Natural Ways to Get Rid of a Cold Fast

Last Updated on July 19, 2020 by Alicia Michelle

Are you looking for the best home remedies for a cold? As a mom of four kids, I've had many opportunities to learn some natural ways to get rid of a cold fast.

If you want to know the best essential oils for colds, along with other natural cold and flu remedies (you know, that best natural cold remedies that work?) you're going to love this post.

These amazing natural common cold remedies (many of which use essential oils) are the best home remedies for a cold that our family has discovered. Let's get started so you can learn how to get rid of a cold fast too!

Common Sense Disclaimer About How to Get Rid of a Cold

While I am not a doctor or medical health professional (and am therefore not giving medical advice), my family of six and I have experimented with these natural cold remedies for years and we consider them to be excellent ways to get rid of a cold fast.

Please use common sense when using these remedies. Since all of our bodies are different, results may vary with your family.

However, when we use these cold buster techniques in our family, nine times out of ten we can get rid of a cold very quickly. In most instances, we can avoid the doctor (and taking antibiotics for a secondary infection) all together. Pretty powerful, right?

We have learned many of these common cold remedies from natural health practitioners, and have witnessed these home remedies for a cold work well for other families too.

And now, I'm so excited to empower your family with these natural ways to kick a cold!

5 Essential Oils to Help Get Rid of a Cold Fast

Essential oils can be a great way to boost the body's immunity and fight a cold! Essential oils can be applied topically or inhaled through a diffuser.

These are the five essential oils that our family uses as home remedies for a cold:

• Immune Strength: This spicy blend of Clove, Cinnamon, Orange, Nutmeg, Eucalyptus and other essential oils is great when used in a rollerball with fractionated coconut oil. Swipe this on a forehead, behind the ears, on a chest or the balls of the feet to awaken the immune system when you have a cold.
• Peppermint: One of my favorite essential oils ever! Peppermint essential oil has a refreshing, bright essence that we've found helps open stuffy nasal passages. Dab a drop behind the ears, on the wrist, or on the balls of the feet. Make sure to dilute with fractionated coconut oil when using on kids.
• Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus has a strong, fresh clean scent that we like to diffuse in our kids' rooms when they show the first signs of a cold. Eucalyptus is widely known as a purifying essential oil as it is also used in many home cleaning recipes. Add between 4-6 drops to a diffuser to help keep germs at bay and to help open congested chests.
• Myrtle: Not everyone likes Eucalyptus' distinctive, strong scent (including me). That's why I'm glad I found Myrtle–an essential oil that has a scent similar to Eucalyptus but with a softer, sweeter note. Use it in the same way that you'd use Eucalyptus.
• Tea Tree: Tea Tree is one of those classic essential oils with a myriad of uses. I think of Tea Tree essential oil as great for healing, purifying and cleaning. I like to add a few drops of Tea Tree to a small bottle mixed with water and spray it on the doorhandles in my home (or add it to my foaming soap dispenser) as a way to keep germs from spreading when someone in the house has a cold.

You can make several natural cold remedies with these essential oils (such as combining a drop of Eucalyptus, Peppermint, or Myrtle essential oils with 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil to make a DIY chest rub).

These essential oils are great for boosting your immune system when you want to get rid of a cold fast.

Rocky Mountain Oils are the essential oil brand that we use because Rocky Mountain Oils offers:

• High quality oils that you can purchase directly (without a consultant)
• Free shipping everyday on all products;
• Ongoing sales and specials,
• A 100% guarantee (try an oil and return it if you don’t like it!).

I've been using Rocky Mountain Oils for several years now and I have to say that I'm extremely satisfied with not only the quality of the oils, but also the highly knowledgeable staff there. They've been extremely good at helping my family identify the best essential oil remedies, including some of the common cold remedies mentioned in this post.

You can purchase Rocky Mountain Oil's essential oils here (online, and with free shipping).

Try This Natural Cold Remedy to Kick a Cold Fast

I mentioned peppermint essential oil above as a wonderful way to open clogged noses and chests. That's why you've got to try this easy (if not unusual) home remedy for a cold.

The next time you need to clear your chest and get rid of a cold fast, try this natural way to get rid of phlegm:

• While in a hot shower, lather up with the peppermint soap and take several deep breaths through your nose.
• Then begin trying to blow out your nose or cough out any phlegm.

No, this is not a pleasant process, but the peppermint aroma in the soap  looses up anything stuck in those passages and it's a great way to, ahem… expel.

Plus Dr. Bronner's one-of-a-kind peppermint soap helps invigorate and awaken, which is just generally a needed feeling when dealing with a cold.

3 Foods to Eat or Drink to Help Get Rid of a Cold

1) Drink lots of fluids, especially water.

Pure and simple, hydration means lots of water, at least the daily recommendation of 8-10 glasses (if not more). Adding a slice of lemon not only makes it taste great, but also helps clean and purify the body.

Our bodies need lots of extra fluids when we want to get over a cold fast. Water also helps flush the bowels, which can clear the body of infection.

Our family avoids coffee and alcohol during this time since these dehydrate cells (the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do).

Instead of coffee, we drink teas, juices and smoothies. And speaking of those…

2) Drink lots of all-fruit smoothies.

Smoothies are super because they make it easy to ingest lots of fruits (and even deep leafy greens, which are full of antioxidants), plus give lots of hydration. An ice-cold smoothie also feels great on a sore throat!

A quick note here about making an awesome smoothie: I swear by my Vita Mix.

I'm not joking when I say that we use this amazing appliance at least once a day in our house!

And when we're sick? Our Vita-Mix is happily whirring along several times a day.

Our Vita-Mix really does make our smoothies incredibly well-blended unlike any other, which is important when creating real-fruit smoothies.

Two things that we watch when making a smoothie:

• First, we add only dairy-free protein powder (no whey—that’s milk protein); and
• Second, we try to include low-sugar, high antioxidant fruits like frozen berries.

Get one of our family's favorite cold-busting smoothie recipes here in the free guide! (TK–LINK)

3) Enjoy hot, broth-based soups.

Anything that’s hot and full of fluid works wonders to flush out a cold (especially when it’s chock full of vegetables and spices). Remember, hydration is the key, right?

I would recommend avoiding soups with butter or cream bases since dairy can cause inflammation and increase mucus production.

Here's a healthy recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup, and one for another family favorite–Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup!

3 Foods to Avoid When You Want to Kick a Cold Fast

1) Avoid sugar, especially refined sugar.

Sugar weakens the immune system, thus making it harder to fight a cold.

Of course, nearly everything has some form of sugar in it (if you think of it in terms of carbohydrates).

Essentially, what we’ve found is that removing highly sugared items such as soda, candy, desserts, and items with white flours makes a huge difference in fighting a cold.

What about fruit, you ask? Yes, many fruits like oranges have a high sugar content. When we're trying to get rid of cold, our family looks at each fruit individually and tries to consume those that have the highest nutritional content and a lower sugar level (such as berries).

Other Posts on Natural Remedies

• 10 Must-Have Natural Remedies for Kids: Treat Owies, Bug Bites and More
• Ultimate List DIY Natural Cleaning Recipes for Your Home
• A Mom's Ultimate Guide to Essential Oil Use

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