Helpful tips for treating a cold after getting soaked in the rain.

(Baonghean.vn) - During the rainy season, if you have to go outside and are caught in the rain without enough warm clothing or get soaked for a long time, you are very likely to catch a cold. To treat a cold caused by getting caught in the rain, there are some very simple but extremely effective folk remedies you should know.

Symptoms of a common cold often include chills along the spine, headache, fatigue, bloating, sometimes loose stools, mild fever, possibly hypoglycemia, weakness in the limbs, sweating, and unsteadiness on the legs.

Ginger tea / Gua Sha (traditional Chinese massage) with fresh ginger

Make yourself a cup of ginger tea to help with a cold after coming home from the rain.

When you have a cold, you should drink a cup of hot ginger tea to warm your body. The recipe includes: 1 fresh ginger root (15-20g), washed and sliced; 100ml of water, boiled for 20 minutes; add sugar and drink hot.

Alternatively, you can use crushed fresh ginger mixed with tangled hair, wrapped in a thin cloth, and massage the affected area (moving downwards and avoiding the lymph nodes in the ears, armpits, groin, inside of the elbows, and behind the knees) to quickly relieve a cold.

Steam bath with herbal water

Another commonly used method for treating colds is steaming with bamboo leaves, pomelo leaves, lemongrass, chrysanthemum, and basil (about 20g of each; depending on the region, substitute with lemon leaves, perilla, mint, ginger leaves, turmeric, mugwort, tea tree, eucalyptus, mulberry, camphor, etc.). Boil the water, then steam for 5-10 minutes until you sweat. Afterwards, dry yourself off, cover yourself with a blanket, and rest, avoiding cold drafts.

You should only use the sauna once or twice.

According to traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, when steaming, medicinal herbs are inhaled directly into the alveoli, clearing the respiratory tract, reducing secretions, and alleviating headaches and dizziness. You should only steam once or twice; steaming too often will deplete bodily fluids and cause loss of vital energy, which is detrimental to your health.

Porridge to relieve colds

When you have a cold, you should eat porridge to help you sweat and recover quickly.

Perilla leaves are a medicinal herb rich in essential oils; adding them to porridge will help warm the body up quickly when suffering from a cold or flu.

When caught in the rain or soaked, simply take a handful of shallots and 1/3 cup of rice, put them in a pot, and cook them into porridge. Adding minced lean meat makes it even better. Eating shallot porridge while it's still hot is incredibly effective in treating colds. People in Central Vietnam have traditionally used this method to treat colds. Just eat a bowl of hot shallot porridge before going to bed; later, your body will sweat, warming up and preventing an impending cold or mild infection.

Similar to shallot porridge, people in Northern Vietnam often treat colds with perilla leaf and onion porridge. Perilla leaves and onions are usually cooked with lean meat or chicken eggs. These herbs all contain essential oils, so when eating, try to inhale as much of the steam rising from the bowl of porridge as possible. The heat of the porridge and the essential oils in the perilla leaves and onions help warm the body up quickly.

Thu Tra(th)