I have quite a big bag of tricks for beating colds and viruses – both preventative and treatment. Some of my favorite natural & homeopathic treatment remedies below:
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (ACV) – helps relieve sinus pressure & infection; wards off flu. Pour a shot into a glass with water or shoot it straight back once a day.
NETTY POT – germs will sit in your nasal cavities for 24 hours before infecting – flush them out at night using Himalayan sea salts. I use this morning and night for treatment when sick. I also have a junior Nasaline brand one for kids. My son just asked to do it as his nose was so plugged trying to fall asleep that he could not sleep. It looks more like a large syringe. My kids also will use my ceramic netty pot (which I prefer as it’s more hygienic and safer to use as you rely on gravity to pull the water through vs force). (FYI, my son just fell asleep within minutes of climbing back into bed.)
LEMON – boosts immune system, cuts mucous.
GARLIC – nature’s antibiotic; I take Kyolic odourless garlic pills throughout the winter but if I get really sick I’ll cut a chunk of raw garlic and drop it into a mouthful of water and shoot it back.
FRESH GINGER – peel & cut pinky tip size piece and put in tsp of medicinal manuka honey, chew & swallow – this tip comes from my all-knowing-more-then-the-best-massage-therapist, Janet. (Not for you? Try this hotty totty – boiling ginger in water, adding lemon and raw honey, if needed – not manuka honey, as heat kills the medicinal properties.) Ginger’s warming and healing benefits helps with throat and nose congestion, nausea, bloating, gas & digestion.
OIL OF OREGANO – antibacterial, 4 drops in mouthful of water and shoot it back – am and pm for treatment only, not preventative (when i was pregnant i did only 2 drops)
STOP IT COLD, throat spray – I keep at my bedside so if i ever wake with the first hint of a raw throat I attack it. Works well once sick too.
ECHINACEA GOLDENSEAL – by St Francis; a great combination used for centuries; antiviral, antiinflammatory, boosts immune system; you might see i’ve written not with temperature – never take Echinacea with fever as it’s stimulating (with temperature i take goldenseal alone); goldenseal is anti-microbial and is soothing to & eases mucous membranes.
ASTRAGALUS – unique in that it’s great immune support that you can give preventively and when you are sick; stimulates growth of antibodies and creates resistance to both virus’s and bacteria; also strengthens energy levels.
AIR IONIZER – I run my air diffuser/ionizer daily. It kills airborne germs and prevents spread of viruses. It also smells great and acts as a humidifier. One of my favourite blends is tea tree oil (antibacterial & anti fungal), peppermint oil (relieves tension headaches, but is also stimulating so careful to not run near bedtimes) and eucalyptus oil (anti-inflammatory, relieves sinus headaches and congestion). Found this zen design made of wood and glass at massageemporium.com.
The next two need to be highlighted as they are so important:
NO DAIRY – sooooo important. Dairy is such a culprit for those chronic runny nosed kids. Dairy is also highly associated with kids that get chronic ear infections. Ear infections came up as my 9 year old son was doing his nasal rinse tonight and he replied with, “What is an ear infection?”. My kids have never had ear infections and I credit much of it to a very low dairy diet his entire life. Even if you just CAN’T stay away from dairy, do so when you are sick and you will recover much faster. Not an ounce of dairy. Nothing.
SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP – the best medicine. Nuff said.
(sneaking in a 3rd here…can’t help myself!)
LESS SUGAR – even omit if possible, even the unrefined good stuff, as all sugar impedes your immune system.
Other mentionables not in photos – medicinal herbal teas and acidophilus (HMF Forte) to restore healthy gut flora and of course vitamin c with bioflavanoids, and zinc… lots more but best not to overwhelm. Plus, sometimes less is more. Stay healthy. 
