It’s just a cold….Reallyyy!!!

That’s generally the attitude when it comes to a cold and an itchy throat. “Oh it’s nothing; a little runny nose … ‘achoo achoo’..pop in an anti histamine and ‘hem hack’ an itchy throat, it’s a dry cough, so gulp down a cough syrup…and I’m settled”. You get a fever you get a sick leave but a cough and cold, well c’mon!! it’s no big deal! (Thanks to corona,the sick leaves are a little lenient on the cough and cold too now).

But did you know, a suppressed and unattended or neglected cold and cough can lead to a lot of long term health issues? Your coughs and colds are your body’s reaction to something that’s not suiting your respiratory system. The reaction is manifested as an allergic response. So would you say shutting it up with a dose of anti histamines or cough suppressants be the wiser thing to do, especially if that is in your kiddo? Similarly leaving yourself or your child to live in with the cold and cough expecting it to magically go off is negligence.

What to do?

Primarily understand the causeLifestyle modifications: eg: avoiding food allergens like milk and it’s processed products , difficult to digest and constipating foods including biscuits and chocolates, timings of certain foods like fruits and juices ,sweets n deep fried in eveningheavy and late dinners ,etc etc..The Indian Superfoods/ Magical kitchen herbs: ginger extract and honey can help in the beginning of a cold turmeric boiled water gargle can help an itchy throat Coconut oil pulling alternate with turmeric gargling for a dry scratchy coughajwain leaves extract ( my favourite) especially for kids, to drink and a certain kind of application on the Bergma for blocked nose and initial coughsSteaming and inhalations:steam with ajwain leavesWarm poultice of ajwain seeds and rocksalt around the sinuseskrshna jeera/ kala jeera+ Camphor poultice for sniffing for blocked noseProper defecation- it can also cause increase histamines in the body and can irritate the diaphragm to cause irritant coughs.Exercises- young or old ; just get out , pull and stretch those bones and muscles .They activate your lungs . Pranayamas like kapalabhati, bastrika, Bhramari cause movements to those otherwise sedentary parts of your respiratory system( sinuses, larynx). But when affected with a cold rest it out.Warm up the body- especially your kiddo, sock up the feet, double layer the chest, cover up the head and ears ,be it inside the house or outside .Foods:Treat yourself like in a fever. Restrict the sweet and oily foods including fruitsWatery diet, less nourishing more survival mode diet.Milk and it’s products banned during this time

These basic things are sometimes what we forget to attend to but can cause a magnanimous change. Saying so I would also want to say , if your kiddo is between 0-5 years, don’t worry that they are affected by a constant flu, it’s their body reacting to a lot of things that they are getting used it. So just understand that and help them not worsen the cold n cough with the above said guidelines. Also always seek the advise of your practitioner to understand the stage of the flu and to understand the cause.