How to Get Rid of a Cold (Tips from Around the World!)

ATCHOO! Learn how to get rid of a cold by learning what people around the world do to ease cold and flu symptoms.

(🎙️If you want to listen to this article as a podcast, then here’s the link!)

In this article we travel to the Dominican Republic, Iran, Japan and other countries to learn how they cure a cold and whether these traditions are of any use.

Some of the tips I’ll share later will help you because they have helped me. I used to get loads of colds and they used to last ages. Now I don’t and when I do they are so much milder, and I can still function well.

What is a cold?

Whether it’s on your summer holiday or — more likely — during Christmas, you notice something…

Your throat suddenly feels a little scratchy. You sneeze. You cough. Uh oh… you have a cold. Arrgghh!

Common colds have been around since… forever. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, once described the common cold as: “a running at the nose and . . . a discharge from the nostrils . . . it makes the nose swell and renders it hot and inflamed.”

A cold is a viral infection of your upper respiratory tract (i.e., your nose and throat), leaving you feeling pretty grim. Headaches, runny nose, sore throat and coughing…

Come on, you know what a cold is!

How do other countries get rid of a cold?

Colds affect the entire planet, so — of course — our global cousins have many traditions to help get rid of a cold and feel better.

I’ve found several traditions from countries around the world that may help treat a cold. Now let’s look at whether it’s worth incorporating them into our lives.

Or at least incorporating aspects of these cultures into our lives.

Unusual drinks from the Dominican Republic

We’ve all heard of hot lemon — lemon juice and hot water, sometimes mixed with some honey or plant-based sweetener like agave syrup.

Naturally, many countries tend to follow this culture of using hot drinks for colds… and for good reason.

They are comforting drinks, they taste nice, they soothe your throat and they can relieve congestion.

However, this one from the Dominican Republic is… a little unusual to say the least.

Instead of lemon and honey, people in the Dominican Republic use passionfruit and… onion made into a tea.

Yep, that’s right… the sweet tropical taste of passion fruit mixed with the astringent flavour of raw onions.

Hmm. Not one for the taste purists, although this could well be a good call.

Firstly, onions are rich in vitamin C, which — as you probably already know — is a vitamin linked to immune health and improvements in cold symptoms.

Onions also come from the allium family of vegetables, which also includes things like chives, garlic, and leeks. These foods are a good source of quercetin, which is a plant nutrient with known antiviral properties.

As for garlic, this is often used in tea too.

People in Mexico supposedly add garlic to hot lemon drinks to battle colds and flus. Like onion, garlic has antiviral and antibacterial properties, and has been shown in many studies to help reduce cold symptoms and the duration of a cold.

I can’t imagine garlic in a hot lemony drink tasting any good, but I think it would go some way to helping you fight off a cold.

If you can’t stomach mixing sweet drinks with things like garlic, then you can still get the benefits of these foods by using more onion and garlic in your cooking. You can also take daily garlic capsules, which are available in many health-food shops and online.

Root vegetables in Iran

Sticking with foods, let’s hop over to Iran. Now, when a cold strikes in Iran, there’s one vegetable they turn to… Can you guess it?

No? Not carrots. Not cabbage…

It’s… turnips!

In Iran, people with colds often eat a plate of cooked, mashed turnips.

There’s definitely some sense here, because turnips are packed with vitamin C (around 27mg per cup) — which, as you already know, is good at reducing the severity of a cold. It’s also full of other vitamins, like vitamins A and B.

Now, you may have heard of an expectorant? This is a medication that help clear mucus from the airwaves. Interestingly, turnips are believed to act as an expectorant, which is another reason the Iranians tend to eat them when struggling with a stubborn cold.

I actually love mashed veg — so I’d say grab a few turnips, boil them, mash them, add some seasoning (maybe some garlic!) and then enjoy!

Looked up turnips… actually swede.

Umeboshi from Japan

Ok, so you’ve finished your turnips or swede… what’s for dessert?

If you still have that pesky cold, then it’s time to grab a few plums. Not just any old plums, but pickled plums.

This is what the Japanese do during cold season.

They are actually known as umeboshi, which is a kind of pungent apricot. They can be eaten as they are (if you like the sound of a pungent apricot), but it may be easier to enjoy them steeped in a hot lemon drink.

They kind of look like a testicle. There I said it…

The reason these umeboshi are used is because of their reported antibacterial effects. Unlike garlic and onions, there is no scientific evidence to support this.

However, if they have been used for so long, there may well be some truth in it.

Regardless, eating more fruit when you have a cold is generally sensible because fruit is full of immunity boosting vitamins as well as nutrients like quercetin — apples and citrus fruits in particular.

Menthol in Mexico

Ok time for one more tradition, then I’m going to get into some tips!

I really like this one from Mexico.

Basically, if a child has a cold, they smear Vicks VapoRub on the child’s chest and their feet, then put socks on. Then they wrap them up in heated sheets to sleep off the cold.

It’s all quite sensible.

A 2010 study found that the camphor, menthol, and eucalyptus oils in Vicks VapourRub may relieve symptoms and improve sleep in children with upper respiratory infections.

Obviously rubbing it on the chest makes sense as that will help clear the airwaves and congestion. I don’t really understand why you’d rub it on the feet, but from what I have read it actually seems to work!

I’m not sure of the science behind this or whether it’s just a placebo, but if you have some vapor rub and some socks, then give it a go (only if your child is older than the age of 2).

As the for the heated sheets, these are thought to help the child sweat out a cold. As far as I have read, there is no way to sweat out a cold, it just doesn’t work like that.

However, raising the body’s temperature when you are ill is what the body does naturally to fight off infection.

What I’d say is do whatever makes you feel more comfortable and able to get a good night of sleep. Sleep is when your body is in full repair mode and most effective at fighting off whatever virus you have picked up. So don’t stay up late or go out partying if you have a cold. Get some good quality rest.

Actionable tips for getting rid of a cold

Let’s move onto some tips.

Firstly, there is no way to prevent a cold.

However, washing your hands is good sense. Carry some antibacterial gel with you, especially if you are in crowded areas or on public transport.

Instead, keep your body fighting fit.

1 — Vitamin D

We all know how important vitamins are in keeping our immune systems healthy. Vitamin C is great for reducing severity of a cold, but when it comes to preventing a cold, look for vitamin D.

Research shows that vitamin D can stimulate the production of a virus-killing protein, and taking D supplements can lead to fewer viral infections.

I take a daily multivitamin, but I also take additional vitamin D — around 2,000 IU a day. The safe upper level of daily vitamin D intake in 4,000 IU, although up to 10,000 has been shown to have no adverse effects.

A multivitamin is safe for anyone, and so is vitamin D, although I would recommend doctor if you are on other medication or have any concerns.

Otherwise, get out in the sun as often as you can this winter, because the sun is a free and natural source of vitamin D!

2 — Exercise

This brings me onto my next tip… exercise!

If you are trying to cure a cold, the last thing you may want to do is lace up your trainers and go to the gym

However, exercise has been shown to boost circulation of immune cells throughout the body. I suggest getting outside and walking.

This also gives you chance to get into fresh air. When have a cold, easy to sit at home breathing in the same air, but fresh air really helps.

3 — Stay hydrated

A hydrated body is more efficient and will battle off bugs more effectively. It can also help you loosen mucus in your lungs. Sip tea, hot lemon… maybe add in some garlic like we discussed above!

4 — Get some good sleep

As mentioned above sleep. Vital to the immune system and fighting off colds. Use vapour rub if you are feeling particularly bunged up. Whether you rub vapour rub on feet is your call.

Notice these are not glamourous. But they are the things that work.

The final word

I hope this episode has helped prepare you for cold and flu season, and keep you fighting fit over the next few months. Keep those tips in mind, and you will go a long way to both preventing and reducing a cold.

Do let me know how you get on!

Originally published at http://planethealth.online on April 7, 2023.