My Baby’s Homemade Cold Remedy

The rains are here with us, and after the scorching heat that made me believe the sun was a degree lower, this was welcome relief.

Away from the soaring temperatures and on to the drizzly afternoon, flooded roads in South ‘Sea’ and a muddy affair for those of us in the diaspora.What I had not anticipated was the fury with which the common cold would return to our household. Sneezes, runny noses and coughs were suddenly the norm.

My son was affected, so much so that I started to experience erratic nights. Now, here’s the thing, having had Postpartum Depression (PPD), lack of sleep is one of the worst triggers for me. It takes me back to those difficult days of incessant tears, incoherent phone conversations, absurd eating habits and an immense inability to bond with my child. For this reason, to-date I love to guard my sleeping patterns as much as I can, hence the main reason I was left feeling disoriented by my son’s cold chronicles.

Related: Keep the sniffles at bay this Winter

Seeing as he did not have a fever, and the coughing eased during the day, I resorted to using natural home remedies for the common cold. Enter Google, and I successfully narrowed down to 3 key ingredients:

1. 1 tablespoon of raw honey,
2. 1 fresh lemon. Number of lemons depends on the amount of remedy you would like to prepare.
3. 1 fresh ginger root.
4. Half a cup of warm water

(I would add red pepper, but my son cannot stand the hot taste, so I opted for the other three.)

NB: Fresh ginger in place of powdered ginger is preferred. As for the honey, try as much as possible to go for raw organic honey. Some brands are not genuine honey, and may cause a stomach upset.

Here’s how I prepared the cold remedy:

1.  Take the fresh lemon and roll it on your kitchen working surface. This is done to stimulate the fruit fibres and allow the maximum production of lemon juice.
2. Wash the lemon and squeeze it manually. There’s a special jug I have for squeezing citrus fruits, and that is what I use.
3. Collect the juice in a cup and set aside.
4. Cut half an inch of the ginger root and peel before washing it.
5. Chop the ginger into small pieces. Alternatively, grind it to a paste-like substance using your pestle and mortar.
6. Place the water in a pan and add the ginger paste. Turn on low heat and allow simmering for about 5 minutes.
7. Sieve the ginger water and discard the used ginger.
8. To the ginger water you just sieved, add the lemon juice. Note that lemon juice is not heated as this denatures its structure, and only makes it less effective
9. Stir in the honey and drink away to less colds.

I have continued to give my son this natural concoction and noticed a change for the better. Granted, it takes longer than conventional medicine, but has no side effects, is affordable, and can be taken virtually every day. I will admit too, this is a favourite natural cold remedy of mine.

Expert Tip from Dr. Atul (Cough Mixture for colds, pharyngitis, tonsillitis)

1. Take a clean bottle
2. Add 20 teaspoons of Honey(100 ml)
3. Add 200 ml of Water
4. Add 1/2 teaspoon of Turmeric powder
5. Add 40 drops (10 ml) of fresh Ginger

(Soak fresh ginger in hot water for 30 mins, then remove the ginger from water and throw the water away. Remove the peal of the ginger, then grate or crush the ginger and squeeze 40 drops of Ginger juice).

Mix and give 5 ml every 3 hours for Cough and give every 1 hour for Tonsillitis or Pharyngitis.

Store in the Fridge.

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