Remedies against the first colds

A cold is a viral infection that affects the upper airways and sometimes spreads to the lower ones.

It is a very contagious disease that can be caused by more than 200 viruses that spread through the air by coughing or sneezing or through direct contact with infected people or surfaces and presents with characteristic symptoms that vary from person to person, but the most common are: rhinorrhea, sore throat, sneezing, nasal congestion, coughing, hoarseness, fatigue and sometimes fever. 

These are all symptoms caused by the immune system's attempt to expel the infection from the body.

Is it possible to prevent a cold?

Absolutely!  Just take a few simple precautions:

- first, pay special attention to hygiene care, washing your hands often and when not possible using sanitizing gels or wipes

- disinfecting surfaces or objects of common use

- avoiding contact with cold people

- avoiding closed and crowded places

- airing often the rooms where you live, because the change of air prevents the establishment of an environment conducive to the growth of pathogens 

- strengthening the body's immune defenses

REMEDIES TO RELIEVE SYMPTOMS 

The cold, if there are no complications, is an infection of simple resolution that usually regresses in a few days so to treat it is not essential drug therapy, but this is used to alleviate the annoying symptoms. For example:

- to relieve one of the most annoying symptoms, stuffy nose, nasal decongestants such as phenylephrine, pseudoephedrine, oxymetazoline are used 

- in case the cold is accompanied by fever, drugs with analgesic and antipyretic properties are used, such as NSAIDs and paracetamol, often associated with pseudoephedrine with decongestant properties.

- in case of cold accompanied by dry or oily cough, antitussive or mucolytic drugs are used

- in order to reduce the duration and severity of colds, it is also possible to supplement with high-dose vitamin C.

NATURAL REMEDIES

Before resorting to drugs to relieve symptoms and speed up the recovery from colds, you can choose to rely on natural remedies, among them we remember:

- rest to reduce stress and not fatigue the immune system

- avoid sudden changes in temperature

- eat healthy by preferring simple and easily digestible foods

- drink many warm liquids such as hot milk, tea, broths and soups

- keep the environment humid by using humidifiers because in a too hot and dry environment irritation increases

- fluidify mucus through nasal irrigations with saline solutions or nasal vaporizers to prevent mucus from stagnating and giving room for the proliferation of bacteria

-avoid alcoholic and caffeinated drinks

HERBAL REMEDIES

Nature offers us many substances capable of fighting colds such as balsamic herbs to be infused and breathed as hot vapors (suffumigi) or to be used as essential oils to perform balsamic massages on the chest or hot baths to clear the respiratory tract.

Some natural substances can be used to prepare decoctions and herbal teas against stuffy nose and sore throat.

Useful natural products include: mallow, eucalyptus, mint, ginger and lemon, bitter orange, honey, elder, propolis, thyme, echinacea and spirea ulmaria.