10 Cold and Flu Home Remedies

Hydrogen Peroxide in the Ears

Posted by Susan (Springfield, Missouri) on 03/31/2008
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

I tried using the Hydrogen Peroxide in my ears for my Cold. As I was waiting for it to bubble holding my head sideways - the room started spinning. I couldn't wait the 5 minutes suggested so I just drained it and tried the other ear. Again the spinning started so I endured as long as I could. I ended up getting very dizzy and queasy and lost my dinner. It's now the next day and I'm still feeling horrible. Not sure why it affected me like this - is it my cold or the procedure??

Hydrogen Peroxide in the Ears

Posted by Ria (NYC, NYS) on 03/15/2008
★★★★★

I had pink eye and cold at the same time. I tried hydrogen Peroxide in ear stuff (3%) in my ears in 10 min also sniffed peroxide into my nose it was painful but I wanted to ged rid of cold completely then gargled with cayenne pepper with camomile tea after I had some of them. 5 hours later no more itchy throat, and I felt much better. For pink eye I tried tea method it was fine and got rid of some of redness but what worked for me was wash it with bottled water and salt. my pink eye got instantly became clear!

Grapefruit Seed Extract

Posted by HPS (AVL, NC) on 02/18/2008
★★★★★

Grapefruit seed extract worked for me and my daughter I give her 3 drops 3 or 4 x day, myself about 30 drops x day mixed in juice, we keep taking it for at least 3 days after symptoms improve.

Cold Killer

Posted by Edwin (Cincinnati, Ohio) on 07/24/2007
★★★★★

Three lemons & piece of ginger root, wash & chop. Put in blender (do not remove peel from lemon). Add water to blender & blend. Take contents & strain. Use liquid, discard pulp. Use four tablespoons to a cup of warm water. After the fourth cup cold will be gone. It will break up phlem & stop a runny nose. Use this for years. Please keep liquid in glass container in refrigerator

Garlic

Posted by Jane (Los Angeles, California) on 04/07/2007
★★★★★

I noticed that when I came down with a cold - I would always start to crave raw garlic. So I thought I would try it the next time before the cold took hold. It worked like a charm! Now I use it every time I feel a cold or flu coming on. It has to be raw garlic. I chop a few large cloves (as much as I can handle) finely and sprinkle it on buttered toast or in my food. You should be sure to chew the garlic to release the essential oils. I continue this once or twice a day until i'm better - could take a few days to completely get well - but I have managed to fend off every cold since I discovered the "garlic cure." (this is good for colds and flus except if you are coming down with a stomach bug - in which case it could aggravate your stomach.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda

Posted by Angie (Walla Walla, WA) on 10/06/2019
★★★★★

Holy cow I tried the apple cider vinegar and baking soda remedy last night. I had had a runny nose all day and was feeling a cold coming on. I made some fresh ginger tea with some honey and added the baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Before I went to bed I also put some hydrogen peroxide in my ears.

Today everything is pretty much gone. I still have a little pressure in my sinuses but I have not sniffed once today.

Thanks for your suggestion, I'm going to use this from now on!!

Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda

Posted by Caitlin (Austin) on 01/21/2019
★★★★★

As long as I keep grains non-existent in my diet, I don't catch colds. But when something is going around my neighborhood and even food carts at the supermarket may have cold germs attached to them I start to feel a sore throat, sneezing, congestion appearing -- especially during flu season. Here's a remedy that I got off Earthclinic years ago that still works quickly and brilliantly if you catch those symptoms when they first start:

1/2 tsp baking soda + 1 tablespoon of Apple Cidar Vinegar in 6 oz of water once in the a.m. and once 1 hour before bed. For me, it works EVERY time. Gave this remedy to my daughter one night when she was so congested she could barely breathe. She took it; her boyfriend refused. Next morning, she went to work; he didn't. Took the stubborn lad a week before he finally relented and took "the remedy." He slept like a baby and went on to work, greatly uncongested the next day. As usual, check with your doctor first especially if you are salt intolerant, have stomach issues, or taking medications. Fasting once -twice weekly can also help build up your resistance to colds.

Turmeric and Ginger Tea

Posted by Manuela (Medford, Ma) on 12/19/2017
★★★★★

I am fairly new to natural remedies but I am getting a lot of good information on this site and others. I have always suffered from colds that very often turn into horrible sinus infections. These occasionally turned into bronchitis and even pneumonia in the past from infected post-nasal drip. The nasal congestion is unbearable, severe and very painful, the whole head is affected and sleeping is impossible. Needless to say I am petrified of getting colds. Well, I just felt another one coming on a few days ago, but this time I beat it. I spent one day miserably congested and unable to breathe - the second day I made a tea with organic ingredients only, as follows:

1 tsp ground turmeric
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp black pepper
1tsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey

Boil one cup of water, add turmeric and ginger, let steep for a few minutes, add pepper, lemon and honey then strain the tea into a mug and drink it.

After I drank, I could feel a little change in the congestion, it was subtle. It would lessen, then come back. So I was discouraged, but then I fell asleep for a while and when I woke up I was completely decongested and could breathe freely thru my nose! That was 3 days ago, I have been drinking one cup a day and the cold is 95% better! This to me is nothing short than a miracle because I know the misery I can experience with my sinuses. I will continue for the next few days just in case, and as needed if symptoms come back. But in the meantime I am thrilled that it did not progress and make my life hell for weeks. Now I feel have a defense against this condition. Please give it a try, it may work for you as well.

God bless.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Baking Soda

Posted by Mimijewels (San Diego) on 03/13/2017
★★★★★

I have had a cold and relapse 3 times including strep throat. Went to doctors to get rid of that. Cold was coming on again and I put Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV), cayenne pepper, baking soda and I feel great. Will keep sipping ACV with Soda and cayenne ...determined to get rid of this

Zinc

Posted by Prioris (Florida, US) on 10/15/2014

FYI: There are several kinds of zinc that you can take for colds. But only two kinds of zinc are actually effective against colds.

The best kind is zinc acetate. It's the only kind of zinc that consistently slashes the duration of a cold in half. Zinc gluconate was the second best choice, but zinc acetate worked much better.

None of the other kinds of zinc were effective at fighting colds.

Why are zinc acetate and zinc gluconate effective and other kinds aren't? Because they both release zinc in the form of a positively charged ion. The ionic form is what makes the difference in whether zinc can cure your cold or not.

They discovered that zinc acetate was best. Zinc acetate releases 100% of the zinc in an ionic form. Zinc gluconate was second best. It only releases 70% of its zinc in the ionic form.

The researchers also found that you need at least 75 mg of zinc acetate a day to fight colds. And finally, they found that zinc is only effective when cold viruses are exposed to zinc for at least 20 minutes at a time.

Since zinc needs 20 minutes of exposure to fight colds? pills, syrups, or sprays simply won't work. You need slow-dissolving lozenges that release the zinc right where the viruses are.

Vitamin C

Posted by Kathleen (Chicago, Illinois) on 10/26/2011
★★★★★

For colds, 4000 milligrams of Vitamin C spread out over the day (1000 milligrams after each meal and before bed).

I try to start the remedy as soon as I feel a tickle in the back of my throat or nose or nose congestion that I know signals a cold. Usually, I feel great the next morning or at the very least within two days.

The very best of health to everyone.

Hydrogen Peroxide in Humidifier

Posted by Sharon (Greenville, S C Usa) on 08/12/2011
★★★★★

You can also use peroxide in your humidifer when suffering from flu, colds, etc. Add 1 cup of peroxide to the tank and fill with water. Set humidifer close to your bedside so you can breathe the mist. Works wonders in stuffy nose and congestion.

Posted by Ladyliza (Los Angeles, Ca) on 06/27/2011 40 posts
★★★★★

For those who tend to get cold and flu, all you need is the correct amount of vitamin D and you won't get sick anymore. I take 5000 iu of vitamin D3, and I haven't had so much as a sniffle since that time, 6 years.

I will never get another flu shot either.

Oregano Oil

Posted by Kaite (Windows, Ontario, Canada) on 11/09/2010
★★★★★

I couldn't imagine going through any sort of congestion, runny nose or cough without this stuff. It brings immediate clarity to my sinus congestion as well, it actually breaks up the mucus build up in my lungs. Just recently I was diagnosed with bronchitis and was prescribed penicillin.

I'm not crazy about this particular antibiotic because it just wipes out all of my body's good bacteria, not to mention pills are hard on your liver. I told the pharmacist to put a hold on the penicillin and I will kill the mucus with the oregano oil. It worked, no need for the penicillin, within a week, my lungs had cleared up and I was my old self again. One thing that I also admired was the taste it left in my system; a lot better than tasting bile when you cough!

Hydrogen Peroxide in Humidifier

Posted by Alexandra (Toronto, On) on 11/11/2009
★★★★★

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to all of the wisdom on this site. I have been using all of the information for a couple of years but haven't written in till now. Two of my kids (14 and 18) came down with colds this week and then started running fevers. My daughter has also been vomitting so has not been able to do the lysine/Vit C remedy for flu. She also threw up the capful of HP in 1 litre of water remedy so I tried the HP in a cool mist humidifier... I added 2 capfuls to the resevoir of water and after 12 hours of sleep she woke up - no fever, no sore throat!