Tuesday, February 18, 2014

How to overcome the common cold. 

Here is an overview of the cold process' bio-mechanism: 
http://www.the-scientist.com/images/February2013/31.pdf

1. During the onset, gargle fine sea salt (fine so as not to cut your throat) without iodine (there are complications that could occur with iodine).

2.  Use salt water in a nettie pot.  I tend to put about a centimeter of salt at the bottom of a standard clear glass cup.  I mix warm, just above room temperature water in with the salt and pour the mixture in the nettie pot.  I let it sit for a minute so salt kills anything in the water including any flora (scary stuff).  Tilt your head sideways then put your nose down a bit.  Pour into one nostril and try to arrange your head so that the steam comes out the other nostril.

3.  Wasabi mixed with soy sauce, really clears the sinuses.  I recommend getting a little box of sushi stuffs from whole foods or trader joes, and grabbing a handful of soy sauces and wasabis.
Let the tense-up reflex take effect as you chew it.  Move the wasabi to the back of your mouth to avoid burning your tongue.  If the tense up effect overcomes you, permit yourself to laugh heartily, for whatever reason this really helps.

4.  pour some olive oil on your fingers and coat the inside of your nostrils with it.  Also take about a half a teaspoon of olive oil and feed it to yourself.  This helps with a dry throat and my theory is that it either blocks the epithelial cells (look to the link at top) or fortifies them so the rhinovirus has less points of entry/reentry.

5.  Supplements that should be taken: vitamin c (can't get enough), flax seed oil (omega 3 helps), NK-3 (antiviral, the common cold is a virus), quercetin (to reduce allergic inflammation).  I recommend a combination of chamomile tea (to relax muscles), triple echinacea tea (help immunity), and ginger tea (reduce inflammation).

6.  Apparently jumping up and down pumps the lymph system and this helps.  It actually helped me every time I tried it.

7.  A humidifier.  I have read that the rhinovirus prefers dry environments at 91.4 -98 degrees fahrenheit, 33-37 degrees Celcius.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10223554.

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