Feeling feverish, achey, and just generally flu-like? Quick, grab your gun and kill a deer!
Okay, fine, just lie in bed with a hot water bottle and a jar of Vick’s Vapo-Rub, but know that in some cultures, alleviating cold and flu symptoms goes beyond the pharmacy aisle of your local grocery story and into some pretty amazing territory. For example, in many cultures, deer antler velvet is key for treating a whole host of symptoms. Who would have thought?
Sometimes, ancient holistic treatments veer into some pretty off-the-beaten path territory. For example, Dr. Doug Cutler of Cutler Integrative Medicine in Bingham Farms, Michigan, recommends the “wet sock treatment” for congestion, throat, and neck pain. To try it, warm your feet in a bath for 5-10 minutes then slip on a pair of socks that have been soaked in ice cold water. Layer those cold socks with a second pair of warm wool socks, and hop into bed (yes, wet socks and all).
“The dry wool socks provide insulation against the air to prevent drying or warming of the cold, wet socks,” Dr. Cutlet says. “Your body then has to work harder to both warm and dry your feet. As the body warms, your cold feet, more circulation is directed to the lower extremities, and as a result, your whole body receives more circulation and decreased congestion in the upper respiratory passages, head, and throat.”
But not all home remedies involve harvesting a deer or icing your feet; others sound downright delicious. Dr. Daniel N. Hsu, an accredited New York acupuncture and Oriental medicine specialist who has appeared on both the Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz shows, recommends ginger cinnamon tea for cold and flu. The cinnamon helps relieve headaches and can stabilize blood sugar while the ginger soothes upset stomachs and has anti-inflammatory properties, Dr. Hsu says.
No matter where you call home, cold and flu season is miserable, Cultures around the world have customs and rituals surrounding a speedy recovery. Read on to see how the rest of the world feels better.
1. Deer Antler Velvet
In ancient Chinese medicine, the deer antler is known as one of the “kingly” herbs, or those most recognized as having extraordinary medicinal value. Velvet from the tip of the antler is believed to be most effective at treating influenza.
2. Lizard Soup
In Hong Kong, dried lizard soup boiled with dates and yams is popular cure for the common cold. Eating lizards is also thought to be beneficial for the heart and lungs.
3. Nasal Irrigation
You may know it as “neti pot”, but the practice of nasal irrigation actually comes from as an ayurvedic yoga tradition in ancient India. Nasal irrigation is making a comeback even in Western countries as a cold remedy. Proponents use a rubber syringe to shoot warm salt water into nasal passages, let the water drip into the throat, and then spit out the water. The saltwater is supposed to literally flush away the environment that houses the cold and alleviate symptoms.
4. Chopped Garlic
If you enter a Russian home to find a plate of chopped garlic, it most likely means that someone in the house has the flu. In Russia, chopped garlic is regarded as a way to fight off infections. During flu season, some people even put cloves of garlic in their children’s pockets to keep them well.
5. Hot Water and Dry Mustard
In Russia, one treatment for cold and flu symptoms is to soak feet in hot water mixed with dry mustard powder and then get right into a pair of warm socks under a heavy blanket. Sounds cosy!
6. Hot Black Currant Juice
In Finland, hot black currant juice is used as a curative for cold and flu, which makes sense, as currants are packed with vitamin C.
7. Salty Licorice
If you’ve ever said that black licorice tastes like medicine, you’re right! Licorice root is also used as a cough remedy in the Netherlands and Northern Germany.
8. Eucalyptus Oil
Aboriginal Australians have used extract from eucalyptus leaves for hundreds of years to fight the cough, fever, and headaches that come with cold and flu.
9. Milk, Turmeric, and Ghee
A warm glass of milk blended with a little bit of turmeric and ghee (or clarified butter) is a popular Indian cough remedy for children and adults alike.
10. Ginger Tulsi
To make this Indian cold remedy, juice ginger root then add honey and tulsi (also called holy basil), a herb that’s been used in India for its medicinal remedies for 5000 years.
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