The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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.
Hydrogen Peroxide in the Ears
Posted by Rodney J (Kaysville, Utah) on 03/12/2007
★★★★★
This is something I saw on another site. Warm up a tsp of Hydrogen peroxide under some hot water, put in your ear at the first onset of a cold, stuffy ears, or sore throat. Let this stuff stay in your ears for about 10 - 15 minutes and it really has a good effect at killing the ear ache, sore throat and the sniffles. We do this in our family and have very good success with this.
Gargling With H2O2
Posted by Nana (Oak Park, MI) on 12/10/2006
★★★★★
At the first sign of a cold (scratchy throat) I use H2 3% by gargling. I use it straight from the bottle. I've never had the flu. (I'm 56) (I don't take flu shots.) If I do get a cold, (I haven't had one in 3 or 4 years), if I gargle with H202, the cold only last about 2-3 days. If it comes at all! I believe in it healing powers and told my sister to try it on her foot where she has a horn. Her Dr. doesn't know she using it, but is totally surprise that the horn is not growing like it should! She can now walk on that foot with out pain! The Dr still wants to do surgery on her foot, but I asked her to hold off for a while to see what will happen with her using the H2. It has cured colds, cleans the wax out of my ears. I tell my grandsons to use it for their pimples. I use it on the fungus on my toe nails. I didn't know about using it for plants. I will try that next! I love the stuff.
Eucalyptus Oil
Posted by Marie (New Providence, NJ) on 11/27/2006
★★★★★
I used to get a sinus infection with every cold I got. then I would take an antibiotic and it would go away. for the last 3 years, I have taken 2 drops of essential oil of eucalyptus directly on my tongue at the first sign of a cold. As a result, I have not had the sore throat and stuffy nose that usually came with my colds AND they have not turned into an infection. I haven't had any antibiotics in 3 years. I recommended this to my sister in law who suffered from the same ailments and she swears by it too.
Garlic
Posted by Jim (Magnolia, TX) on 09/17/2006
★★★★★
Garlic for colds. When a cold first starts, place a whole clove between the cheek an teeth. It will shorten the effects of the cold.
Lugol's Iodine
Posted by Cindy (Shady Cove, OR)
★★★★★
I use Lugol's iodine anytime I am getting a cold. I was a chronic user of antibiotics because of asthma. I have not had a bout with bronchitis because anytime i am getting a cold or virus I put 6 drops of Lugol's in water 3 times over a 24 hour period and the infection is gone. I actually have one day colds now. I follow up with acidophilus for my stomach and milk thistle for my liver. This really works and probably will work for Bird flu if you keep a supply in your cupboard.
Cold Showers
Posted by Tim (NSW Kitchener, Australia)
★★★★★
I decided to finish every normal 'hot shower' with a blast of totally cold water, after reading a book by an old healer by the name of Jethro Kloss. Anyway, I am a bad asthmatic, and used to get sick around 6 times per year. When I got sick it really affected my chest, with huge amounts of mucous, and real bad asthma.
Now I rarely get sick (it boosts the immune system as well as circulation), and if I do it's usually just a mildly sore throat. I wish I could better explain the massive difference this has made. Even if you feel sickness coming on, a cold shower will often stop it in its tracks.
Vitamin C
Posted by Debbie (Calgary, Canada)
★★★★★
This one has been good for me when I have had a bad cold. Take 1 cup of cranberry juice and add in 2-1000 mg dissolvable tablets of vitamin C and heat in microwave until very hot. I have found this to really help when I have been sick. Repeat the next day.
Honey Lime Drink for Summer Colds
Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 06/13/2017
MtM, last summer I was making lemonade with honey and it took forever to melt the honey by stirring. Now I see how to do it: melt it in a little hot water!! Thank you!!
Colloidal Silver
Posted by Timh (Ky) on 01/12/2017 2042 posts
Good observation, Art. I experience much the same. I have been drinking 2 cups?? concentration C.S. for several yrs to fight the chronic infections. I too have noticed an immediate improvement of symptoms nubulizing C.S. So this method is effective beyond killing mycoplasma in the lungs. Back to the oral; lately I have added one dropper of 99% DMSO to one cup C.S. with much better results. I have yet to experiment with C.S. absorption & utilization by adding maybe one spoon of Glycine and one spoon of Lecithin; maybe you can try this. Are you familiar with LET method of nutrition & drug delivery? The above recipe may be effective but may also need sonicating. You may also try Zapping fallowing the C.S. Bob Beck must have come to the same conclusion as you concerning oral administration, so he added zapping and swears this combo can kill all pathogens. You can also bubble ozone in a cup of C.S. but must drink quickly. H2O2 will stay in solution but I find it abrasive.
Garlic and Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Armadillo17 (Chicago, Il) on 01/28/2015
★★★★★
For me, one of the most miserable aspects of a cold is the nasal congestion that blocks the taste buds and causes endless nose-blowing. This time, I took a clove of garlic, broke it into small chunks, and put a chunk up into each nostril. Leave it there as long as you can stand it, it will probably prompt you to sneeze eventually, after a few minutes. Do this repeatedly and your congestion will be gone in a day. Also, chew a little garlic all day and keep a peeled glove in your mouth to suck on. This, plus a dose of apple cider vinegar in water 4 times a day, got rid of 90% of my cold symptoms in 24 hrs.
Liposomal Vitamin C, Colloidal Silver
Posted by Dave (Fountain Inn, Sc) on 12/09/2013
Mary to Many,
The timing is not an issue if one uses the Colloidal Silver as an irrigation. Most colds begin in the sinus cavity. To learn the irrigation (Neti pot idea that Opra has propelled) is very effective. The neti pot is like a pouring cleanse. The idea with CS is to pour a teaspoon into palm of hand and sniff into both sinuses. If an infection is there one will definitely feel a stinging usually more on one side than the other.
Tomato Tea
Posted by Laura (Dallas, Tx) on 04/01/2013
★★★★★
The Tomato Tea WORKED--Knocked out a cold in under two days. Actually I used a three pronged "tea" combination for a serious head cold I picked up from my 20 month old: 1) ACV tea at meal times/3 x day with 2 Tblsp dosage to each mug and 1 Tblsp Honey. 2) Made a pot of Tomato Tea for the morning and afternoon getting about three mugs out of each. I used Half a bulb of Garlic (cloves smashed) to 20-30 oz V-8, the juice of two lemons, and multiple dashes of cayenne pepper. 3) Lemon, Juiced Ginger and Cayenne Pepper tea ( with honey).
The ACV immediately went to work reducing the swelling in my nasal cavaties allowing me to breath ( and have some hope). The tomato tea helped get the cold a moving. ( suffered through a sinus headache about 20 hours into the remedy period). The lemon/ginger/cayenne pepper tea was a bonus immune system booster.
While you have a cold you cannot smell anything. Also the tomato seems to mask the expected garlic smell. I didn't smell like garlic per the family I was with. And all teas tasted phenomenal to me despite having no ability to smell.
This saved me a $75 co-pay to visit an urgent care doctor, no medicine head, no dry nasal passages from antihistimines. Still drinking the tomato tea and ACV tea on day 5 - just one mug or two a day each as the cold is on its last leg.
Colloidal Silver
Posted by Llloyd (Seneca, SC) on 12/09/2012
★★★★★
All my life I've been prone to sinus infections and colds turning into chest colds. I've used ACV also but find colloidal silver... a tablespoon ever hour and sniffed into sinuses kills the virus more effectively than anything else.
Zinc
Posted by Joyce (San Marcos, Ca) on 10/16/2012
★★★★★
This is not a cure, but a preventive. About 17 years ago, when I moved from one location to another, I got a really bad cold -- one of the worst I've ever had. Since then, in 17 years, I have had only 3 colds, only 1 of which lasted more than a few days. My prescription is zinc lozenges. I can't remember where I heard about them, but they've worked wonders for me.
The key to their effectiveness, I think, is taking them immediately on the first sign of a cold -- a sore throat, sneezing or stuffiness. Chances are that sometimes I've taken them when a cold wasn't actually coming on, but I'd rather take the extra precaution than risk getting a cold.
I start out with just 1 lozenge and may take as many as 3 if the symptoms persist. A bottle of 100 will last for a couple of years, and they're quite inexpensive.
For years scientists have said that zinc lozenges were not effective in preventing colds. Now they're saying their studies show that they can shorten the length of a cold. I'm not sure what they've based their studies on, but I think, again, that taking them immediately upon any symptoms of a cold is the key to their effectiveness.
Turmeric
Posted by Tina (Houston, Usa) on 11/13/2011
★★★★★
On the first sign of a cold and sore throat, I had 1 heaped teaspoon organic turmeric powder, mixed in 1/2 cup whole milk heated to a boil (apparently fat from milk is needed in properly digesting the turmeric), a bit of freshly ground pepper, and 1 teaspoon agave or any sweetener.
I had this concoction in between meals. I did this 3 times on the first day, and twice the next 2 days, and did not suffer from what would have been a full blown cold/cough and congestion. Incredible. Please try it!
The turmeric in my case made me slightly constipated, so I took some extra magnesium before bed those days.
Turmeric
Posted by Katta (Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh) on 10/24/2011
★★★★★
It is a remedy used by village folk from several centuries. All kinds of common cold and flu get relieved remarkably with 5G of turmeric powder in hot milk. The turmeric powder must be swallowed, and no residue left behind. Some people also add about 1G of pepper.
Garlic, Lime, Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Jose (Leander, Tx, Usa) on 05/05/2011
★★★★★
I usually eat a clove of garlic and drink a glass of water with a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar everynight so I can sleep better and wake up the next morning feeling refreshed. I usually never get sick becuase I beleive the garlic and Apple Cider Vinegar help my body fight off viruses and bacteria. But last winter I got extrememly ill since it was my first winter working in snow. My co worker told me that when he went to Brazil they would cut a whole lime into fourths and boil it for 15mins. He said they would drink it to help get rid of what it is making them sick. I told him about my garlic and Apple Cider Vinegar he laughed because in Brazil they eat garlic so mosquitos and bugs will not bite them.
So I tried boiling some limes but I boiled them with 4cloves of garlic minced. Once I got the drink cool enough I poured it all into a cup and put a splash of acv. I sipped it and it was a horrible taste but I knew I had to get better so I finished it. To my surprise I could feel it work, 15minutes into it I was coughing out some really ugly stuff and I could just feel my system sweating out everything. Try this garlic lime Apple Cider Vinegar trick if you are feeling really sick it worked for me.
