How to Treat A Summer Cold?

​Contrary to popular belief, you cannot only catch a cold during the fall and winter season, and it does not have to be cold outside either. It is the rhinovirus that causes common colds can spread and infect people just as quickly, even if it is hot out.

If you catch a cold in the summer, you will have the same symptoms as catching a cold in the 

fall and winter season.  ​
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Sometimes it is difficult to tell if you have a common cold or summer allergies. However, if you know the significant differences between the two, you can tell one from the other easily:

• Colds and allergies share some of the symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, congestion, and an itchy or sore throat. But a cold will also involve other signs like coughing, sweating, and fever.
• Colds without complications last at the most one or two weeks. Allergies persist longer than two weeks and do not go away.
• Cold symptoms start mild, worsen, and then return to mild or disappear. Allergies, on the other hand, tend to be consistent and persistent.
• With a cold, you will usually experience the onset of each individual symptom at separate times. Allergy symptoms occur all at once.
• Allergy symptoms will change when you travel to a different region, they can get worse or improve. It depends if what you are allergic to reside in the area you visit.
• In allergies, mucus is translucent and usually thinner (unless you have a sinus infection). On the other hand, cold can start with thin mucus, but at one point it will always thicken up and sometimes will change to green or yellow color.

To treat a summer cold:

• Make sure to get plenty of rest and sleep. Avoid extreme activity and stress that could weaken the immune system.
• Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid drinks that could dehydrate, like energy drinks, alcohol, or coffee.
• Hot teas could be soothing and help with some symptoms. Especially fresh ginger tea, this tea has been shown to shorten the duration of a cold. To make mix 1oz of fresh ginger juice with 7oz of hot water, little lemon and honey, drink it every two to four hour hours.
• Increase your intake of vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C, and zinc.
• Take herbs usually used to fight colds, boost immunity, and alleviate symptoms. Favorite herbs for fighting rhinovirus are echinacea, licorice root, elderberry, and garlic.
• Humidifiers and steams help alleviate symptoms, particularly runny nose, congestion, sore throat, and coughing. You can also use an aromatherapy diffuser and diffuse antimicrobial and sinus oils like oregano, camphor, peppermint, eucalyptus, etc.
• Keep your body as alkaline as possible by drinking lemon water, miso soup, green vegetable juices, etc. minimize heavy and grease food as well as red meat.
• To boost you immune system, take a probiotic supplement

I hope you found this information useful, as always I’m here to help, feel free to email me for any questions at Toni@moongazingapothecary.com or visit my website for view my most popular herbal cold/flu and seasonal allergy remedies

Happy Sunday,
Toni
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