Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Self-Care Measures: Cold


Colds - Self-Care Measures
Symptoms: Sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, dry cough, low-grade fever. Self-Care Measures
  • Take adequate rest if you have a fever.
  • Drink lots of liquids. Take an over- the -counter medicine (paracetamol and/ or aspirin) for relieving pain and/or fever.
  • Use salt water drops for nasal decongestion. The procedure is as follows: Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in one cup of warm water and put three to four drops into each nostril several times a day, using a clean medicine dropper.
  • Use a vaporizer or a humidifier, if possible.
  • Eat hot and spicy foods, which help in draining the mucus.


Call Your Doctor for
  • Quick breathing, troubled breathing or wheezing
  • A feeling of weakness or with loss of energy along with delirium
  • A bad earache or swollen, painful neck glands - Fever lasting more than three to four days or over 102° F.
  • A sore throat that looks red or has white spots.
  • A cough that brings up sputum of any color.
  • Pain or swelling over your sinuses.

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