Hari Kotrotsios | Helping organisations tell their stories
  • About
  • Portfolio
  • Projects
  • Blog

How to naturally heal the dreaded lurgy

26/9/2012

10 Comments

 
“Have you got a cold?”
“No, I just sneezed.”
“You’d better go to the doctor and get something for it,” dad insisted.
I rarely get sick and I avoid running to the doctor every time I sneeze or cough, despite dad’s suggestion; but during this past week my body has felt as if it’s been systematically falling apart.
In fact, I’m amazed I haven’t dislodged any internal organs with the prolonged and relentless amount of coughing I’ve endured!
I managed to avoid the dreaded lurgy (a non-serious illness) while many of my friends were succumbing to it a few weeks ago; I’d picked up a bit of a sniffle and sore throat but it wasn’t anything major.
Then I went to Sydney for five days. My first shock was that the temperature was five degrees cooler than my home base on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast; secondly, I was bombarded by people coughing and spluttering all around me - especially in hospital, where mum had been admitted due to having a minor stroke. 
Despite the genuine care of the doctors and nurses, hospitals really are a breeding den for freely exchanged bacteria, microbes and flagrant sharing of all germs, so my body’s been struggling to recover ever since.
I rarely go to the doctor, though, unless it’s a life-threatening situation, and strenuously avoid taking chemical-based medicines. I prefer using natural or home remedies and let my body heal itself without too much external interference.
I’ve therefore discovered the following healthier options after some online research:

Cough remedies
•  Garlic is known for its antibacterial and antimicrobial components. Boiling cloves of garlic and drinking it like tea makes it easier to breathe, helps alleviate itchiness which causes continuous coughing.
•  Ginger is a natural cure for cough. The ginger has to be partially sliced and boiled and to ensure potency, and should be crushed a bit before boiling. This will help to draw out the active ingredients. Drinking ginger as a tea will ease sore throat, non-stop coughing and even congestion.
Source: Natural Society

Sore throat remedies
•  Do an old-fashioned saltwater gargle. Salt acts as a mild antiseptic and draws water out of mucous membranes in the throat, which helps to clear phlegm. Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water, gargle and spit out. Repeat up to four times a day.
•  Alternatively, gargle with a baking-soda solution. Dissolve one-half teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of warm water.
Source: Best Health

Ear infection remedies
•  Epsom salts - heat a basin of water and place a cup of epsom salt into it and have a good foot soak. In addition to feeling relaxed, it will get your blood and other fluid moving to draw out infection; the Epsom salt will draw out toxins through your skin.
Source: Heaven and Earth Home Remedies
Picture
Image: Hari Kotrotsios
Colloidal Silver
Modern Colloidal Silver is a powerful, natural antibiotic, antiseptic, and antimicrobial solution. 
Source: Centreforce Australia.
These tips are courtesy of my friend Jo, an energy medicine practitioner and a regular health advisor to our after choir coffee discussion group.
For Colloidal Silver that’s ready to use, follow suggestions below. If the silver needs diluting, add a capful of silver to a capful of pure water and let sit for ten minutes, then use as below:
•  Throat - gargle a small to medium amount of the silver at least three times a day (or dilute a dessertspoon of silver into a dessertspoon of purified water). Do not eat or drink anything for about 15 minutes afterwards.  
•  Lungs / sinus / nose - put about a 1/2 -1/4 of a teaspoon of silver onto a normal teaspoon and snort that amount into each nostril, one at a time of course! Use about 3-4 times a day.  A bit weird but you get used to it.   
•  Tired, infected and gritty eyes – the silver helps ease the pain and is refreshing. Administer 3-4 times a day in an eye bath (about one capful of silver) in the case of infection. If one eye is infected more than the other one, clean the best eye first to prevent the spread of infection, or use a fresh batch for each eye.
•  Runny nose - the silver will work over time, but for emergencies use over the counter nasal medication for short-term temporary relief. All the goo has to get out of your nose so you can heal and the medications just suppress it; however, you also need to breathe and sleep to heal so it’s your choice on this one.  Jo recommends a balanced approach: she avoids sinus medication when she’s home, and only uses them when she absolutely has to, like going to sleep. 
•  Colloidal Silver can also be taken internally, about a capful in a cup of water a day. Most people are not allergic to silver, however, too much is not helpful so beware of over using it; do some research on dosages. 
•  The best treatment is prevention. Use the silver as soon as you suspect something’s not right, even if you think it’s the weather, pollen or an allergy messing with your body. Use the silver as above 3-4 times a day for a few days. It might be inconvenient, but not as inconvenient as having the flu for four weeks.

Other useful remedies
•  Drink 1 litre of water for every 25kg of body weight to help flush out toxins.
•  Sleep – sometimes this is all I need to help my body heal itself, even if it means staying in bed for a day or two.
•  Honey, lemon and onions – nine alternatives to cough syrups.
•  Olive Leaf oral spray – helps soothe an irritated, sore throat and maintains oral health.
•  Tiger Balm - I've often used this as a chest rub and dabbed a small amount under my nostrils to clear nasal congestions. Another friend recommends lathering it on the soles of the feet, then wearing socks; it helps her sick kids sleep at night.

What's your proven home remedy for the dreaded lurgy and its associated ailments?

Disclaimer: These suggested remedies are based on my own preference for natural therapies and letting my body heal itself. As always, do your research and find a combination that works for you. Consult your own practitioner if symptoms persist or in case of serious or prolonged illness.

Related post: Sex, oils and spontaneous combustion

10 Comments
Coral Mcbride
26/9/2012 10:06:34 pm

Thanks Hari very interesting.These old remedies have a lot going for them.Have printed out this letter for future reference.people look at me in a strange way when I tell them I have a thing about food trollies.I always carry a bottle of hbacterial hand wash and use before shopping and as soon as I get back into the car.I feel a bit safer then.Sure I have lost the plot but who cares.

Reply
Hari Kotrotsios
27/9/2012 04:40:51 am

Coral, while I was visiting in hospital recently, I noticed they had hand sanitizer bottles not only at the end of each bed in every ward, but in the corridors and at the elevator buttons - they're asking people to actively reduce the spread of bacteria! So you haven't really lost the plot...

Reply
Yvonne Corstorphin link
27/9/2012 12:40:38 am

Hi gorgeous, Hope you are feeling a wee bit better. For a sore or swollen throat, I always use apple cider vinegar. Add a few drops to 3 - 4 tabelspoons of water and gargle (option to swallow is good too). It works as a natural anaesthetic so you can relax your throat when you swallow. Love the coloidal silver. Brilliant stuff!

Reply
Hari Kotrotsios
27/9/2012 04:42:04 am

Thanks for the extra tip, Yvonne.
I feel like I'm at the tale end of this lurgy, with most symptoms starting to clear finally!

Reply
Peter Nolan link
27/9/2012 09:20:21 am

Hi Hari. Commiserations re the lurgy and your Mum's illness. I am also suffering a little - I was sitting next to a sick person from Singapore to Brisbane and despite holding my breath for 8 hours I think it got to me!

Love your health recipes. For a really quick response, blend the Tiger Balm, garlic, honey, lemon and olive oil into a kind of smoothie and take 20mL with meals. You won't cough again for years!

Cheers. Let's lunch when we're well again.

P

Reply
Hari Kotrotsios
27/9/2012 10:22:36 am

Welcome back, Peter. Planes are the other insidious hotbed for the spread of infectious microbes. Perhaps use of the oxygen mask would not be considered an unreasonable request?
Get well too and see you on the healthy side.

Reply
Coral McVean
30/9/2012 01:56:34 pm

great believer in olive leaf extract and garlic and horseradish for colds, Hari.

Reply
Hari Kotrotsios
1/10/2012 03:39:03 am

Thanks for sharing, Coral. It's the simple things that are usually the most effective, aren't they?

Reply
Fredi
1/10/2012 12:17:39 pm

Here is another simple one that works for me. If I feel a cold coming on, I stop eating. Drink lots of liquid in the form of water, herbal tea, (ginger tea etc.) juice and bingo, works most of the time.

Reply
Hari Kotrotsios
1/10/2012 01:16:48 pm

Good one, Fredi! Depending on how sick I am, I'll either not eat very much either, or I crave lots of hot soups.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    ​Guest blog
    3 Unmissable Storytelling Tips to Captivate Your Readers

    PicturePortuguese Camino 2019

    Picture
    Yukon, Canada 2018
    Picture
    Tibet 2007
    Picture
    Athens 2004 Olympics

    Travel blogs
    New Zealand 2008
    Tibet 2007
    New Zealand 2006
    Melbourne 2006
    United Kingdom 2004
    Athens Olympics 2004
    Peru 2003
    Beijing to Athens 1994
    Nepal 1991 
    ​

    Categories

    All
    Bushwalking
    Community
    Culture Shock
    Food
    Greece
    Health
    Identity
    Japan
    Language
    Life Direction
    New Zealand
    Olympics
    Peru
    Technology
    The Babysitter Chronicles
    Tibet
    Trains Planes & Automobiles


    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    February 2018
    January 2018
    July 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

​© 2023 HARI KOTROTSIOS
​I acknowledge the traditional Custodians of the land on which I work and live, the Gubbi Gubbi / Kabi Kabi and Joondoburri people, and recognise their continuing connection to land, the waters and sky. I pay my respect to them and their cultures; and to Elders past, present and emerging.
  • About
  • Portfolio
  • Projects
  • Blog