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New Choices in Natural Healing: Colds

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Colds

We depend on other people for advice and companionship, laughter and support.

But if we hang around them long enough, they’ll probably share something else: microscopic critters that, when coughed, sneezed or sniffled into our air space, can lead to acute rhinitis, or the common cold.

Caused by any of about 20 different viruses, colds are easier to get than knock knock jokes and easier still to give away.

While colds are usually no big deal, persistent symptoms can signal a more serious problem such as bronchitis or a sinus infection. The common cold, however, will usually run its course in 7 to 14 days. The natural remedies in this chapter, used with your doctor’s approval, may help prevent a cold or relieve its symptoms, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When...

You have trouble swallowing
You have no appetite.
You cough up large amounts of sputum.
Your sputum is bloody or greenish in color.
You experience wheezing or shortness of breath.
You have acute, burning pain in your ears, sinuses or chest.
You have either a very high fever (over 103°F) or a moderately high fever (over 101°) that lasts for more than three days. Children with high fevers should see a doctor within 24 hours.

Acupressure

“Acupressure helps your body expel cold viruses more quickly, and it can provide relief from congestion and muscle aches,” says Harriet Beinfield, L.Ac., co-author of Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine and an acupuncturist at Chinese Medicine Works, a clinic and herb shop in San Francisco.

For a cold with a dry cough and fever, Beinfield suggests using pressure points in the depressions directly below the protrusions on the left and right sides of the collarbone (K 27), underneath the base of the skull, two inches out from the middle of your neck (GB 20), and at the outer edge of each elbow crease (LI 11). (To help locate these points, refer to the illustrations beginning on page 564.) To work these points, follow this sequence recommended by Michael Reed Gach, Ph.D., director of the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, California, and author of Acupressure’s Potent Points: Starting with K 27, press both points for one minute while breathing slowly and deeply. Move to GB 20 and press both points with the thumbs for one minute. Then move to LI 11, stimulating one of the points with the middle finger of your opposite hand for one minute before switching hands. Then return to K 27 and repeat the entire sequence. This should be done at least three times a day for maximum relief.

For sniffly, sneezy cold symptoms, Dr. Gach recommends one minute of pressure each on points in the webbing between the thumb and index finger (LI 4), on the face just beside the nostrils (LI 20) and in the upper ridges of the eye sockets, close to the bridge of the nose (B 2). (To help locate these points, refer to the illustrations beginning on page 564.) Dr. Gach cautions pregnant women to avoid pressure point LI 4, because stimulating this point can activate uterine contractions.

Aromatherapy

At the first sign of a cold, Los Angeles aromatic consultant John Steele turns on his aromatic diffuser. “Scenting a room with the right essences can alleviate the symptoms of a cold,” says Steele. He favors exotic essences such as ravensare and niaouli for their natural anti-infectious and antiviral properties. Because these oils have strong, slightly medicinal smells, Steele often blends them with a sweeter-smelling oil such as rosewood, lemon, eucalyptus, pine or fir, all of which have an antiseptic effect. “The most important thing is to start using aromatics as soon as you start feeling run-down,” says Steele. “In my experience, there is a very narrow window during which you can head off a cold before it starts.”

For information on preparing and administering essential oils, including cautions about their use, see page 19. For information on purchasing essential oils, refer to the resource list on page 633.

Ayurveda

Colds are a kapha-vata disorder, says Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (For more information about the doshas of Ayurveda, see “All about Vata, Pitta and Kapha” on page 28.) He explains that you develop a cold when your body has an excess of kapha’s cool, moist characteristics, causing a stuffy or runny nose and lots of sneezing. And, he says, excess vata energy reduces agni, or gastric fire, so you get the chills. But, according to Dr. Lad, ginger can reduce excess kapha and restore agni, making it “the best medicine for colds and flus.”

Here is Dr. Lad’s recipe for ginger tea: Add just under ½ teaspoon each of ginger powder, fennel seeds and cinnamon and a pinch of clove powder to one cup of hot water. Let the herbs steep for about ten minutes, then strain them out of the tea before drinking. Drink as much of the tea as you wish, Dr. Lad says.

Because aspirin and ginger are both blood thinners, Dr. Lad recommends drinking ginger tea at least two hours before or after you take a dose of aspirin.

Food Therapy

Grapefruit is a great food for fighting a cold, says Paul Yanick, Ph.D., a research scientist in Milford, Pennsylvania. One reason is that it’s high in vita min C, according to Dr. Yanick. A lesser-known reason, he says, is that grapefruit helps detoxify the liver. “The liver is your front line to the immune system, and when immunity is impaired, you need something that’s alkaline and not acidic to detoxify it,” he says. All citrus fruits become alkaline when metabolized in the body, he explains, but oranges and other citrus fruits are too sweet to promote proper liver drainage, so you get much better detoxification from grapefruit. He recommends eating one or more grapefruit and their white bitter pulp each day to prevent colds and to build immunity.

Herbal Therapy

Garlic can help prevent colds and help reduce symptoms because it contains a potent antibiotic called allicin, which is released when cloves of garlic are chopped, crushed or chewed, says Varro E. Tyler, Ph.D., professor of pharmacognosy at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. You can add raw garlic to foods as a preventive measure, according to Dr. Tyler, or you can buy garlic supplements, which are available in most health food stores (and in many drugstores, too). He says the best supplemental form is enteric-coated capsules, which are easier for the body to absorb. He recommends that you follow label directions for dosage; a typical dosage is 300 milligrams daily for as long as symptoms persist, he adds.

Homeopathy

If you have sinus congestion, a thick green nasal discharge, sensitivity to touch and pain in your cheekbones or on the bridge of your nose, then try a 30C dose of Kali bichromicum once or twice daily until you begin to feel better, says Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Edmonds, Washington, and co-author of The Patient’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicine. If you feel warm, feel better in fresh air, don’t feel thirsty and are unusually emotional, try a 30C dose of Pulsatilla once or twice a day, she says. If you have a chest cold with a cough, are irritable and are thirsty to the point of gulping water, and if your sinuses feel raw, Dr. Reichenberg-Ullman recommends a 3OC dose of Bryonia three times a day. On the other hand, if you feel restless, anxious, irritable and chilly, are thirsty but drink in sips and have a watery, burning nasal discharge, she advises taking a 30C dose of Arsenicum once or twice a day.

All of these homeopathic remedies are available in many health food stores. To purchase the remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Hydrotherapy

Hot baths and drinking plenty of water are two of the best and simplest water treatments for a cold, according to Charles Thomas, Ph.D., a physical therapist at Desert Springs Therapy Center in Desert Hot Springs, California, and co-author of Hydrotherapy: Simple Treatments for Common Ailments. Here’s what he recommends: Fill your tub with comfortably hot water (about 102° to 104°F—you can use a regular thermometer to check) and submerge as much of your body as possible. Soak for about 15 minutes. Towel off, jump into a prewarmed bed and rest for at least one hour or longer (be sure to keep yourself warm, with your arms and legs well-covered). Dr. Thomas says to use this treatment one to three times every day until your symptoms subside.

Herbal steam treatments are a soothing way to treat the head congestion that can come with a cold, says Barre, Vermont, herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, author of Herbal Healing for Women and other books about herbs. Her advice: Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Then remove it from the heat source and drip a few drops of essential oil into it. (You can buy essential oils in most health food stores. Eucalyptus, sage and balsam are particularly good for cold congestion, Gladstar says.) Drape a bath towel over your head and breathe deeply for five to ten minutes. Do this two or three times a day until your symptoms subside.

Juice Therapy

“Fresh pineapple juice is wonderful for colds,” says Eve Campanelli, Ph.D., a holistic family practitioner in Beverly Hills, California. “It’s less allergenic than citrus and less acidic in the stomach, and it actually contains more vitamin C. It also breaks down mucus better.” To treat a cold, she recommends drinking four to six ounces of juice (diluted with the same amount of water) at least four times a day.

For more information on juicing techniques, see page 93.

Reflexology

Use the corresponding golf ball technique (page 588) to work the adrenal gland, head, throat and chest reflex points on both hands, say Kevin and Barbara Kunz, reflexology researchers in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and authors of Hand and Foot Reflexology. They also suggest working the head, throat and chest points on both feet.

To help you locate these points, consult the hand and foot reflex charts beginning on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Sound Therapy

Stress can lower your immune system and make you prone to colds, says Steven Halpern, Ph.D., composer, researcher and author of Sound Health: The Music and Sounds That Make Us Whole. To combat stress, he recommends spending at least 20 minutes each day listening to music that will relax you. To get started, he says, turn on the music, then sit or lie comfortably, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Dr. Halpern suggests that you wear headphones to focus your full attention and avoid distraction. He recommends, however, that you keep the speakers playing, so your body absorbs the sound energy. While the music plays, let your breath slow down and become steady. Listen not just to the notes but to the silence between the notes. This will keep you from analyzing the music, which will allow it to relax you.

Of the sources listed in “Sailing Away to Key Largo” on page 129, Dr. Halpern recommends Seapeace, Spectrum Suite, Inner Peace, Comfort Zone and any recording of Gregorian chants. Many of these are available in music stores. For mail-order information, refer to the resource list on page 642.

Vitamin and Mineral Therapy

A person with a cold may want to use the following vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements to help shorten the duration of the cold and reduce the severity of symptoms, says David Edelberg, M.D., an internist and medical director of the American Holistic Center/Chicago: 50,000 international units of vitamin A three times a day for no more than five days; 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C three times a day for no more than five days; two capsules of garlic three times a day; two capsules of echinacea three times a day (or, as a tincture, 15 drops four times a day); and 15 drops of lomatium tincture three times a day. For a sore throat, Dr. Edelberg says to try one zinc lozenge dissolved in the mouth every two to three hours or as needed. And to clear up nasal congestion, he suggests using steam inhalation (see “Hydrotherapy at Home” on page 78), adding eucalyptus oil to the water.

Garlic supplements, echinacea (in capsule and tincture form), lomatium tincture and eucalyptus oil are available in most health food stores.

Yoga

You can greatly reduce your chances of catching a cold if you do a yoga nasal wash, called neti, once a day, says Stephen A. Nezezon, M.D., yoga teacher and staff physician at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Here's what Dr. Nezezon recommends: Start by filling a four-ounce paper cup halfway with warm water, then add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Put a small crease in the lip of the cup so that it forms a spout. Slightly tilt your head back and to the left. Then slowly pour the water into your right nostril. The water will flow out of your left nostril or down the back of your throat if your left nostril is clogged. Spit out the water if it goes down your throat, or wipe the water from your face with a hand towel if it flows out of your left nostril. Fill the cup again, then repeat the procedure on the other side, pouring the water into your left nostril and tilting your head back and to the right so that the water flows out of your right nostril.