Young children (babies and toddlers) seem like they are always get a cold. When kids spend the day at daycare they are constantly exposed to colds and other germs and viruses and can get colds upwards of 12 times a year. It is very easy to pick up these colds from your child since you are always playing and in contact with them.
For us, we caught our child’s cold enough to warrant a massive internet search for cures and prevention techniques. God bless the internet. This article is an account of some of the techniques I found that I thought might help others. Please note that I am not a doctor and can’t medically recommend any of these home cold remedies. So, try at your own risk and I wouldn’t recommend that you try these on your kids without consulting a doctor.
The first promising remedy I found was hydrogen peroxide. Apparently when 3% hydrogen peroxide comes in contact with the cold virus it can disinfect it. To try this remedy, keep your head parallel with the ground by tilting it or lying on your side. Put a small amount (a few drops) of the 3% hydrogen peroxide in your ear. Put enough in where you feel like you are under water. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. It will slowly seep into your ear canal and into your sinus cavity and apparently kill any cold virus it comes into contact with. Repeat with the other ear. You can also try gargling with the 3% hydrogen peroxide as well. Some swear by hydrogen peroxide and proactively clean their ears with a dipped Q-tip daily.
The second home remedy is vitamin C. Large doses of vitamin C have been reported to fight a cold effectively. I have read about taking up to 2 grams of vitamin C on a cold onset and 1 gram periodically if the cold persists.
The third remedy I found was the Cold-Eeze product or other similar products. These have dosages of zinc that they say alleviates the cold. They recommend you start taking Cold-Eeze on first symptoms of a cold and that they will decrease the duration of the cold.
In most cases prevention is the best policy. Be sure to wash hands regularly and maintain a sanitary environment to prevent cold and other viruses from spreading.
If you have other home cold remedies that you would like to share, please post them in the comments section.
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