The Change of Season Cold

A Common time for people to experience colds and coughs are during a change of season. When the weather changes from fair to crisp;  sniffles and  colds  and cough viruses start to become more and more common place.
Now, as the first evening frosts creep in, our kids immunity get hit with the double whammy sugar onslaught from thanksgiving pies to Halloween treats. Thus,  we’ve got to have prevention strategies in place and/or prepare for another round of stuffy heads and runny noses. While most colds are self limiting, meaning they will go away on their own in 5 to 7 days, it is always nice to be equipped with some gentle comfort measures, something you can do for yourself or your children to help speed the healing process, or ease the symptoms. If your cold or cough doesn't  improve or resolve in the aforementioned 5 to 7 days it’s time to pack up the family and visit your naturopathic doctor, we can offer immune support and specific herbals, acupuncture, supplements and homeopathics to help wager your microbial battle. During the winter months in particular I attempt to have at least one patient spot per day available for last minute acute care needs.

Take some time off if possible
I recently read that rest is the most undervalued treatment available in North America today, and I could not agree more. When you are coming down with a cold or cough give yourself and your children the gift of  plenty of rest and relaxation. Allow time for your body to heal. Eat warm, cooked food and drink plenty of warm liquids. Avoid sugar as it works directly against the immune system. Many people reach for copious s amounts of orange juice during a cold to increase their vitamin C intake. I would advise you to eat oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, and bell peppers, but skip the juice which is quite high in sugar. Most people find that avoiding dairy products when congested  also helps prevent the over production of mucus during a head cold.

Perform home hydrotherapy
To help in fighting  off a cold or flu use warming socks. Get a knee-high pair of cotton socks and a pair of wool socks. Soak the cotton socks in cold water, wring them out and then put them on your feet. Put the dry wool socks on top and then go to bed. The body will respond by warming the feet, thus draining the congestion from the head.

Support your  fever
To reduce a fever drink a couple of glasses of water, apply cold wet compress to the forehead and chest and take a long tepid bath or sponge bath. Rest, drink plenty of fluids, peppermint tea, yarrow and catnip have all been used traditionally to help break fevers. Limit your food intake until the fever breaks naturally. Fevers below 39C (102F) are seen as “friendly” and a reaction of the body’s immune system to fight infection and  to eliminate toxins.
We can aid the elimination of toxins through the skin by inducing perspiration.  Try taking warm baths, using an infra-red sauna or steam room. Increasing perspiration through the skin is one of the safest and most effective ways of eliminating toxins during a cold or flu.

Treat yourself with homeopathy
An advantage to using low dose homeopathic remedies to treat your family is the safety of this form of medicine. No side effects or drug interactions occur with homeopathy, making it a good choice for families with small children, pregnant women or people on multiple medications. There are two guiding principals with homeopathy. The first is the law of similar’s, meaning that the symptom picture of an illness must match as closely as possible to the symptom picture of the chosen remedy. The more information you have about the illness, and the better you know the remedy picture, and the better your choice will be. The second principal is that of using the minimum dose. Which means using as little as a medicine as possible to stimulate the body’s own healing mechanism. Give only one dose (pellet) and wait to see what relief it brings. If things improve do not re-dose unless the cold stops improving before full recovery is made, or a relapse is symptoms are seen.
Consider:
Aconite- for early stages of cold when the person has experienced a chill.
Arsenicum- for thin, watery burning discharge with colds.
Pulsitilla- for thick, yellow profuse discharge which is worse in the morning.
Gelsemium- for colds with body acing and intense desire to stay in bed.
Silica- for a cold which is slow to go, especially in people with low resistance to infection.

Bundle up and enjoy the beauty this season has to offer; crisp fresh air, majestic fall colors, & pumpkin spice soy lattes. Remember it’s the simplicity of eating well and staying active that will be the best protection against this fall’s bugs.