An Herbal Remedy to Treat a Head Cold

There are several herbal remedies available to treat a head hold. You probably have most of these items already in your pantry sitting in your spice rack. One of the most common herbs is thyme. If you do not have thyme at home it can be obtained from your local grocery store, health food store, or whole foods store. Thyme can be purchased as fresh, dried, or as an essential oil.

Fresh thyme should be ground up before using it. Dried thyme should be used more sparingly since it retains its medicinal properties. A general rule if you use three tablespoons of fresh thyme, then you only need to use one tablespoon of dried thyme. If using 100% pure thyme oil, start off with one tablespoon and add more until the desired effect is achieved.

Fresh or dried thyme can be added to boiling water to make a soothing tea. The tea acts as a cough suppressant when treating a head cold. Thyme oil can be used in place of the fresh or dried thyme when using the herb for hot steam treatments. The steam can be inhaled to help open up congested air ways. You can also add about five to ten drops of thyme oil to hot steam humidifiers for similar results. When boiling it on the stove, remove the pan from the heat and breathe in the warm steam. Hot steam should not be inhaled directly while the pan is still on the burner. The boiling water could come out of the pan and make contact with the skin, resulting in a burn. Steam treatments can be repeated every few hours or as needed throughout the day.

The left over thyme tea can be used as a gargle to help with sore throats and throat irritation from a head cold. Just allow the tea to cool completely and store it in an airtight container at room temperature. Gargle with the tea about four times a day for about a minute. You do not want to swallow the tea when gargling with it, since it is pulling out the infection from the throat.