I've gotten my first cold of the season.   It set in Saturday morning after I had a big time Friday night at the Baldknobbers show at Strand Theatre.  I awoke with a burning nose,  and a headache, with a stopped up nose.

woman with a cold
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Several days later, it's still with me, so now I'm seeking home remedies to get rid of this cold.  Doctors can't cure the cold, and they can't do much more for you than over the counter medicines will.

But, I found the WebMd on the Internet and it has some tips for beating a nasty cold.  Here they are:

1)Drink plenty of fluids to help break up your congestion. Drinking water or juice will prevent dehydration and keep your throat moist. You should drink at least 8 to 10 eight-ounce glasses of water daily.

Include fluids such as  sports drinks, herbal teas, fruit drinks, or ginger ale. Your mother's chicken soup might help too! (Avoid cola, coffee, and other drinks with caffeine because it acts like a diuretic and may dehydrate you.) They lost me with this one, because I have to have my coffee in the mornings.

2)Inhale steam to ease your congestion and drippy nose.  Hold your head over a pot of boiling water and breathe through your nose.  Be careful.  If the steam burns your nose, breathe in more slowly.

You can buy a humidifier, but the steam will be the same as the water on the stove.  Moisture from a hot shower with the door closed, saline nasal spray, or a room humidifier is just as helpful to ease congestion.

3)Blow your nose often, but do it the proper way. It's important to blow your nose regularly when you have a cold rather than sniffling mucus back into your head.

But when you blow hard, pressure can carry germ-carrying phlegm back into your ear passages, causing earache. The best way to blow your nose is to press a finger over one nostril while you blow gently to clear the other.

4)Use saline nasal sprays or make your own salt water rinse to irrigate your nose.  Salt-water rinsing helps break nasal congestion while also removing virus particles and bacteria from your nose. Here's a popular recipe:

Mix 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in 8 ounces of warm water.  Fill a bulb syringe with this mixture (or use a Neti pot, available at most health foods stores).  Lean your head over a basin, and using the bulb syringe, gently squirt the salt water into your nose.

Hold one nostril closed by applying light finger pressure while squirting the salt mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain. Repeat two to three times, and then treat the other nostril.

It's important to note that, according to the CDC, if you are irrigating, flushing, or rinsing your sinuses, use distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution. It’s also important to rinse the irrigation device after each use and leave open to air dry.

5)Stay warm and rested. Staying warm and resting when you first come down with a cold or the flu helps your body direct its energy toward the immune battle. This battle taxes the body. So give it a little help by lying down under a blanket to stay warm if necessary.

For more information, check out the Mayo Clinic's website:

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