Today most people believe that colds, flu and coughs are caused by bacteria and viruses. In other ages mysterious “venoms” were to blame, while the Chinese describe colds in terms of attack by external evils — wind, cold, damp, dryness, heat and fire. Whatever the cause there are always some people who will “catch anything going”, while others seem to go for years without the slightest hint of a sneeze. Perhaps John Harrison in his book Love Your Disease has a point:

The common cold is not a disease, so much as an institution. It is employed skilfully and effectively by those who don’t want to be particularly ill but want a period of incapacity. Having achieved that incapacity they can change whatever’s troubling them…in this way the common cold or any minor respiratory complaint is used to rebalance the psyche and the internal organs.

In some cases this can well be true and recognising this aspect of a cold is important: curling up in bed with a hot drink or a good book can be a far preferable prescription to antibiotics or patent cold cures.

Herbal BeautyThe typical symptoms of a cold include sore throats, blocked noses, coughs and sneezes. Science blames colds on any one of hundreds of ever-changing viruses: someone who has caught and recovered from a cold can often succumb again, as any immunity to the original virus will be of little use if there is repeated infection.

Because colds are caused by a virus they cannot — despite the optimistic prescriptions — be treated by antibiotics, which are good only for tackling microorganisms. Orthodox medicine tends to rely on remedies to ease the symptoms, whereas a herbal approach focuses on strengthening the body’s immune system and thus helping it to fight the virus. In addition, a number of plants do show antiviral activity (including lemons and shiitake mushrooms), so can be of real help in countering infection. Frequent colds can be a sign of a weakened immunity — they can also indicate a stressful lifestyle or poor diet and no amount of medicines can solve those.

Combating a cold at the first sign of symptoms is also important. Rather than trying to ignore the increasing catarrh and sore throat until the cold is in full flood, start treatment immediately. Echinacea is one of the best herbs for strengthening the immune system (take three 200 mg capsules or 10 ml of tincture three times daily), while garlic — up to 2 g daily — is especially helpful if the cold develops into a chest infection. Hemp agrimony has also been shown to have good immune-stimulant properties and is well worth growing in the garden: summer colds respond well to infusions of fresh hemp agrimony leaves, or the stems can be dried for winter use. Taking up to 5 g of Vitamin C a day can also help. To combat symptoms use anti-catarrhals such as elder flower and yarrow and cut down on refined carbohydrates (sugar and white flour products) as these tend to encourage mucous: eat plenty of fruit — and drink lemon juice — instead.

For feverish chills diaphoretics which encourage sweating are useful: make a decoction of fresh ginger root with a little cinnamon or try elder flower with vervain, meadowsweet and hyssop as an infusion. A popular all-purpose tea for colds is made from equal parts of elder flowers, yarrow and peppermint. This is reasonably palatable and helps to warm the body while having an anti-catarrhal action. In Galenical terms all three herbs are “drying”, so would have been used for clearing phlegm in “damp” conditions.

Herbs can also be used in a symptomatic way for other “cold” problems: for sore throats try gargling with strained and cooled infusions of sage or raspberry leaf, or with lemon juice. A little echinacea tincture added to warm water also makes a good gargle.

Common colds are often labelled as “influenza” but real flu can be severe and in cases life-threatening, with headaches, muscle pain, weakness and high temperature, as well as all the usual symptoms of a bad cold. An attack will typically last for about a week, but will often leave the sufferer feeling depressed and debilitated for some time. Elecampane decoction makes a useful post-influenza tonic — add hyssop if there is a lingering cough or vervain if depression is severe. Flu can be a particular problem for the elderly, very young, diabetics and those suffering from chronic chest, heart or kidney disorders.

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Common colds and influenza: Easy home Remedies kill Sore Throats, blocked Noses, Coughs and Sneezes