Natural Remedies

Are home remedies for colds and flu effective?

Are home remedies for colds and flu effective

Are home remedies for colds and flu effective? Drinking tea with honey, washing your nose with salt water, and consuming vitamin C supplements every morning. The advice of our grandmothers to treat or prevent diseases is not the same. Find out which ones are worth keeping, and which ones need to be forgotten.

According to the followers of “let nature do”, a well-treated cold lasts one week, and an untreated cold lasts seven days. But what about home remedies , passed on by our grandmothers, to get rid of coughs , stuffy noses , or itchy throats , at the first symptom? Are they worth more? Are they really effective? Let’s do a check in.

Hot drink

Some people rush to the kettle as soon as they experience the onset of a sore throat. According to a study cited by Consumer Reports , hot drink has no real benefit in treating runny nose, cough, chills and sneezing. The only benefits that the researchers observed would be linked to a placebo effect. But hot drinks would be more effective in relieving a sore throat by promoting salivation, which lubricates and soothes the throat. Any drink, soup or hot meal would do, scientists say.

Honey

A 2014 study compared honey to several over-the-counter cough medicines, a placebo, and no treatment. Conclusion: honey would be more effective than the absence of treatment and the placebo, even that certain light treatments, to reduce the frequency and the gravity of the cough . However, these studies only apply to children, and the researchers emphasize the importance of not completely eliminating the cough, which remains useful in eliminating excess mucus.

Salt water in the nose

Products intended to clean the nose in the event of congestion would be effective in reducing secretions and thus reducing the use of decongestant drugs. Be careful however if you use a Neti pot  : use distilled water and clean the pot after each use.

Food supplements

Many supplements , including echinacea, ginseng, vitamin C, and zinc, have been sold to prevent colds. But research on their effectiveness is rather mixed .

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