When you are dealing with and treating a cold, the symptoms can make you uncomfortable and make your everyday responsibilities difficult. With the right knowledge to help you treat your cold symptoms, you can start feeling better sooner. Here are some recommendations to help you treat your cold.

Follow Your Doctor's Recommendations

One of the most important practices to help your body get over a cold is to follow the advice of your doctor. It is recommended to get lots of rest while you are sick, so stay home from work or school to get the extra sleep your body needs. Next, you should keep your body hydrated by drinking a lot of liquids, such as juice and water. Do not drink any caffeinated drinks, such as coffee, soda, and some teas, as this can cause your body to become more dehydrated because of the diuretic properties of these drinks. 

It can be helpful to take over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, to help your headache, body aches, and sore throat so you can feel more comfortable. It is also helpful to suck on ice chips or gargle a salt water rinse to help your sore throat pain. Make your own salt water rinse by adding one-fourth to one-half teaspoon of salt to eight ounces of warm water. Stir this until the salt has dissolved, take a mouthful and gargle it in your throat, then spit it into the sink.

Use At-Home Remedies and Treatments

There are many natural or herbal remedies you can try to help the symptoms and even reduce the severity and length of your cold. Taking garlic in its natural form with your meals or in the form of a supplement can help you with your cold. Garlic contains allicin, which has been found to have antimicrobial properties, which can boost your immune system to help fight off your virus. In fact, a study with 146 participants found that those who took a garlic supplement reported fewer cases of the cold than those who didn't take a supplement.

Taking an echinacea supplement can also reduce the severity and length of your cold. Taking echinacea daily increases the number of white blood cells in your body, which are necessary for fighting off infection in your body. You can take echinacea in a daily supplement as soon as you start to feel symptoms of a cold.

Chicken soup is also helpful for fighting your cold and reducing symptoms of an upper respiratory infection. Drinking warm chicken soup slows the movement of the white blood cells in your body. When these white blood cells move more slowly in your body, they stay more concentrated in areas of your body to help with healing.

Use Medicinal Hard Liquor

By taking a small amount of whiskey in a hot toddy, you can help alleviate the symptoms of your cold and help you feel better. The warmth of this drink helps relieve your nasal congestion, and the whiskey can help you sleep better immediately after taking it. Honey and lemon in the drink help soothe your sore throat. It is also found that the whiskey dilates your blood vessels to help your mucus membranes drain easier to eliminate the infection inside your nose. 

To make a hot toddy, place two ounces of whiskey into a mug with a tea bag and one tablespoon of honey. Pour one cup of hot water into the mug to dissolve the honey. If the drink is not hot enough to dissolve the honey and steep the tea, you can microwave the drink in its mug until it is hot enough. Last, add one teaspoon of lemon juice to the drink and stir it to combine, then enjoy your drink. Be sure to follow up drinking your hot toddy with plenty of non-diuretic fluids, such as water and juice to help combat dehydration that can occur from drinking alcohol.

Use these tips to help you while you are sick with a cold. For more information on cold treatments, contact a medical center like Premier Urgent Care Centers of California, Inc.