Can onions help with a cold? The use of both juice and onion pulp has been practiced in folk medicine for a long time; there are many recipes where this useful vegetable acts as the main ingredient. Its undoubted advantages are availability, the possibility of long-term storage. In diseases of the upper respiratory tract, onion medicine acts as an antimicrobial agent due to the content of special active substances - phytoncides. How to properly use onions for a cold, how safe is the treatment with it?
Onions and runny nose
How effective is the treatment of a common cold with onions? A runny nose, that is, nasal congestion in combination with discharge, can be a symptom of inflammation of the nasal mucosa - rhinitis or inflammation of the paranasal sinuses - sinusitis. Onion juice for a cold is used mainly in the case of a cold, the symptoms of which are limited to rhinitis.
Onions are believed to help fight bacteria by acting as a natural antibiotic. This beneficial property has made it popular for both onion-based drops and other medicines that contain this vegetable. Sometimes you can hear that onion remedies also have anti-inflammatory effects. However, if the first statement is difficult to dispute, then the second has not been confirmed by any significant scientific research. In addition, despite the naturalness of onion medicines, the risk of developing a severe allergic reaction cannot be ruled out.
The benefit of onion-based rhinitis drops is the presence of phytoncides - substances with antibacterial properties.
Phytoncides can really destroy bacteria, pathogenic fungi - but this requires a high concentration in the focus of inflammation, which cannot be achieved at home either with rhinitis, and even less with sinusitis.
In addition, rhinitis is very often caused by viruses, provoked by contact with an allergen. The symptoms are similar, but in this case phytoncides are powerless, the onion will not have any effect, but it can seriously harm. It is permissible to use it only with a bacterial infection as an adjuvant - but it is imperative to dilute the juice with water in order to avoid a burn of the nasal mucosa, to make sure that there are no contraindications.
It is also worth knowing that many patients who drip onion juice into their nose from a runny nose are faced with dryness of the mucous membrane - with rhinitis, this aggravates the edema, interferes with the excretion of mucus, and provokes discomfort. The key rule of rhinitis therapy is moisturizing (for example, using saline drops); the irritating effect of the juice prevents this.
Contraindications
When can not be treated with onions? There are several main contraindications:
- Trauma, atrophy of the nasal mucosa.
Even a diluted product can cause painful burns.
- Childhood.
Home remedies for treating children are often dangerous. The child is not always able to report his feelings, and if the nose dripped with onion juice starts to burn, it will be necessary to urgently take measures to treat the burn.
- Propensity for allergic reactions.
It does not matter if the patient is sensitive to onions. If he suffers from allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma or suffered an episode of Quincke's edema, anaphylactic shock, it is better not to risk it. Additionally, home remedies can contain severe allergens (such as essential oils).
- Pregnancy.
Pregnant women can be especially sensitive, and a cold coryza is best treated with flushing and symptomatic remedies prescribed by a doctor.
Treatment with folk remedies is not a guarantee of the absence of harm to health. In addition, instructions are not attached to home recipes, which detail the indications, side effects, the possibility of combining with additional components. The effect of home therapy is not always predictable and beneficial.
Onion juice
The most famous and popular folk remedy for the common cold is onion nasal drops. They are easy to prepare, they can be used immediately, without long infusion. How is a runny nose treated? The recipe is simple enough.
To make onion nose drops, you need to take a ripe vegetable, wash and peel it. Chop the pulp, squeeze out the juice, strain through cheesecloth. Undiluted juice causes a burn of the mucous membrane, so you need to mix it with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 4 (1 part juice, 4 parts water). The prepared agent is instilled into the nose or soaked in cotton swabs, which are inserted into the nostrils alternately for several minutes.
This recipe is used most often, but it is not the only one - traditional medicine offers other formulations:
- With honey.
Mix the juice diluted with water with a small amount of honey. Lubricate the nasal mucosa with a cotton swab.
- With carrots.
Mix fresh carrot juice in equal proportions with diluted onion juice.
Pay attention to how you feel when putting funds in your nose. The appearance of itching, severe burning, pain, lacrimation requires immediate termination of the procedure.
For the treatment of snot, onion juice is injected into the nose only diluted - otherwise, a burn cannot be avoided.
How else to use the bow
You can also treat a runny nose with onions using the pulp of a vegetable. The following recipe is suitable for this:
Wash and peel the onion.- Chop finely, distribute evenly over a shallow plate.
- Close or blindfold.
- Breathe over a plate of chopped pulp for about 5 minutes.
Wash and peel the onion.In this case, the saucer is at a distance of approximately 40 cm from the nose. It is advisable to keep a handkerchief on hand in case the procedure increases the secretion of mucus from the nasal cavity, provokes sneezing. Such symptoms are not favorable; when they appear, it is worth choosing a different method of treatment.
How to cure a runny nose? There is another prescription for a medicine based on onion pulp. You need to cut it into rings, put it in a plate and leave it in the room where the patient is. It is better if this is done after rinsing the nose.
Onion husks are valued in folk medicine no less than pulp and juice. However, the recipe requires a previously prepared husk-based oil (the crushed raw material is poured with vegetable oil, infused for 3 weeks in a cool dark place, filtered, stored in a light-proof dish). How to make a cold medicine? You will need:
- eucalyptus oil;
- onion peel oil.
Mix 2 drops of the first ingredient with 10 drops of the second, use for inhalation. Boil water in a heat-resistant container, let it cool slightly, add the prepared product, breathe for up to 10 minutes under a towel. Repeat in the morning and evening, do not go out into the cold for several hours after the procedure. If used carelessly, there is a risk of burns. A fairly common side effect of the procedure is the aggravation of edema.
Onion juice for the common cold can be used to treat snot in conjunction with products based on pulp and husk.
The effectiveness of the pulp is comparable to the effect of onion juice from the common cold, but its use is safer, since it implies the absence of direct contact with the mucous membrane. Therefore, not wanting to give up the use of onions in treatment, it is better not to drip your nose, but to breathe over the onion gruel. Using folk remedies, you should not neglect the drugs recommended by your doctor.
