Cold Remedies From Around The World

Cultures around the world have customs and rituals for curing the common cold.

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.

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. 

You may know it as "neti pot", but he 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 salt water is supposed to literally flush away the environment that houses the cold and alleviate symptoms. 

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.

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 cozy! 

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. 

If you've ever said that black licorice tastes like medicine, you're right! Licorice root is used as a cough remedy in the Netherlands and Northern Germany.

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. 

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. 

To make this Indian cold remedy, juice ginger root then add honey and tulsi (also called holy basil), an herb that's been used in India for its medicinal remedies for 5,000 years.