Grandmas remedies for cough and cold:

Home remedies for cough, cold, phlegm, running nose, sore throat:

It is said “If one takes medicines the cold goes off in 1 week, but if left untreated then it goes off only after 7 days”. This is a funny way of putting it. Jokes apart, there are very good home remedies for cold. The reason these age old practices are still in vogue even today is because of their effectiveness. Although cold and cold related cough and phlegm usually gets better in a week’s time, the following methods prevent the frequent occurrence and relapses of cold and phlegm. These home remedies work well for adults and children. However when children are affected with cold and fever together it is always better to take them to the doctor.

     1.  For running nose – Make a small paste of thiruman or naamakatti and apply on the forehead and above the nose and on the cheeks before going to bed. The next morning running nose will stop but you will still not have recovered from cold. This will be a great relief as one part of cold is over.

Note: Thiruman or Naamakatti is a kind of clayey material  found in South India. It is worn as a thilak by the Vaishnavite sects.

Alternately, there is one more method to stop running nose. Take a small quantity of turmeric powder in an iron ladle, add some water and heat it until it becomes a thick paste. Allow the heat to subside a little and apply this on forehead and above the nose. It can be applied on the top of the head also, but if one is very particular about the hair getting spoiled, then it is better to avoid it. Again this also has to be applied before going to bed and the relief can be felt the very next morning.  

      2. Sore throat – The next stage is the painful sore throat. A spoonful of honey (preferably black forest honey) , just 3 times , does the magic . Probably by the 4^th spoon one will be free from throat pain.

      3. Cough and phlegm: The next stage is the cough which is going to eat one up for a minimum of 5 days. Once the phlegm is flushed out of the system, the cough automatically starts subsiding. Now how to flush the phlegm out? Grandmas remedies are in plenty for this, but the best and most effective is presented here. Pepper is a natural expectorant. 

      a. A small quantity of freshly ground pepper, a pinch of turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon of honey has to be added to a glass of hot milk and taken. This can be had up to 3 times a day till a significant relief from phlegm is felt.  It is an excellent home remedy and frequency of recurrence of cold gets significantly reduced. Long spells of healthy life can be experienced.

      b. There is an alternative way of eating pepper. Rice eaters can have it in this form. A small quantity of freshly ground pepper and cumin seeds has to be mixed with hot rice along with ghee and a pinch of salt and eaten. This is very tasty. A significant reduction in the phlegm and cough can be felt.

Tulsi or Holy Basil

c. Tulsi or Holy Basil (Binomial – Ocimum Sanctum) and betel leaves (Binomial – Piper betle) can also be taken for phlegm. Small quantities (10-15 tulsi leaves or 1-2 betel leaves) of these leaves are believed to flush phlegm to a great extent. These 2 herbs have immense other medicinal values too. Betel leaves improves digestion too.





4. Kollu rasam (rasam made with horse gram, a south Indian delicacy)  is very good for cough and cold. Refer to cookery websites for making kollu rasam.