Mahalia Freed ND

Dandelion Naturopathic

“Real healing power is a compassionate heart.”
~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Tag Archives: cold & ‘flu

Tired out by your cold? Ease cough and congestion during sleep with “Warming Socks”

Posted on by mahalia

(aka Cold Wet Socks that make you feel better)

I know what you are thinking. I mean, really, putting wet socks on when you are already feeling sick? But hear me out – this really works! AND, you don’t have to buy anything or ingest anything. Free, easy, at-home symptom relief from the congestion and coughing that often disrupts our sleep when we are clearing a cold. How great is that? Try it out, and tell me how it works for you.

Use:

At the first signs of a cold, especially with cough or congestion. Also useful for sore throat or any inflammation or infection of the throat, ear infections, headaches, migraines, and sinus infections.

Actions:

Reflexively increases circulation and decreases congestion in the upper respiratory passages, head, and throat. Sedating action: better sleep with the sock treatment! (And sleep allows us to heal, right?)

Directions:

  1. Take a pair of cotton socks and soak them completely with cold water. If you tend to be cold or have low vitality, try using cool water during the first treatment rather than cold water.
  2. Warm your feet if they are cold. The treatment may not be as effective if your feet are not warmed first. Warming can be accomplished by soaking your feet in warm water for at least 5-10 minutes or taking a warm bath for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Dry off your feet and body with a dry towel.
  4. Wring the cotton socks out thoroughly so they do not drip and place the socks on your feet.
  5. Put thick (dry) wool socks over the cotton socks.
  6. Get in bed. Cover well and sleep all night with socks on, it should be relaxing and not uncomfortably cold. If you are unable to sleep because of the cold socks consider removing the socks and soaking your feet again, this time using cool rather than cold water to wet the cotton socks. Your feet and the cotton socks should be warm and dry in the morning. If your feet are cool or the cotton sock is still damp, consider increasing the length of the hot foot soak.
  7. Note: for coughing or congestion, elevating your head by adding an extra pillow (on top of your usual) is also helpful and sleep-promoting.

Cold & ’Flu Prevention: Building a Healthy Foundation

Posted on by mahalia

By Mahalia Freed, ND

Maybe you are like me, and you have been wondering for years, “why do I always get sick in the fall?”. Maybe you are remembering the recent H1N1 ‘flu panic, or perhaps endless runny noses in your little ones. Maybe you are looking for a way to keep your family from passing colds back and forth this fall and winter. Read on, and learn how to nourish your body so that you are no longer susceptible to developing symptoms when you meet this year’s viruses.

While fall is a season best suited to inner focus, recharging, and retreating, it is often the time when we start new projects, and spring into action on things we have been planning over the summer. This conflict between being and doing, along with the physical change in weather, means that we are vulnerable to colds and ‘flus.

Terrain vs Germ Theory

It isn’t your exposure to a virus that determines whether or not you get sick, but rather how your body responds to that exposure. In other words, it is not the germ that causes disease, it is the terrain the germ finds itself in that either allows the germ to flourish, or quickly eliminates it from the body. Consider public transit, for instance: there is always someone coughing or blowing their nose on a bus or subway. Yet, despite close proximity and lack of fresh air to clear the viral particles away, we do not get every cold we are exposed to. Why?  Our own vitality – the health of our terrain – protects us.

It is entirely possible to stay healthy through cold and flu season. All we need to do is support our immune system to be as vital as possible, and cultivate our terrain optimally. Continue reading →