WELLNESS: Achoo! What to do about cough, cold and flu?

I thought I was immune to the Flu season! Cocky attitude perhaps but for over 3 years I have not been sick at all.  Well it seems I am vulnerable just like everyone else. And it’s always bad timing!

This week in the news we are hearing about dire shortages of everyone’s favourite cold season remedies. Buckley’s being one of them. That notoriously ghastly tasting stuff that promises the benefits outweigh the ‘ughh’ factor.

Now I am an Ayurvedic practitioner always looking for alternative remedies. What I call ‘emergency medicine’ (aka pharmaceutical drugs) is always a very last resort in my home but this Flu hit me with a vengeance and I decided to stop in and buy myself a bottle of Buckley’s Cough Cold and Flu Syrup. I was rather surprised that there were only 3 bottles left on the shelf and other cold and flu medications were also looking rather sparse. I found out later that Novartis, the company that makes the most popular Cold season brands is conducting a maintenance at one of its manufacturing sites. This is resulting in a supply disruption of some of the major Cold over the counter drugs such as Buckley’s, NeoCitran, and Otrivin.

No reason to panic! After taking the Buckleys once to alleviate an awful night of coughing I decided once was enough. On reading most labels of these wonder drugs you will find some startling facts. Buckleys label tells me that it’s active ingredient is acetaminophen and that taking more than the maximum daily dosage may cause severe or possibly fatal liver damage. Yikes. No thanks. I’m going back to the natural remedies that may not be a quick fix but may lead to a happier liver (pun intended) in the long run!

Here’s what I do to boost my immune system over this Season and also to relieve the misery of some of the cough/cold symptoms:

1. Ayurvedic Cold and Cough Tea: 1 tsp turmeric, 1 lemon sliced with skins on, 1 inch ginger sliced with skin on, pinch black pepper. Boil 2 cups water. Add ingredients and lower to simmer for 15 minutes. Strain. Add 2 tsp honey. Drink warm.

2. Nebulizer! What is that strange looking UFO thing on my bedstand? This is a diffuser that is almost like a humidifier and releases essential oils into the air. Every home should have one as most essential oils are anti-microbial and purify air and lungs during the cold season.

3. Respiratory Steam: Add boiling water to a bowl. Add a few drops of Eucalyptus or Tulsi (holy basil) or Rosemary or Wintergreen essential oils or a blend of any of these (only 4 or 5 drops in total). You can also look for the indispensible Olbas Oil (found at your local pharmacy/drugstore) which is a masterful blend for cold and cough relief. Put a towel over your head and stand over bowl for a few minutes, allowing the steam to deliver these power-packed essential oils directly into your respiratory system so you can breathe easier. Also sends those germs packing right out of your system!

4. Oil of Oregano: Get some! Handle carefully and use when you feel that first tickle in your throat. This magic medicine is essential oil of oregano in a base of olive oil. Only a few drops under the tongue will scare off those nasty germs if you catch them in time! Avoid taking more than three times a day.

5. Gargle! Morning and evening take  a quarter cup warm water and add half teaspoon salt and half teaspoon turmeric. Gargle gargle gargle right to the back of the throat and then spit it out. Repeat until all liquid is finished.

6. Genius Ayurvedic cough syrup: 1 cup fresh basil leaves (squeeze juice out of leaves by grinding in a mortar and pestle or extracting in a juicer). 1 inch grated and squeezed ginger juice. 1 tablespoon honey. Mix together. Slug back. Relief!

So that’s it for this cold season. Start all these remedies as soon as you feel a hint of anything coming on and avoid the misery of enduring a long stay in bed and coughing that keeps you up at night. Keeping it natural prevents any drug side effects and even though it may take longer, you’re worth it!

With fragrant blessings of health,
Spice Mistress Glynnis

Glynnis Osher is an Ayurvedic Practitioner and practices and teaches the Indian Head Massage in Vancouver. She is also founder and CEO of The Mystic Masala Aromatherapy.

www.thousandpetallotus.com
www.themysticmasala.com
www.glynnisandmadhuri.com

Tags: ayurveda, ayurvedic cold remedies, buckleys, cold season, coughing, essential oils, eucalyptus, fall flu, flu, FluSeason, ginger, health, natural cold remedies, nebulizer, oil of oregano, preventative medicine, rosemary, tulsi, turmeric, wellness, wintergreen

David Anderson says:

October 12, 2012 at 3:48 pm

Great article, and I’m happy to forego Buckleys (even though it’s pretty potent stuff) for these more natural Ayurvedic remedies. Especially now when my head is feeling fuzzy and my throat is feeling scratchy…