipe. The link is actually broken though, I think you posted it twice in the same hyperlink. Here is the correct link: http://www.realfoodrn.com/homemade-elderberry-syrup/
Thanks again for sharing!
Kate (Real Food RN)
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
I always take apple cider vinegar for sore throats and colds. I hate it so bitterly but it really does help! I usually gargle it diluted in water. I also gargle warm saltwater too. Both work great.
grapefruit / 4817 posts
I swear by elderberry for my son. We keep it in the fridge, and any time he starts coughing or getting a runny nose we start it up. Knock on wood, it hasn’t failed us yet. Straight honey helps with coughs quite well, too.
And I use lemon & honey in tea for myself. And saltwater for a sore throat.
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
While I hope we don’t need this anytime soon, I’m marking it for when we do! Thanks for sharing!
coffee bean / 32 posts
I just bought some Elderberry syrup for the family! Thanks so much for sharing Bee!
pomegranate / 3053 posts
@T-Mom: Pi pa gao rocks! One time many years back when I was sick I lost my voice (seems to happen a lot now!) and my aunt put some in a cup with hot water and I drank it and got my voice back within minutes! Now that I’m in Taiwan I can find it everywhere and they have it in a one shot type of package so you can bring it with you while you’re out.
So that’s one of my remedies. I also take a tablespoon of honey before bed for sore throat and cough (teaspoon for my kids). I swear by the onion in the socks things for my kids when they have high fevers. It really does draw out the fever and maybe only a couple of times I had to repeat it the next night. I just put onions in our room when either me or my husband is sick. I also do the saline nose rinse for both kids and us as well. It really helps with the constant dripping. And when I REALLY need to feel better like right now b/c I have to go out and don’t want people to run away from me… dayquil. People here in Asia wear masks ALL THE TIME. I jumped on the band wagon b/c I would have major cough attacks on the train or just in public and I’d rather cough like crazy into my 3M reusable/washable mask than have people run away or stare at me.
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
I tend to drift to over-the-counter solutions for us (and of course, not yet for C), so these are such great alternative options….thanks!!
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
My mom raises bees so as soon as anything starts to feel off, I have a teaspoon of honey straight-up. Little M has a special honey spoon that I use only for his honey scoops too. Thankfully we’ve avoided a lot of what’s going around this winter, but he still knows what that spoon means!
guest
My best remedy against nasal congestion and sinus problems is actually a shot of Limoncello, but that might not be applicable for most of this audience. So instead I’d recommend hot water with 1/2 lemon, 1″ of chopped ginger and 1 teaspoon of honey. It clears sinuses and soothes sore throats.
I also eat raw garlic when I feel a cold coming, and swore by it when I was a nanny/daycare teacher. Can’t stand Elderberry syrup (or Elderberry anything) though! (Shudder!)