10 Cold and Flu Home Remedies

Coconut Oil

Posted by Alexandra (Wayne County, Ohio) on 01/30/2008
★★★★★

Since I started cooking with coconut oil, I have noticed that if I do catch a cold, it lasts maybe half as long and the symptoms are milder.

Cayenne

Posted by Leota (Los Angeles, CA) on 01/21/2008
★★★★★

ok. so the first time i really found out cayenne pepper could cure sickness was when my ex put it in tomato soup when i was really sick with bronchitis. the first day he put it in i didn't taste it and the second day i finally did. i took no antibiotics. just cayenne pepper in tomato soup. healed myself in a matter of 4 days so now, i make cayenne pepper beans and soups to protect myself from getting sick. ill eat it when i'm tired and feel like im coming down with a cold. It works, it's like it burns the germs away.

Cayenne

Posted by Barbara (Baltimore, MD) on 12/26/2007
★★★★★

From infancy through childhood, teenage years, young and middle adulthood I have always been blessed with excellent health -- with one exception. I suffered from one cold and sore throat after another. While none ever progressed to pneumonia, I would recover from one and then two weeks later feel the start of the next cold. Yet I have never smoked and have had excellent health habits. For whatever reason, about 15 years ago I started to take two to four cayenne pepper capsules a day. A miracle occured. Since then, I rarely contract a cold -- maybe one a year and not as severe as the ones I used to experience. I can't laud the properties of cayenne enough. Be sure to swallow the capsule with enough liquid and you'll have no uncomfortable effect.

Cayenne

Posted by Rani (Brookville, Ohio) on 11/29/2007
★★★★★

I will have to try the ACV, but I have found cayenne to be fantastic for many things. Energy definitely. And also good for colds and sinus. For really bad colds and sinus, I like to mix, garlic, cayenne, lemon juice, a little honey and a little orange juice with some boiling water and it does miracles!!

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

Hydrogen Peroxide in the Ears

Posted by Kingq (Chonburi) on 04/11/2016
★★★★★

Works great for me. Have used this remedy two times in the past 3 months. If only I could convince my wife to try it on herself and our son.

Hydrogen Peroxide in the Ears

Posted by Kalki (Kerala, India) on 07/08/2011
★★★★★

I had put hydrogen peroxide in my daughter's ears for mild earache and at the end of 10 mts of fizzing in each ear, she could hear better and the ache was gone. Usually we have to go to the clinic to get them cleaned.

The bonus is that I did it too too and it cleared up my cold. (The first drop you put it in is a bit of a shock and the unfamilair tickly feeling when it fizzes takes a bit of getting used to. ) I had a stuffed nose and itchy throat which normally leads to a chest infection. I had mucus (greenish in the beginning and then clear later) coming down into my mouth from the nose area for three days afterwards. It was a totally new experience for me, feeling the back of my nose from the inside (I can't explain it better! ) and I was wondering what was happening. It was only after my daughter told me that H2O2 is used to cure colds also that it clicked.

So here's a fan of hydrogen peroxide - for earaches, wax and colds.

Cayenne

Posted by Ted (North Las Vegas , Nv )
★★★★★

Cure for Common Cold. Take as much as can of cayenne pepper while have a cold or flu at least a tsp. A day. Cold will last only 2 days. Ted

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

Garlic

Posted by Agnes (Warsaw, Poland) on 12/17/2014
★★★★★

Garlic is wonderful as a preventative method for staving off common cold. When your flatmate is coughing and sneezing and you start feeling this funny itchiness in your nose, peel a garlic clove and press it so that volatile oils could evaporate. Keep it near your bed - viruses/ bacteria will not bother you.

Apple Cider Vinegar, Cayenne

Posted by Olddude (Chattanooga, Tn) on 06/03/2012
★☆☆☆☆

My story: went on vacation, got a bug/cold/running nose/coughing and so on. Came back, got worse. Tried all the Apple Cider Vinegar and cayanne, and so on. Did not cure it. finally went to the doctor, one steroid shot and nasal meds, got well sort of in 3 days. Its June 2, I am finally well, what I had was from zell. Ears got clogged up, sinusis bad, chest and lungs screw up somewhat. Yes the doctors meds killed all the stuff, but it still took another 7 days to finally leave my body, So, Apple Cider Vinegar and all these remedys did not kill this mess I had, but I kept taking them. I guess sometimes u gotta go see the doctor, IMHO

Apple Cider Vinegar, Cayenne

Posted by Julia (Gaithersburg, Maryland) on 11/18/2011
★★★★★

Someone posted on here a wonderful recipe which I tried, with a few modifications, and I just wanted to let you all know what I tried, because it was amazing. I have been fighting off a bug for a couple of weeks now (aches, sore throat, feeling run-down, a little sneezy) but it hadn't quite turned into something full-blown.

I made the following mixture: 1 tsp ACV, 1 tsp honey, 1/2 tsp powdered cayenne, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves, 2 tsp water. Then sip it slowly (tiny sips). It is somewhat thick and will coat the back of your throat. It tastes surprisingly good, soothed my sore throat instantly, and started to clear up my sinuses and the "lump" in the back of my throat which was developing. I have taken this mixture a couple times a day for the past two days and I'm feeling much better.

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.

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!