Change in seasonal and environmental factors, such as temperature, sunlight, rain, wind and humidity have a direct link with catching infectious disease easily. Cough and cold are one such disease caused by a viral infection. Although you can get cold year-round winter months are considered to be the most common ‘cold and cough season’ when the viruses that cause the disease spread more easily due to colder and dry air.

With the onset of cooler weather, the viral infections are triggered and worsened. Here are a few easy home tips which can help relieve the symptoms of cold and cough efficiently:

Gargle with warm salt water twice or thrice a day. Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in one glass of lukewarm water and gargle. This water has anti-inflammatory properties and can have a soothing effect.

Drink eight to 10 glasses of warm water daily.

Keep yourself warm. Wear a cap, socks, and shoes when going out in cold weather.

Wash your hands using soap and water regularly to keep germs at bay. Do not touch your eyes and nose with infected hands.

Use disposable tissues for blowing nose and sneezing instead of using fabric handkerchief to avoid constantly re-infecting your own hands. Throw used tissues in a closed bin as quickly as possible.

Keep your bedding and towels clean. Sanitize them daily.

If you are coughing, cover your mouth with your elbow instead of using hands. When you cough into your hands, you just spread the germs onto everything you touch and then to anyone else who might touch those things after you. The way you cover your cough, it really makes a big difference in the spread of germs. Be careful!

Consume natural ingredients like black pepper powder mixed with honey and ginger juice early morning and before bed. Chew eight to10 tulsi (basil) leaves daily. Keep mulaithi in your mouth and keep swallowing the juice released by it for a few hours in a day. Drink lemon tea, ginger tea or hot milk simmered for a few minutes adding raw turmeric twice a day. Increase intake of foods having vitamin C. These natural ingredients help break down certain depositions in the respiratory tract and then throw them out of the body. These foods are also an important ingredient in Ayurveda to prepare cough and cold syrups.

Symptoms of cold and cough:

Sore throat

Cough and sneezing

Blocked nose

Runny nose

Difficulty in breathing due to blocked nose and respiratory tract

Headache, body ache and restlessness

Heaviness in eyes or watery eyes

Higher body temperature than normal

If you have any long-term medical condition then consult your doctor immediately. Also, if your symptoms do not improve after four to five days or they get suddenly worse even after following these tips and precautions then visit a doctor without any delay.