What is the best thing to take (do) for head cold (sinuses)?

zicam is great for reducing days off of colds.

claritin is good. there is another sinus med I think cant of the name of.

I usually find that having some green chile will clear sinuses up very quickly.

Sleep with a humidifier or vaporizer in the room. The extra humidity will help.

A hot toddy….

My girlfriend brought over some Zicam.

Thanks, Jellies.

mucinex….is great for clearing up the sinuses….i remembered!!!!

@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities I have some spicy hot ‘n sour soup. =)

Have homemade chicken soup (you have to boil chicken with bones to get the benefit). Use Tylenol for fever. If you want help with the sinus issues, pick up a cold med at the drug store. You basically have to just let your body get rid of a cold.

Avoid dairy like the plague. For some reason, dairy causes mucous to build up in your face making it hard to breathe when you’re sick.

Also, I find that having my mommy take care of me always makes me feel better. :)

Try some menthol crystals in a bowl of hot water, breath in the vapours gingerly, this will help clear you up :-/

Sick again @jjmah ? No fair!

A spicy soup – breathe in the steam and drink the soup.

Sudafed if you need to decongest. However, make sure you get the stuff from behind the pharmacy counter. Pseudoephedrine not phenylephrine. Pseudoephedrine is kept behind the pharmacy counter in many states now because it can be used to make meth. You may have to show ID and sign a registry, but it’s worth it because the stuff works. I’ve had zero success with phenylephrine, which is what’s in the Sudafed you can buy from the shelf. I’m not pushing the brand, by the way. The generic works fine.

Another decongesting technique my mom would use was to take Vicks Vaporub and put it in a bowl of steaming water. The menthol will help you open up. Oh, I see that @Scooby has recommended something similar. :-)

SUDAFED

Neti Pot

Raw garlic. It’s a hundred times more effective than those pills you buy. It’ll knock out an infection in no time. To get the most benefit, chop it up and let it sit for 10 minutes or so before you take it. Only take with food in your stomach, or you’ll throw it up. I knocked out a bone infection without antibiotics with it.

Another option: An onion poultice. It’s icky and gooey, but it does the job if it’s in the lungs.

Stay off the sugar and anything you do will be even more effective.

@snowberry .. this is true, garlic is a natural atibiotic

@snowberry I’ve never heard that about garlic. Of course, a cold is a virus so I guess the garlic wouldn’t be helpful in this case.

@thriftymaid .. it will help. not for the cold. but yes fo the sinuses.

I was just told to rub Vick’s on my feet and then put on socks. I may try that.

@jjmah omg i heard that before as well. I tried it on my son and he said it helped. lol

@jjmah I was going to suggest Vick’s on your feet! Strange as it sounds, it does help, especially if you have a tickly cough in your throat that won’t go away.

While you’re at it, rub some on your chest and neck too.

Personally, I haven’t had anything better than Nyquil for a bad cold. I don’t know if it’s because the medicine is effective or if it just knocks me out so I don’t realize how much I’m suffering.

@MissAusten… so true

Yes, sinus rinses like Neilmed, moist heat like hot showers, baths and hot chilis, salsas, horseradish, soups…all hot liquids help.

Soooo…heres what you do, run a hot bath, plaster a hot wet washcloth over your face while sipping hot broth in the bath, then, do a sinus rinse and then….have some chips and salsa….off to bed with you! lol

Actually, garlic is anti-viral, anti fungal and antibacterial. Don’t take my word for it; do a search like this: Raw garlic antiviral or raw garlic antifungal, raw garlic antibacterial, and that’s just the beginning of what you can do. Here’s one link

I know there are some double blind studies out there too.

@jjmah Rubbing the Vicks on your chest may be more beneficial than on your feet. I’ve never heard of putting it on your feet. When I was a kid my mother used to put Vicks on my chest at bedtime when I had a cold.

Try making miso soup—powdered packets are available in health food stores, and they are very easy (instant). Chop an entire bunch of scallions and put about an inch-long peeled chunk of ginger root in water, boil, then add the miso. Add some extra firm tofu if you want something to really eat that’s more filling than the plain miso.

Then also tea (you can get the teabags at the health food store when you buy the miso) made of fenugreek. There are some other ones out there that combine a few herbs like “Breathe Easy”—they can be pretty good, but the miso soup thing and fenugreek tea are my favorites.

@marinelife I agree!!

Eat something spicy and take Advil Cold and Sinus liquigels.