Home-made balm to combat a cough and cold

Winter is coming to an end but in climates like this in which cold days appear followed by good weather, or there are hot days with days of rain on either side, it is easy to catch a cold. In this post I will show you how to make a home-made balm that will help you to calm your cough and make sure that your cold passes quickly.

I have not had much time to write recently and many days have passed since I published the post on “how to make Argan oil body lotion“. Last week I caught a terrible cold, so when this happens I prepare a balm to combat coughing. Thus, I thought I would share the recipe through this blog so you can prepare your own cold and catarrh remedy at home.

Why do colds occur?

The common cold is an infection caused by a virus in the upper respiratory tract. There are an estimated 200+ viruses that can cause a cold.

On the subject of what causes these viruses, it is simply a case of coming into contact with someone and or something that has it at a time where we have a weak immune system, or an especially virulent attack in the case of when the immune system is in good condition.

There have been various tests run on causes that could accelerate the cold and it seems that damp and cold environments are the most likely to produce symptoms. It seems that the reason is that viruses that cause the cold are able to reproduce more easily in the nostrils when they are cold, as the cold affects the immune system, in turn decreasing our level of defences.

If we come into contact with people with colds, we should wash our hands regularly and avoid touching your face. Where possible, try to avoid people who are ill as they will more than likely pass on the virus.

In countries like Japan when people have colds, faces are covered with a mask to avoid spreading your virus to others nearby. We are not so meticulous in Spain, but it is customary to cover your mouth when sneezing and coughing as an intention to avoid spreading the virus.

How to fight cold viruses

There are no medications that directly attack the cold virus, so it is our own immune system that must defeat the virus.However, we can use some medicines and remedies to relieve symptoms such as headache, sore throat or cough.

All these symptoms are bothersome, but coughs but perhaps one of the most annoying because if we cough a lot, for example at night, this prevents us from resting.

In this post I will show you how to make a home-made balm that will help to relieve your cough and enable you to rest better.

Materials to make the home-made cough balm

• Rosemary extract in oil (50g)
• Coconut oil (30g)
• Refined bee wax (25g)
• Eucalyptus essential oil
• Rosemary essential oil
• Cinnamon essential oil
• A jar or container to keep the balm in

Seeing this list of all these materials you may think there are too many, but do not panic – you will see how simple and easy it is to make this balm.

How to make the balm

• In a microwave-safe bowl, mix the beeswax with the rosemary extract.
• Add coconut oil and put it in the microwave to melt.
• When the mixture has melted take it out of the microwave and let it cool a bit, as if we add the essential oils to a very hot mixture the components will volatilise.
• Add 20 drops of eucalyptus essential oil.
• Add another 20 drops of rosemary essential oil.
• Finally we add 10 drops of cinnamon essential oil.
• Stir the mixture so that all of the essential oils are well mixed.
• Pour the mixture into your chosen storage container(s) and let cool.
• When it has cooled, the mixture will have a creamy texture and it is very easy to apply.

How to apply the balm

Application is very simple and I recommend doing it on two areas of the body: on the chest and feet.

To apply on the chest: Apply some directly onto your chest and rub it in to your skin.

For the feet: At night, spread the balm over them and then put a sock on to prevent staining the bedsheets.

This balm is not for use in children under 3 years old because it contains essential oils and the manufacturers of these oils do not recommend using them before that age.

I hope you liked this recipe for a simple cough-preventing balm! See you soon with a new post.

Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 03/10/2018

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