COUGH UP
The best home remedies to beat nasty winter bugs revealed – from chicken soup to hot toddies
Plus, the first signs you might be coming down with a cough
USING home remedies to ease your coughs and sniffles?
Polls show you're part of nearly 80 per cent of Brits drinking down chicken soup and ginger tea, or eating garlic cloves to do away with their symptoms.
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Hot honey and lemon, gargling salt water and taking a bath were the most tried and tested home remedies for colds this year.
A poll of 2,000 adults found 79 per cent have resorted to using an old wives’ tale to cure a winter illness, already using three this year.
A third reckon they’ve turned to home remedies more in 2024 than they did the previous year.
Half of those polled believe such treatments work and 65 per cent rely on them for a comfort boost when poorly.
Read more on colds
The most effective remedies were thought to be drinking honey and lemon in hot water (48 per cent), gargling salt water (20 per cent), and a hot toddy (19 per cent).
Some lesser-known old wives’ tales include sleeping with onions in socks, having a shot of apple cider vinegar, and putting garlic cloves up nostrils.
The research was commissioned by Broncho5in1 and found 35 per cent think old wives’ tales have been passed down through their family.
And if a remedy has worked previously, 48 per cent are likely to use it again.
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The research also found 43 per cent have struggled to identify what type of cough they have - with 80 per cent of those claiming this makes it tricky to know what medical product to buy.
But it found the most suffered coughs are tickly (23 per cent), chesty (19 per cent), and dry (18 per cent).
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A spokesperson for cough brand Broncho5in1 said: "People are trying all sorts of weird and wacky home remedies to treat a cough and cold because they are understandably confused and overwhelmed at the number of options available.
"With ingredients immediately available at home, whether in the kitchen cupboards or bathroom cabinets, it’s no surprise people are avoiding a trip out in the cold and using what they already have.
"But people should be cautious about relying on such remedies.
"Some are simply old wives’ tales which have been passed down through generations."
The top 10 most used home remedies
- Honey and lemon in hot water
- Gargling salt water
- Taking a hot bath
- Chicken soup
- Oranges/orange juice
- Hot toddy (whiskey, honey and lemon juice)
- Ginger tea
- Peppermint tea
- Spicy food
- Hot cocoa
Signs a cough is on the way according to those polled include frequently needing to clear the throat (38 per cent) and changes in the sound of their voice (35 per cent).
But more than four in 10 people didn’t identify a sore throat as one of the early signs.
As many as 30 per cent try natural remedies when a cough appears, with 25 per cent of those surveyed via OnePoll often using over-the-counter products at the same time.
People tend to struggle with a cough the most overnight (33 per cent) - 57 per cent have coughed so violently their stomach hurts.
Broncho5in1’s spokesperson added: "With the cold and flu season upon us, it is important people know how to spot a cough at the first signs.
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"Many people don’t realise that a sore throat can be a sign of a cough brewing.
"It’s better to catch a cough early on when it’s just developing to avoid further suffering."
Which cold and flu remedies actually work?
Isabel Shaw, health reporter, put nine well-known cold and flu remedies to the test when she was struck down with the lurgy.
Over a week, she tested products that targeted all symptoms associated with cold and flu, as well as treatments that only aimed to get rid of specific issues.
These included:
- Hot honey and lemon
- Steam inhalation and Vicks Vaporub
- Echinacea
- Chicken soup
- A spicy curry
- Beechams All-in-One Oral Solution
- Strepsils
- Lemsip Max
- Sudafed Blocked Nose Spray
She took into account pain reduction, and how quickly and for how long they worked.
Read her full verdicts here.
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