The Best Natural (& Safe) Remedies to Combat Cold/Flu Season

I used to dread flu season.

Waking up in the morning with a sore throat and a stuffy nose is a major mood killer and ruins the day’s productive potential.

What’s worse is getting sick WHILE pregnant or breastfeeding.

Many over the counter medications aren’t safe for use during either, and probably not recommended for general use, regardless.

I ended up getting sick a whopping THREE times during my first pregnancy.

I was attending my final quarter at university, so it was bound to happen!

Lucky for me, I come from a heritage of natural home remedies, so I knew who to call when I found one coming on!

This is my mom’s MAIN flu fighter, and it’s perfectly safe for the pregnant, the breastfeeding, and kiddos over one.

PS. If you are breastfeeding these won’t harm your milk supply, although I’d take it easy on the cayenne and garlic!

It’s called FIRE CIDER!!

Drink this concoction every day and you WON’T need the rest of the 5 remedies I include in this post!

I am so serious when I say this!

There are so many testimonies out there of people who drink this immune booster daily and avoid getting sick.

Sure, you can’t always avoid getting sick, but this will definitely strengthen your body to limit the number of times you actually do get sick!

It isn’t the tastiest, but it is effective!

Now, if you are already in the “sick” boat, then these other four remedies will also help you out.

So, without further ado, let’s get to kicking flu butt!

Naturally!

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“Flowing with milk and honey…”

This remedy is for that sore throat.

Ever woken up in the middle of the night with the worst feeling in your throat?

Can’t swallow or talk because it just hurts too much?

Well, I’ve been there!

The feeling is horrible!

My quick fix up since I was a little girl was this sweet and soothing mixture of milk and honey.

Here’s how you prepare it…

FIRST, WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

1 cup of milk
1 saucepan
1 tablespoon of honey
OPTIONAL: 1/2 tablespoon of unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fill up a saucepan with a cup of milk.
Heat up the milk on medium heat. Make sure to stir often as it will both help the milk heat up faster and prevent it from frothing.
Take the saucepan off heat when milk is warm (don’t wait too long or you’ll get curdled milk which isn’t too appetizing).
Pour milk into heat tolerant cup and add a teaspoon of honey (I usually add around a tablespoon of honey for added relief, however, some find that way too sweet!).
Stir in honey until fully dissolved and ENJOY!

OPTIONAL: Add butter for added throat relief.

Salt Water Rinse!

This can both work to help heal your sore throat and clear up your nose.

Everyone has heard of how effective saline is in breaking down mucus and other debris.

Well instead of running to your local drug store and purchasing a nasal spray, try this…

FIRST, WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of sea salt
OPTIONAL: 1 small spray/drop bottle

INSTRUCTIONS:

Boil a cup of water and then let it cool to lukewarm (if you’re pressed for time, just use regular lukewarm water).
Add a teaspoon of sea salt to the cup of the water and stir until dissolved.
For a sore throat, gargle the mixture for about 10 seconds at a time. I have a hard time doing it longer as it makes me gag, but longer is definitely better! (Make sure you let the water go towards your throat as much as possible, otherwise, your rinse won’t be as effective.)
For a stuffy nose, if you don’t have a small spray/drop bottle, pour some of the solution onto your hand and sniff up as much of it as you can (I’m so serious!) in each nostril. You’ll notice that some of the mixtures will also get into your throat cavity, those are areas your gargling isn’t able to reach!

A Lemon a Day Keeps the Cold at Bay.

Citrus is a source of Vitamin C, a major immune booster, so it isn’t surprising that it’s on the list for tackling the cold/flu!

Variations of this natural remedy, like the salt rinse, have been used across the world for the treatment of the cold/flu.

However, drinking this simple tea daily wouldn’t hurt either, my parents do and it beats any other artificial fruit tea by far!

I mean it’s just like a hotter version of lemonade, so pretty tasty (at least for me it is)!

Here’s what you do…

FIRST, WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

2 cups of water
1 lemon
1 small plate
2 teaspoons of honey

INSTRUCTIONS:

Boil a cup of water and pour it into your cup.
Cut a lemon in half. Squeeze one half into your cup, and then put both halves into the cup of water.
Place a plate over the cup, and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. (you could also add mint or other herbs for added relief!)
Add 2 teaspoons of honey when your tea is warm to the touch. (You never want to add honey to a liquid that is too hot as it changes the composition of the honey and breaks down vital nutrients.. I also heard that it could break down the honey into harmful radicals, but I have yet to find the evidence to support that.)
Stir until your honey is completely dissolved and ENJOY!

Drink one cup in the morning and one just before bed!

Eucalyptus Inhalation!

WARNING IF PREGNANT:

NOT RECOMMENDED IN THE FIRST TRIMESTER! PROCEED WITH CAUTION AND FIRST ASK DOCTOR ABOUT EUCALYPTUS INHALATION DURING THE SECOND AND THIRD TRIMESTERS BEFORE TRYING TREATMENT!

The benefits of steam inhalation are widely accepted in the sphere of natural remedies, although science has yet to substantiate these.

Regardless, my Slavic heritage reveres steam rooms with herbal accents, so it isn’t surprising that we resort to inhalation as a cold/flu reliever.

Specifically, I find that eucalyptus inhalation helps decongest my nasal cavities although it is best used to relieve dry cough and sore throat.

Your body temperature also slightly increases discouraging viral replication, although not notably.

Here’s how it works…

FIRST, WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

4-5 medium-sized potatoes (I normally use Idaho potatoes; if you use smaller potatoes, you’ll need about 12-15)
1 medium-sized pot
1 towel
1 tube of eucalyptus

INSTRUCTIONS:

Wash 4-5 potatoes well as to clean off any excess debris and possible pesticides (potatoes carrying one of the highest concentrations of pesticides!), and then dry with paper towels.
Cut your potatoes into 1 1/2 inch cubes and place into a medium-sized pot. Make sure your potatoes aren’t green as those indicate the presence of solanine, a natural toxin, so although you need to eat a lot before you actually get sick, I still wouldn’t recommend inhaling it!
Fill your pot with water just enough to cover the potatoes and cover with a lid.
Heat up the pot on medium-high heat and bring the water to a boil.
Lower the heat and let the water simmer for about 10 minutes before taking it off the heat.
Let the pot sit there for about 5-10 minutes (just enough for the steam to cool down).
Take off the lid and empty the water to about half the height of the potatoes (BE CAREFUL WHEN TAKING OFF THE LID AS HOT STEAM BURNS!). Add 2-3 drops of eucalyptus on the flesh of the potatoes.
Place the towel over your head and position your head over the pot.
Breath in the steam for 15-30 seconds at a time and then withdraw and give yourself a break (make sure the steam is comfortable to avoid getting a vapor burn!). Try to keep a lid over the pot every time you withdraw so as to not let any steam escape!
Continue until steam has dissipated, adding more drops of eucalyptus as needed.

This remedy is best done before heading off to bed. It should NOT be done if you have a fever!

The Immune Booster.

This is by far my MAIN go to natural remedy!

Yes, all the previous remedies helped, however, this syrup concoction really did kick cold/flu butt and I felt relief INSTANTLY!

My mom found it online, however, “Fire Cider” and variations of it can be found all over the web.

We use a variation the one she found and make it less concentrated so as to take in about 2 tablespoons every 2-3 hours (instead of a teaspoon every two hours).

NOTE: As per original instructions, exclude ginger and cayenne if there is a fever!

FIRST, WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

1/2 cup of warm water
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of lemon juice (the equivalent of about 1 medium sized lemon squeezed)
1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
3 large garlic cloves, minced
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 mason jar or cup

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all of the ingredients into the mason jar or cup and stir until joney is completely dissolved.
Take 2 tablespoons every 2-3 hours. Or, you can drink the concoction in one go, if you’re like me and have the stomach to do it.
Store in the fridge if you plan on using it incrementally.

Nature really does offer powerful infection-fighting nutrients that over the counter medications just can’t match up to (These are also much better alternatives to things like acetomenophen, which is known to cause significant harm to the liver.).

As a millenial myself, though, I understand it’s hard to understand that truth as we’re just so accustomed to prescription medication solutions!

So, I commend you for considering giving these a try, along with some good ol’ rest and planty of fluids.

They are tested and tried AND proven!

I wouldn’t recommend anything that first didn’t work for me!

Print this out and put it into your medicine cabinet so it’s available if needed.

Now I hope neither you nor your family get sick, but if you do, you’ll be prepared!

Love,

As a side note, and I have to add this having public health in my background, NEVER use antibiotics with a cold/flu.

Antibiotics are for bacterial infections, whereas the common cold and flu are viral infections.

This is why the majority of the treatments for cold/flu are focused on treating symptoms rather than the cause, Antivirals are used in extreme cases and are for combating the cold/flu.