Hi all...As a sufferer of chronic cold and sinus infections accompanied by weather changes I have always been in search of effective home remedies that relive the discomfort caused by cold.
A few nights ago the stabbing pain in throat that usually crops up before the real cold shows up wouldn't let me sleep...lozenges did not do a fair deal...irritated i surfed through the net randomly to find something for immediate relief ...I came across garlic as one of the remedies...the idea of popping a raw garlic and eating it like a candy nauseated me in the thought itself...i shunned the idea only to open the refrigerator and pop a peeled garlic pod in my mouth and chewed a bit on it...the strong pungent garlic taste made me swallow the remnants with water...& to my surprise the irritation in throat was reduced to its barest minimum almost immediately and the effect lasted for almost an hour or two...Google said it relieves cold and congestion as well which did not happen in my case...my method of using garlic was incompetent...so i worked out a method of extracting complete potential from this wonder "drug"...
Before diving into the details of that method let me tell you what makes garlic work miraculously...garlic is a powerful antioxidant with antimicrobial, antiviral and antibiotic properties..for colds and sore throats it provides a decongestant and expectorant effects...garlic in no way can treat a throat or sinus infection but it can act a very effective precaution before the onset of infection...
Now comes the step wise method...
- Take a freshly peeled raw garlic and cut the pod into two halves
- Pop one half into each cheek
- Bite on both the halves carefully only to puncture them without shredding into pieces
- Suck on the garlic like you do with a candy till you feel its juice coating your throat
- Immediately you will feel no pain or irritation
- Now chew the remnants into smallest possible shreds and swallow them
- If you want the effect to last longer dont drink water over it
The principle behind this method is to coat the throat with a concentrate of garlic liquid...the stronger the garlic is and the longer you suck it the longer will be the relief period...it removes congestion for the period you hold on to it in your mouth...for me my nose got stuffy immediately after i swallowed it...but it worked miraculously for sore throat...there are a few downs ..like bad breath and not so pleasant taste that haunts your mouth for quite some time...but the relief is immediate and lasts quite a long...with this method for me it lasts for about 4-5 hours...and you can pop in another pod once the irritation is back...so next time before gorging on sugar laden lozenges choose garlic for a natural and effective relief...:)
