Drinking water to prevent colds?
Do you also have a runny nose or a sore throat? Autumn is virtually predestined for colds. There are many helpful traditions, but also numerous myths, surrounding home remedies and their help with colds. There is a myth that drinking a lot helps against colds, but this is only partially true. It depends on how “drinking a lot” is defined and how far the cold has already progressed. Of course, a high fluid intake alone cannot prevent you from catching a cold. But as a prophylactic measure, it is always good to provide the body with sufficient water. This will benefit your health in any case.
Soothing: heat and water
Although there is no scientific evidence to suggest that you should drink more than your thirst when you have cold symptoms, there do not appear to be any studies that claim the opposite. Warm water-based drinks, such as herbal or fruit tea, are usually very beneficial for colds. Lime blossom and elderberry tea are particularly helpful for mild fevers. Freshly brewed thyme tea helps with coughs. Warm ginger water is good for nausea or a cold. All tea infusions are best made with freshly brewed hot drinking water and can also unfold their beneficial effects with honey and lemon. The warmth of the drink is good for the weakened body.
Prevention is better than cure
Many people don’t feel like drinking as much in the cold season as they do in the warm spring and summer months. But even in fall and winter, it is important to provide the body with sufficient fluids. The dry, warm heating air is particularly hard on the body. If the nasal and oral mucous membranes dry out, bacteria and viruses have an easy time of it. They can develop unhindered on the dried out mucous membrane. The best things to drink with an approaching cold are still mineral water, tap water and herbal teas. If there is too little water in the body, the blood becomes thicker, making the body more susceptible to bacteria and viruses of all kinds. If stress and cold are added to the lack of fluids, the body usually finds it difficult to defend itself against pathogens.
When the cold is already here
If the cold is already in the body and is feverish, the body loses additional fluid through sweating. For every degree of increase in body temperature, adults should drink an additional liter of water or tea. Patients with chronic kidney or heart disease and high blood pressure should always consult a doctor. The active ingredient acetylcysteine usually helps against mucus in the airways. It can be used to break down stuck and viscous mucus in the airways. Sufficient water is needed to remove the mucus. However, the mucous membranes can also be kept moist with table salt. Inhaling salt water or nasal rinses are quick and easy to use. The salt in the water or water vapor accumulates on the mucous membranes. The water-attracting effect of salt keeps the nasal mucous membranes moist in an uncomplicated way.
Incidentally, winter after winter we are confronted with around 200 different cold pathogens. It is therefore advisable to make provisions in good time.
