Monday, December 20, 2010

Fun Monday - Home Remedies

Jill's still hosting! January's coming and Ari's going to host! Check my sidebar if you get lost!

Her challenge for this week: Cold and flu season is upon us - do you have any home remedies you'd like to share?

At my house, we not only deal with colds and flu, but year-round allergies as well. It's one of the trade-offs of living in a "tropical paradise".

Because nasal issues are so big in my family, we use the Neti Pot. Even my son has been using it for a year and we find that if we use it daily or every other day, we pretty much avoid getting sick at all - at least with the head cold, sinus-y stuff. (Note: this does not work for food poisoning.) Below is a video with a demonstration - I would just add, because I don't think they emphasized it enough - KEEP YOUR MOUTH OPEN AND KEEP BREATHING! If you don't, well, it's not pretty.


Our other old reliables are hot tea with lemon and honey for sore or itchy throats and a cool-mist vaporizer. When the heat kicks in, it dries the air out. We all have vaporizers in our bedrooms and it really does make a huge difference. Ibuprophen for aches and pains. Ricola Natural lemon drops. And chicken noodle soup.

4 comments:

Island Rider said...

I use a saline wash in a squirt bottle (NEILMED). If I use it every day, I don't get sick either.

Jill said...

I've heard of this but I'm always afraid I'd drown myself! Thanks for playing along. Ari promised to host for January (link on my site!)

Living Life said...

I really need to invest in a neti pot. Mom and I were just talking about one today, as I told her I was getting a nasty cold. Ibuprofin is my drug of choice!

ari_1965 said...

I have a Neti pot, too. The contrast between the serene and entirely dry woman on the box cover and wet-down-the-front me always makes me smile.

I already volunteered to host in January. Jill announced it. Keep up, girl.