By: Stepfanie Romine, SparkPeople Blogger
11/6/2008 7:08 AM   :  85 comments

See More: health, healthy living, green living,

Last week I was feeling under the weather and determined I was suffering from allergies. Well, that allergy attack morphed into a behemoth of a head cold, which then bestowed upon me a wicked sinus infection and clogged ears.

Around the same time I blogged about colds vs. allergies, I was writing an article for our sister site, BabyFit.com, about natural home remedies. Kismet, it was.

In researching the story, I learned about a few new home remedies and was reminded of some oldies but goodies, too. As sickness descended upon me in the wee hours of night, I had to rely on what I had in my house to make me feel better.

Here's what helped me:
Honey and lemon:
Oh, elixir of the gods, how you coated and soothed my raw and burning throat! When heated and mixed into tea, you kept me hydrated, and when taken on your own, you quieted my cough.

Why? Lemon dries up congestion, and honey coats a raw and achy throat.

How? Mix a tablespoon each of lemon juice and honey, then microwave it for about 20 seconds (until warm). Swallow it a teaspoonful at a time.

Salt water:
You unsung hero. Your talents often go unnoticed. Salty and lukewarm, you, too, soothed my irritated throat and helped clear out my nasal passages.

Why? Salt water helps ease congestion and dries up nasal passages without causing irritation.

How? Mix 1/2 cup warm water with 1/2 teaspoon non-iodized salt. Use a neti pot (I love mine, though it does take some practice to use it correctly) or bulb syringe to pour the mixture into one nostril while leaning slightly forward. Breathe through your mouth. The salt water should flow out the other nostril. Repeat on the opposite side.

Gargle with salt water to clear out your throat and help dilate capillaries, thus increasing blood flow to your throat.

And the best home remedy of all:

Rice in an old sock!
Warm and dry, you relieved pressure in my cranium when it felt tighter than my skinny jeans. On forehead, eyes, jaw, or neck, you relaxed and pampered me as I tried to rest.

Why? When heated, the rice stays warm and helps soothe pain.

How? Fill an old sock with uncooked rice and sew or tie the top closed. (This is a great use for all those socks that mysteriously disappear in the dryer--and you can use the white rice you've swapped out for brown rice!) Heat the sock in the microwave for a minute or so, until it's warm. Place the sock wherever you're sore. When the sock cools, heat it again. This trick works with other grains, too. (Just don't plan on eating the grains after they've been used in the heat pack!)

This thing is amazing. It's more eco-friendly than those disposable heat wraps for muscles, and it's cheaper, too. As I type, it's wrapped around my neck, and last night, I slept with it over my eyes. It relieved all that painful sinus pressure, albeit momentarily.

I'll be using my rice sock quite often:

On my sore hamstrings after yoga class.

On my low back or neck on those days when I've been sitting for too long.

Under my feet when the office is chilly.

As a natural alternative to an electric blanket when the weather dips down.

Make one tonight. You will feel instantly pampered.

These home remedies couldn't cure me, but they sure did make life a bearable until I could get to the doctor.

Have any other home remedies that you rely on? Will you try to make a rice sock?