Winters near the corner or with heavy monsoon on board, can affect you and especially your kids (if you have 😉). As the climate is rapidly changing and global warming is gradually entering into HULK mode, we often tend to get sick even with the slightest weather change!
People like me and others who work around 10 hours a day, under the fancy Air-Conditioned rooms, are prone to catch a cold more easily. My Mumma, being my Super Woman always puts her magic shield around me. I have chronic sinusitis and I often get these Sinus attacks, especially when I have spent my day in a chilly environment or when I am under stress and don’t pay heed to my health.
My mom decided to treat me in a different way and believe me, it has helped many, especially the kids in the neighborhood once they started following it. So, here’s my mom’s tiny magic tips that I want to share with you all in the form of health hacks. These 5-minute tips will help you avoid over the counter medicines, ease out your breathing and runny nose problems, help you keep warm and fight cold during cold weather and soothe you.
EASE OUT YOUR BREATHING
Okay, it is something you all know, so stay on. A blocked nose is a common symptom for cold and it can trouble you to an extent of severe headaches. Steam is one among the best you can rely on for a blocked nose. People say it cures cold, but as a matter of fact, it doesn’t. The hot water vapor in the steam loosens your mucus in your nose and clears out the nasal passage, thereby helping you breathe easily and get rid off the blocked nose.
Taking steam is convenient for adults, but as a kid, I used to complain a lot and I guess many kids do it now too. I remember those cranky days when I would yell and cry not to take steam and my parents did something unusual. They used to sit together along with me, crying and telling that they are taking steam too because of me. I used to feel glad that their nosy paths are going through the same tension as mine. It makes me happy remembering that we dealt with my blocked nose conditions together.
MORAL OF THE TIP: Steam can always help you, whether you like it or not.
BONUS (For Parents): Sometimes, go through the same path along with your child to make them feel comfortable and not make them think that it is some devious way to torture them!
WORKOUT BRINGS HAPPINESS
I remember when I was going through heavy medications; I got these brand-new jogging shoes as a gift from my parents. This was actually a trick played on me by my parents to encourage me for jogging. They knew that jogging would help me relieve my pain with those sinus cavities. Running helps you feel energetic and also clears out any nasal blockage as, during the activity, you breathe heavy and fast.
This is much better than those dreadful nasal drops but remember, running and workout is helpful only when you have a cold, headache, stuffiness and sneezing. If you have any further infections around and below the neck, like sore throat, cough, bronchitis or chest congestion, running and workout is a BIG NO! This is called the NECK RULE.
BONUS: Go out for running, along with your child/partner if they just have a cold or a running nose. It can also add on as a healthy activity to spent time and bond together.
ADOPT SOME TRADITIONAL RECIPE IN YOUR MENU
This particular drink is often given to anyone at home, who has a cold or sore throat. It not only helps you relieve from cold but also soothes you internally. Just like every mom has her own secret recipes, my mom had one too for my cold. It helps me every time I get a sinus attack and it also soothes me internally. You may have your own traditional homemade recipe and if you feel like you are bored with that recipe, then try this one and let me know your mom’s recipe in the comments below.
Step 1: Take a bowl filled with a glass of water and start heating it
Step 2: Put 1-2 garlic cloves and an equivalent amount of ginger and bring them to boil.
Step 3: Once boiled thoroughly, filter the water into a glass, add a spoon of honey and mix it well!
So there you go, easy to make, isn’t it.
Popularly known as kaadha, but this is slightly different unlike others as I can add honey in it and make it taste a little better comparatively.
You can even sauté garlic along with some salt and pepper. Consume it when hot with bread or Rotis.
It’s one of the best you can have when you are sick and when your taste buds have gone nutty. [Do check if you are allergic to garlic]
MORAL OF THE TIP: Next time when you are sick, look around your kitchen and you will many traditional solutions.
NATURAL ESSENCE AND AROMA
Ever wondered that camphor traditionally used by Hindus for religious prayers could help you ease out your cold. My mom used to heat 1 or 2 pieces of camphor in coconut oil. Once it is warm, she used to apply behind my ears, around the nosy, along my throat and on my chest. She used to tell me that it would keep me warm all night and also help me soothe my nose. Follow this easy hack during the night before sleeping.
BONUS: Essence of eucalyptus or Nilgiri oil (A bit os expensive solution, but worth the money)
Add a few drops of eucalyptus oil while taking bathe and also around your pillow while sleeping (You can wrap a towel or a cloth around your pillow and add drops of the oil.). It not only helps you relieve from cold but also keeps you warm and soothing. It has one more perk, IT KEEPS MOSQUITOES AWAY FROM YOU!
Avoid using Vicks inhalers, as it is quite harmful and could be addictive with prolonged usage. Instead, put a few drops of eucalyptus oil on your hanky and inhale that when you feel like. It’s the healthiest natural way you can go instead of those chemical-filled inhalers.
These tips help me regularly to get rid of crankiness cold brings. I thank my mom for these tips and today I loved sharing it with you all. If you know any tips like these, please share it in the comments below and would love to know them.😊
Very Nice!
Thank you! 🙂