It’s almost unavoidable: the annual Cold & Flu season. Short of hiding out at home, you’ll be exposed to viruses each time someone sneezes on the bus, coughs in the grocery store, or a loved one gives you a kiss on the lips. People don’t even need to be around for you to catch a bug either since germs can lie in wait for you on door handles, coins, and railings.
Both the common Cold and the Flu are caused by viruses so cannot be treated with antibiotics, which actually targets bacterial infections. Antibiotics have no effect on viruses whatsoever. The medications that are most often prescribed to those affected are over-the-counter pain killers, such as paracetamol, sedatives, and medications that help soothe the throat and clear congestion. None of these are cures though, and they are taken to ease uncomfortable symptoms rather than fight infection.
Elderberry syrup recipe for fighting colds & flu from Lovely Greens
Herbal Jello with Elderberry from the Nerdy Farmwife
Herbal Cough drops with Elderberry from Wellness Mama
Honey & Lemon cough syrup from the Coconut Mama
DIY Herbal Honey Throat Spray from the Nerdy Farmwife
Lavender Linen Spray from Garden Matter
Lavender, Tea Tree, & Clove hand sanitizer from Everyday Roots
Make your own Lavender Herb Pillow from Learning and Yearning
DIY Echinacea tincture from Wicked Spatula
Echinacea & Ginger tea from Healthy Campaign
One thing the body really needs when you’re ill is sleep. The body uses the restful period while you’re slumbering to focus its attention on healing. To help with this, you could take Valerian root instead of taking chemical-formulated sedatives. This herb is effective, safe, non-addictive, and reduces tension and promotes restful sleep. Best of all, it doesn’t give you that sleeping pill hangover in the morning.
How to grow and dry Valerian for tea from Lovely Greens
Valerian & Hops tincture from Frugally Sustainable
Record of Horehound’s use for coughs and chest problems go back to ancient Greece with the physician Dioscorides recommending a decoction (boiled tea) of the roots for tuberculosis, asthma, and coughs. This green herb from the mint family grows about 1.5 feet tall and its leaves are used in teas and syrups to help soothe the throat and to help the body to expel phlegm.
Horehound & Marshmallow Cough Lozenges from Mother Earth News
Sage & Horehound cough syrup from Little City Farm
The extract from the leaves of this aromatic tree are anti-septic and used to relieve coughs, sore throats, and congested lungs. The leaves are where the medicine is and either they themselves or their essential oils are used for anointing the chest, in teas, and in herbal steams. The effect is warming, and the oils help to clear the chest, and to relieve infection and pain.
DIY All-Natural Vapor Rub from Mommypotamus
Herbal steam from the Untrained Housewife
Simple Eucalyptus tea from Georgia Pellegrini
For more information on these herbs and dozens more that help with boosting health and immunity I recommend this book by Andrew Chevallier. The Natural Health Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine
is an easy to read reference with information on and recipes for 550 different plants and flowers.
