Some easy and effective home remedies to get you through winter without the risk of getting any side effects. I like holistic approach for curing every day health issues. I use western medicine as last resort. Here's some home remedies for common health issues like cold, cough and aches and pains. This is very useful if we spot the sickness at early stage. I had been following this for last few years and the remedies have worked amazingly well.
Turmeric Milk or Golden Milk - Manjal Paal
This milk is best medicine when there is cold or cough symptoms: stuffy nose, itchy or sore throat. Drinking this milk twice a day for at least 2-3 days brings immediate relief. I have seen the difference in the first day of drinking this milk. This remedy has worked out for my kids and me for the past 10 years.
Preparation: Bring 1/2 cup of water to boil and add grated ginger(1 inch piece) to it. When the ginger water is boiling, add 1 cup of milk. Add 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp black pepper powder. Once the milk boils remove from stove and add 1/2 tsp of palm jaggery (panam kalkandu). Filter the milk and drink.
You can reduce the ginger and pepper amount for kids.
Camphor Coconut oil - Karpooram Thenga Ennai
When kids have cold, nasal congestion and have trouble sleeping I prepare this oil and slightly massage it from chest to throat, on the back and little on the forehead and nasal sides. To make it fun for kids, apply a bit in the feet and palm. I have seen my kids sleep well at night after this massage.
Preparation: Slightly warm 2 tbsp of oil on stove in a small pan and add an inch of pure camphor. When the camphor melts and starts vaporizing remove from stove. Gently massage it as described above. I have tried it for my kids right from when they were 3 months old and it worked amazingly well without any side effects. I also did not have the guilt of using medicines on the young infants and kids.
Ginger Tea
When we have cold with sore throat, the ginger tea works amazingly well.
Preparation: Take a 3 inch piece ginger, grate it or mash it and add it to 4 cups of water. Bring the water to boil and let it boil for 5 minutes. Switch off the stove and let the ginger juice soak in the water. Strain one cup of water and add 1 tsp of honey to it. Drink it 3 - 5 times a day to get rid of the sore throat and cold.
Salt Water Gargle
When you sense that you are getting sore throat or find out someone in the family is having sore throat, use the salt water gargling to get rid of the throat infection.
Preparation: Take a cup of warm water add 1/2 tsp of salt to it. Gargle with the salt water such that the salt water slightly touches the throat. Its OK if you accidentally swallow little bit of the salt water. After gargling spit out the water and repeat the gargling with the rest of the water. Do the gargling at-least 3 times a day to get relief from sore throat.
Saline Water For Relieving Stuffy Nose
This is very useful for kids. When they have stuffy nose, breathing would be difficult so they will have disturbed sleep and eventually restless and cranky. With few drops of saline water in their nose, they will sleep through the night.
Preparation: Take 1/3 cup of lukewarm water. Add 3 pinches of salt to it. Saline water is ready. Use 2 drops on each nostrils to clear stuffy nose. You can repeat the procedure after say 10 minutes.
Note: Keep their head in a slight elevated position when they have stuffy nose so they can breathe with less difficulty and hence less disturbed sleep.
Oil Pulling
One of the best way to remove the toxins from our body is oil pulling. Take one spoon of gingely(Sesame) oil in your mouth and start squishing the oil inside your mouth for 10 - 20 minutes. Make sure you do the squishing on all the sides of the mouth. You will feel that the oil becomes watery, that's when you spit out the watery substance. It is recommended to spit out inside your toilet bowl rather than sink, because the watery substance is full of toxins. When squishing the oil on all sides of the mouth, the organs related to the different taste buds in our tongue gets awakened thus enabling pulling the toxins from the important organs, making the oil watery. Make sure you do this in empty stomach, the first thing in the morning, to get good result. Oil pulling is good for general oral health and also it increases the blood flow in face thus keeping your face young, bright and healthy. It releases nasal congestion and pulls out mucous.This is one practice, if followed daily, could make significant improvement in your overall health.
Turmeric Milk or Golden Milk - Manjal Paal
This milk is best medicine when there is cold or cough symptoms: stuffy nose, itchy or sore throat. Drinking this milk twice a day for at least 2-3 days brings immediate relief. I have seen the difference in the first day of drinking this milk. This remedy has worked out for my kids and me for the past 10 years.
Preparation: Bring 1/2 cup of water to boil and add grated ginger(1 inch piece) to it. When the ginger water is boiling, add 1 cup of milk. Add 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp black pepper powder. Once the milk boils remove from stove and add 1/2 tsp of palm jaggery (panam kalkandu). Filter the milk and drink.
You can reduce the ginger and pepper amount for kids.
Camphor Coconut oil - Karpooram Thenga Ennai
When kids have cold, nasal congestion and have trouble sleeping I prepare this oil and slightly massage it from chest to throat, on the back and little on the forehead and nasal sides. To make it fun for kids, apply a bit in the feet and palm. I have seen my kids sleep well at night after this massage.
Preparation: Slightly warm 2 tbsp of oil on stove in a small pan and add an inch of pure camphor. When the camphor melts and starts vaporizing remove from stove. Gently massage it as described above. I have tried it for my kids right from when they were 3 months old and it worked amazingly well without any side effects. I also did not have the guilt of using medicines on the young infants and kids.
Ginger Tea
When we have cold with sore throat, the ginger tea works amazingly well.
Preparation: Take a 3 inch piece ginger, grate it or mash it and add it to 4 cups of water. Bring the water to boil and let it boil for 5 minutes. Switch off the stove and let the ginger juice soak in the water. Strain one cup of water and add 1 tsp of honey to it. Drink it 3 - 5 times a day to get rid of the sore throat and cold.
Salt Water Gargle
When you sense that you are getting sore throat or find out someone in the family is having sore throat, use the salt water gargling to get rid of the throat infection.
Preparation: Take a cup of warm water add 1/2 tsp of salt to it. Gargle with the salt water such that the salt water slightly touches the throat. Its OK if you accidentally swallow little bit of the salt water. After gargling spit out the water and repeat the gargling with the rest of the water. Do the gargling at-least 3 times a day to get relief from sore throat.
Saline Water For Relieving Stuffy Nose
This is very useful for kids. When they have stuffy nose, breathing would be difficult so they will have disturbed sleep and eventually restless and cranky. With few drops of saline water in their nose, they will sleep through the night.
Preparation: Take 1/3 cup of lukewarm water. Add 3 pinches of salt to it. Saline water is ready. Use 2 drops on each nostrils to clear stuffy nose. You can repeat the procedure after say 10 minutes.
Note: Keep their head in a slight elevated position when they have stuffy nose so they can breathe with less difficulty and hence less disturbed sleep.
Oil Pulling
One of the best way to remove the toxins from our body is oil pulling. Take one spoon of gingely(Sesame) oil in your mouth and start squishing the oil inside your mouth for 10 - 20 minutes. Make sure you do the squishing on all the sides of the mouth. You will feel that the oil becomes watery, that's when you spit out the watery substance. It is recommended to spit out inside your toilet bowl rather than sink, because the watery substance is full of toxins. When squishing the oil on all sides of the mouth, the organs related to the different taste buds in our tongue gets awakened thus enabling pulling the toxins from the important organs, making the oil watery. Make sure you do this in empty stomach, the first thing in the morning, to get good result. Oil pulling is good for general oral health and also it increases the blood flow in face thus keeping your face young, bright and healthy. It releases nasal congestion and pulls out mucous.This is one practice, if followed daily, could make significant improvement in your overall health.
Thank you Sunitha for the wonderful information :)
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