Any anecdotal home remedies for a streaming cold?? Doesn't matter how bonkers!

[Namestranger]

I will try almost anything at the point. This is my third day in bed and my face has been behaving like I've been chopping really strong onions the entire time...eyes and nose and so sore from mopping them constantly. Haven't even had the energy to shower. Am drinking lots of fluid, taking otc painkillers and taken all my vitimins since all I have in is bread and plain pasta.

Anyone got any ideas I can try?? I just got up to make a coffee and have had to have a sit down on the kitchen floor. And I can only see out one eye 😂😭

Colds definitely do get worse as you get older, IME. I had a real humdinger before Christmas, started Dec 2, and it laid me low for nearly a fortnight. No fever but felt dreadful - each one seems worse than the last!
I'm so glad I don't work any more, I was not fit company at all, totally bunged up with snot, went through boxes of tissues and then had a hacking cough which lasted almost three weeks. The healthy brigade on here who wouldn't dream of taking any time off work for a mere cold obviously never get a real one!

I take echinacea drops at the start of the cold, dose up with paracetamol, (alternate this with one dose of co-codamol every other night), and Otrivine nasal spray. Kleenex Balm tissues are a must as my nose gets so sore, plus liberal use of Vaseline.
Hot drinks yes, but nothing too outlandish for me! Just honey and lemon although soup can be v.comforting -- I just add a couple of shakes of Tabasco to it to help clear the nasal passages.

Tartyflette I hope your Christmas wasn't too horrid, your cold and subsequent cough sound a dreadful bore, you poor thing.

There's a horrible viral thing about at the minute, I've just had two weeks off work with it

Agree with the echinacea, zinc and Vit C suggestion.

For the streaming nose, have you tried the otrivine nosedrops that are supposed to dry them up? I have them for my DD as she used to get ear infections - like me, she get streaming colds with tons of mucus. You can only use them for a few days at a time though.

A hot bath is also good, the steam clears things up (or at least makes you cought). We buy the balm tissues in bulk from Costco!

Hope it disappears very soon OP!

OP it's far too late now but in the future, as soon as you feel the first snuffle EAT RAW GARLIC! Or make the hottest, spiciest curry you can bear, with lots of fresh chillis and grated ginger. Then wash an antihistamine down with a slug of brandy, have a good night's sleep and you'll wake up feeling brand new.

PS. I haven't had a cold for ten years. Everyone around me is coughing and spluttering with colds and man flu; I'm convinced it's the garlic that keeps it at bay 😷

One of those sinus-rinse nose flute things and also gargle with brandy

If you're having sinus pain, for god's sake don't use any pseudoephedrine type decongestants (Sudafed eg) - they make it worse by thickening the mucus. But if your sinuses are happy, take as much as you can to reduce the dribbling from all your head orifices.

Otherwise a strict diet of very alcoholic hot toddies is prescribed, rum or whisky to your taste plus lots of honey and lemon - and a bath.

Raw garlic
Spicy curry
Hot lemon, ginger and honey
Vicks on the feet

The raw garlic again it's a winner , fresh ginger makes you sweat it out .
A friend of mine swears by mustard powder in a hot bath .

This reminds me. A friends dad used to rub mustard oil on her and her siblings chest and back when they had colds. I tried it once on my dc when they were little and it did work.
Bedding reeked of curry tho.

A facial steamer with a few drops of Olbas oil added to it.

Hot whiskies: brown sugar, cloves, hot water, whisky. It won't cure the cold but it might make you feel better.

1. Put a bath on.
2. While Bath is running chop up a whole head of garlic and as many onions as you've got, big glut of olive oil. Chick it all in on a low heat, put lid on and let it sweat.
3. Check your bath.
4. Boil the kettle and make hot drink of your choice (honey, lemon, whisky).
5. Add remainder of hot water to onions and garlic, add loads of black pepper, leave to simmer very gently, with the lid off.
6. Have bath and hot drink.
7. Have soup. Go to bed.
8. Wake up feeling better - but you'll stink of garlic.
9. Look at remains of soup and decide if you can be bothered to freeze it.

Yes vick on soles of your feet , wear socks over it

Proper chicken soup. Boil a chicken for about 3-4 hours (or pressure cook it), it's done when falling apart. Strain the whole pan, chicken & broth, through the most massive sieve you can find. Re-simmer the stock, with added veg & herbs, whatever you fancy. Pick however much of the meat you can manage, off the carcass & chuck it in too. Do it in a metal pan, & you can cool it relatively easily in a massive sink full of cold water so it's safe to keep in the fridge a few days & reheat further portions as needed. Use potatoes or pasta as a carb, if you decide to put any in, not rice, as rice can go bad really quickly.

Use some of the extra meat for other lazy meals to keep you going, or to throw at the DCs when they cry for food.

Also, curry. Excellent for decongesting the sinuses. Several spices are very helpful for the immune system as well.

Re sore noses - La Roche Posay Cicaplast baume B5 cream is the absolute bomb for chapped skin. Also, as I found out last spring, sunburn. I am practically wedded to mine & it now goes everywhere with me...

Rub Vick vapour rub into your forehead. It really helps shift things in our house.

Another vote for Vicks on feet then socks on before bed. There's science behind it. I used to be prone to chest and sinus infection it haven't had one since doing this each time I feel a cold starting. Lemsip max with a slug of whiskey's great too. Alternate with Ibuprofen to help with pain and swelling. Avoid Sudafed etc as in previous post

We had the zombie flu in this household for around four weeks in November. It was not fun.

• Menthol crystals in boiling water to help clear your nose - don't use too many and don't get too near the steam but it will definitely clear the airways. You can buy them at the chemist.
• Hot toddy - whisky, honey, and a bit of cumin or allspice whatever other nice hot spices you've got in your cupboard.
• Vicks on the soles of your feet and then nice warm socks
• Hot water bottle
• Essential oils from the following in a diffuser or boiling water to inhale or the bath: peppermint, cedarwood (sustainable, obviously), spearmint, ginger, lemon, cajeput...
• If you're able to take Ibuprofen the liquid ones work really fast; if you're able to take paracetamol and the Lemsip type things then ones with caffeine in them (ask the chemist)
• Echinacea; St John's Wort (though if you're on the pill check with your doctor and/or the pharmacist on that one as they can inter-react); vitamin C
• Hot water bottle on the tummy/between the thighs
• Hibernation under a large blanket

Hope you feel better soon! It was one of the worst sets of viruses we've ever had (and I live with a nurse and used to work in the NHS myself so over the years we've been exposed to a fair few germs...!).

Oh, and for the headaches, you could try something like Biofreeze - we had a week of headaches that were so debilitating they made migraines look like a walk in the park. (Our GP surgery was inundated with people and even the doctors were off sick.)