Since I am currently very sick, I decided to write a contribution to the topic of colds and home remedies. These tips have been passed on to us in the family for generations. I hope they will help you too. But before we clarify, how it comes to colds and above all, how to prevent clever.

Colds can hit us even in the most beautiful summer weather, because triggers are always cold viruses. They do not care whether the sun is shining or it is snowing or raining. The exciters are transmitted via the air in the environment or by means of a lubricant infection (eg, a hand pressure). As soon as a sick person sneezes or coughs, thousands of exciters are sprayed into the environment. Through the airways, the pathogens find access to the body's interior. If they hit an attacked or vulnerable immune system, the cold will break out. The incubation period for colds or influenza infections can take up to five days. A cold takes place in several phases and takes untreated about 7 - 9 days. The cold symptoms such as runny nose, headaches and coughs point to important mechanisms that the body initiates to fight the infection. Instead of suppressing the body's healing process - as practiced by school medicine with its medication - you can fight the organism with the help of certain household resources.

Prevention helps - even against colds
The most pleasant cold is the one that does not break out. Colds are usually unpleasant. The body is weakened by the disease exciters and you feel limp and tired.
Luckily, we can do a lot to strengthen our immune system and thus reduce our susceptibility to infections. Especially important is a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, so that all vital vitamins and minerals are available to the body in sufficient quantities.You do not have to go straight to the pharmacy to buy food supplements. Vitamin C is included among other things in citrus fruits, rose hips, kiwis, potatoes (Pellkartoffeln!), Fennel and in peppers.
Vitamin E is a vital nutrient in all whole grain products, including walnuts, olive oil, rapeseed oil, argan oil and sunflower oil.
Vegetable fats like good olive oil also provide healthy omega - 3 fatty acids. These are necessary for life, but can not be produced by our organism itself. So if you are mixing a healthy smoothie, do not forget 1-2 EL good, vegetable oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are also found in fish, For example, salmon and sardines.The mixture makes it. Simply vitamin-rich and seasonal food!

Move:
Going fresh on a daily basis helps the immune system in addition. Exercise and sport in the fresh air stimulate the blood circulation, are good for the mucous membranes and strengthen our defenses. Often, it is enough to make hikes and walks to strengthen the defenses. Do not forget the hygiene and frequent washing of the hands, especially when you are using a lot with e.g. public transport. Keep away from infected people and wear adequate clothing. Better too warm and undress, than to cold and freeze.Drink lots of tea:
particularly suitable are ginger, elderberry or linden flower tea. These teas stimulate the immune system.

Temperature cures provide for curing:
The short-term alternation between warm and cold, for example, in the case of a change of metabolism, can strengthen the immune system. It promotes the blood circulation and ensures that the immune cells are distributed better in the body. Only warm 3 minutes, then 15 seconds cold, then again 3 minutes warm shower. Then lightly dab the skin and oil the moist skin (e.g., with shea butter or organic argan oil) to keep the heat.

The proper use of saunas or steam baths can also increase immune defense.Highly recommendable is also a change bath.
Place the feet for 3 minutes in a bowl of warm water (30 ° C), then 20 seconds in a bowl of cold water (10 ° C). Repeat the whole thing three or four times. The slightly moist feet thereafter with a body oil e.g. Organic argan oil, rub - which saves the heat in the body.

Relaxation:
Physical stress, occupational overload, bad mood and problems activate the stress hormones. When stress becomes a permanent condition, defensiveness is a result of this. At least once a day you should relax properly. What can help here is a hot bath, a good book, yoga exercises or autogenic training. Care especially for a restful sleep. Because while we sleep, our immune system is particularly active. It is then intensified against pathogens and produces important antibodies. 7-8 hours of sleep you should definitely give yourself at the day.

Tips you can do by a cold:
If a cold has caught you, the following tips can help you to relieve the symptoms of the cold:

Drink more.
It is best to use still water or herbal teas, such as thyme, sage, blackcurrant, rosehip or mint tea. With a few slices of ginger, lemon or orange the immune system is strengthened. Very good is also elderberry tea or lime tea. Hot drunk, best sweetened with spruce honey, bring the body to sweat vigorously. It is best to drink the teas before going to sleep and packs well in order to get the sweating in the right way.

Footbats with salt warm the body properly.
After the foot bath, massage the moist feet with some body oil. Then pack your feet in warm socks, now enjoy a cup of hot tea and absolutely rest.Against every illness is a herbal grown grow says my grandma always. Against common cold several.

Steamhalation and aromatherapy with warm vapors are a tried and tested remedy for blocked noses. The warm steam helps to improve the swelling of the sinuses and keeps the mucous membranes moist so that they do not become chapped. Inhaled is warm water vapor only with salt or with an extract from herbs or essential oils. By means of vapor suspension, active substances are dissolved, for example, from plants, such as essential oils, and are inhaled via the water vapor. The active substances thus enter directly into the upper respiratory tract and can unfold their effects directly at the site of the disease. The advantage of the inhalation against the ingestion of drops or tablets is that the active substances so do not burden the entire organism. Steam stealing can be done 1 to 3 times daily 5 to 20 minutes - as long as it is pleasant. For the good old steam stew you only need a cooking pot, water, a towel and, if necessary, certain additives such as dried medicinal plants or her etheric evidences , Lemon balm red and white parsley, fennel, peppermint, elderberry blossoms. Proven essential oils are: fir, sage, thyme, tea tree, eucalyptus or lemon balm oil.
These kill exactly those exciters, which preferentially in the airways. A good time for an inhalation are in the morning, in order to relieve the crusts in the respiratory system, and in the evening, to make it easier to fall asleep. One should inmate times with the mouth, sometimes with the nose, in any case however not too fast and too deep, inhale.
Three tablespoons of salt are added to a liter of water. The best is a bowl, since the hot water has the largest possible surface. Add a handful of dried herbs to two liters of boiling water. Pour over the selected medicinal plants and leave to cover for about 10 minutes. For essential oils there are about 10 drops in 300 ml of hot water. Caution: Danger of burns! Only when the mixture has cooled slightly, hang the head covered with the cloth over the pot and inhale the ascending vapor with the mouth open.There are also steam boilers which you can use e.g. in the pharmacy. The hot inhalation mixture is then placed in the inhaler and the softening vapors are inhaled through an oral-nosepiece.
If you have been inhaling over a pot, wash your face cold after the inhalation, so that the fine skin vessels constrict again and then cream it with a nourishing cream - especially if you have inhaled essential oils. It is ideal, then packaged half an hour warm after resting.
The right diet for colds is to absorb as much vitamin C as possible.
About citrus fruits, peppers, potatoes, cabbage, raw sauerkraut or rose hip powder. Be careful to take onions, garlic and leeks to you, they contain highly inflammation-resistant substances. In addition, chicken soup also helps. My mama and my grandma always knew that, but now it is scientifically proven. Their ingredients block white blood cells that cause the typical sniffing symptoms - according to researchers at the University of Nebraska. Enzymatic fruits such as pineapple, papaya and mango are helpful. The enzymes contained therein activate the metabolism and strengthen the immune system.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), it is recommended to avoid the consumption of dairy products, red meat and sugar, as these foods have a negative effect during a cold! Avoid meat as meat can promote inflammatory processes in the body, sugar weakens the defenses and milk products have a strong effect. Hot milk with honey can be anything but ideal for colds and should be better replaced with a tea from a suitable herbal mixture. According to TCM suitable foods are cereals (well chewed), soups, cinnamon, coriander, sesame, sauerkraut, ginger, leek, young onion and chives.

Selfmade cough syrup helps against cough.
One or two medium-sized onions (I also added 3 cloves of garlic) fine dice. Then fill these into an empty glass. 6 - 8 tablespoons of honey, best to add spruce honey, and leave to cool in the refrigerator overnight. Take the finished syrup in a teaspoonful. The essential oils of the onion dissolve the mucus of the cough. The vitamin C, which is abundant in the onion, strengthens the immune system. Honey as sweetness strengthens the immune system and soothes the irritated neck. Also horseradish is a good helper, one of the coughs plagues. Grated, with honey and grated carrots or apples, it can be taken several times a day. A good recipe is also my horseradish radish salad.
Even with fragrance lamps can be used against a cold. The most suitable are rosemary, thyme, spruce, eucalyptus, or pine oil as a fragrance.

If the throat is irritated, it often helps to rinse with some salt water. For this, mix a glass of warm water with a teaspoon of cooking salt and rinse several times a day.

An easy walk can also be used to cure the cold. The circulation is stimulated by slight movement. The stimulation of the circulation supports the immune system and helps to distribute the antibodies that fight infections in the body. Fresh air also helps in breathing through. However, it is important to be warm when you take a short walk. It is also important to make sure that you do not take a mountain tour, but for the body the walk should not be an additional burden.

Atention!!!
However, home remedies can not replace the doctor.
If the symptoms persist for a long time, with a high fever and a bad general condition, he or she must decide whether to give specific medication.

I wish you a good recovery and I would be happy if you ´llwrite your best home remedies in the comments.