How to treat a persistent Cold and Cough

Cold and cough is generally attributed to the allergy to change in weather or allergy to some food items. Some people are allergic to the pollen grains, impurities, pollutants, and other such particles which are suspended in the atmosphere. Due to this they get continuous bouts of allergy creating cough and cold. It could also be due to some underlying biological cause or disorder and for that the advice of an expert doctor would be needed who might ask you to undergo certain medical tests before prescribing you the medicines to cure it.
It is also seen that those people whose intake of food is not healthy and do not exercise regularly can also get these things due to bad body immune system and reduced resistance of body to the external microbes which continuously attack our bodies from the external atmosphere.
A healthy diet means leaving consumption of junk foods and substitute them with fruits, boiled foods, and other healthy options. This is very important for increasing the resistance of body against external attacks by all sorts of bacteria and virus. Apart from that a body without exercise is a heap of fat only and will not have sufficient immune in it. So, long walks or simple exercises for at least half an hour a day are a must to keep oneself fit in todays polluted environment. There is a lot of adulteration in the food items and one has to be cautious while choosing the appropriate foods in the diet.
It is also said that mental calm, peace, and good thoughts also remove toxics from our body. How much truth is there in that is not known scientifically but there is no harm in adopting the good habits if that helps us in any way. Hot water drinking and gargling is said to be very effective in bad throat conditions and one has to adopt it in one's lifestyle to take advantage of this age old home remedy for management of bad throat.
There are some tests which doctors prescribe for identification of food material which might be creating allergy in one's body and those tests can be tried in your case and once the source is identified then one can avoid those particular foods.

There are many reasons for this cough and cold problem. If air pollution is more in the area you live and if you have any dust allergy chances of getting cough and cold are very high. Another point to be considered is the food we are eating. Some people will be allergic to certain vegetables and foods. One of my uncles used to get cough and cold if he eats brinjal curry. So he stopped eating that. Please make careful observations to find out whether you are getting cough and cold after eating a particular food. If any indication is there try to avoid that food.

Another reason for this may the oil you are using in your food preparation. Use groundnut oil or sesame oil. These oils are good for health. Other types of refined oils may cause these problems. Avoid using over boiled oil and foods made by using such oil.

If you are staying in a polluted area or working in a polluted area using proper masks to avoid inhaling polluted air is always necessary. That will definitely solve your problem.

Try to take some immunity boosters like Asvagandha and Chavanprasya which will improve your immunity levels. There are good Ayurvedic medicines that will definitely cure the ailment. I suggest you visit a good Ayurvedic doctor and tell him the problem. He will identify the root cause for the problem and will definitely suggest good medicine for this.

Two years back I also used to have this problem. Then I used some AYurvedic medicines and the problem is completely solved. I used the medicine continuously for 3 months. But one should use these medicines without consulting a good doctor.

As I am not a qualified doctor what I give are only to be taken as suggestions from my own experience or common traditional knowledge. You have to visit a qualified and experienced medical practitioner.

As you have stated that you have already consulted doctors and they have not found anything serious, we may assume that you do not have any serious health issue and whatever is there are only temporary issues of body's reaction to some environmental or weather change or life style change.

If yo had made any change in your food and drink habits or work shifts or exposure to weather outside, you may reverse that and see if any good result is there.
As per Ayurveda a healthy person has the tridosha-Vata, Pitha and Kapha.- in a proper balance. When this balance changes he becomes sick. Cold and cough is occurring due to excess of kapha. So a qualified and experienced Ayurvedic doctor can diagnose it and suggest you a remedial treatment.
If you are now in a place where the weather is humid and cold, then you may avoid exposure to it especially in nights and early morning. Drink mild warm water after boiling it with pepper, Thulsi leaves, cardamom etc. The quantity of these ingredients needed s very little and just a few numbers. If you need travelling in humid and cold weather cover your ears and wrap around your neck a woolen cloth or shawl to avoid cool wind affecting you.
Eladi Leya, Agasthya Rasayana are seen to be effective in curing phlegm and so cold and cough. You may approach an Ayurvedic doctor or a poplar Ayurvedic store near your place for ,ore specific remedial medicines. Take bath in warm water, rub 'Raasanadi choorna' on head (front fontanel)after taking bath and drying your hair properly.After rubbing it on head you may sniff the residual choorna on the finger mildly.
It may not work overnight, but may take a couple of weeks at least to get noticeable relief.

The ailments which you have indicated is the imbalance of vata, pitta and cough Prakriti and now it has resurfaced in the form of cough and cold. Whatever might be the cause of such an imbalance of Prakriti, it can be attributed to low immunity of your body.
Ayurveda contains lot of Rasayans which could strengthen your body - system and your present ailments can be eliminated. I would recommend a few herbs helping your body to boost your immune system thus alleviating your present disorder. You may take up the following tips-
1) As soon as you wake up in the morning, take Giloy Tablet of a reputed pharmaceutical followed with warm water in the empty stomach continuously for at least forty days. It would work slowly but it would create a balance of all the doshas since it takes care of strengthening the body immune system.
2) You may take up one cup of Tulasi tea blended with Ginger in the evening to take care of your cough and cold ailments.
3) Citrus fruits are the best for enhancing immune system and hence you may consume juices of Mausami or in absence of that take a glass of lemon water at least in the morning.
4) Identify the pollens that trouble you and you need to avoid such pollens.
5) If you are not allergic to milk, take half teaspoon of Aswagandha Powder and add in the milk and consume the same in night after half an hour of your dinner for at least forty days. This will induce a better sleep pattern and at the same time it acts as an energy booster.
6) Since you do have the allergic issues apart from cough and cold, Sitopaladi Churna would work best since different ingredients in it would work simultaneously in eliminating the issues with which you are suffering. It contains Vanslochan, Pippali, Cardamom, Cinnamon etc to take care of your compromised immune system. You may take one teaspoon twice daily along with hot water preferably in the empty stomach. Take this product from a reputed pharmaceutical. Results will be visible within a fortnight but it would be better to continue the same for forty days.
7) You may meet an Ayurvedic Doctor and apprise of your ailments. He can suggest some other formulations suiting to your body conditions. They take up Pulse Examination which could identify your existing ailments and treatment would follow after the detection of the abnormalities.

Nowadays cold and cough is going to be a very common problem. There may different reasons to cause this disease. Sometimes, It occurs due to air pollution. If you are residing in that area where the air is highly polluted then there are more chances to happen. Another reason is climatic conditions, If the weather is cool and humid then there would be chances to be affected by cold and cough. In this area, you should always try to cover your neck and mouth with a cloth to avoid cool weather. In polluted areas also, you should always cover your face and mouth with a cloth. Besides, some homemade remedies available by which this problem may reduce to some extent are as follows:-
1. Always drink lukewarm water.
2. Drink the juice of Tulasi leaves and ginger.
3. Chew 2- 3 cloves daily as It helps in reducing infection and allergy.
One important thing is, If you having this problem less then only homemade remedies are helpful otherwise you should consult a good ayurvedic doctor. If this problem has been persisting since a long time then ayurvedic medicine is the only option.

Because of the current situation, you should not be careless concerning cold and cough, if you have consulted a doctor, then I hope you must have got all the necessary tests done, if not, then think about it once and discuss it yourself. Now even if we talk about the weather, we will find that nowadays winter cold is coming out as a common problem in this season and it is also taking a very long time.
For the time being, some home remedies can prove to help get you relief from the cold -
Take steam from time to time - Taking steam at this time is a necessary and beneficial step, take steam at least three times a day and at most four times. The problem of the phlegm of the throat and nose is also diagnosed by taking steam and if there is an infection, then there is also a possibility of getting rid of it quickly.
Drink hot water - Drink only as much hot water as possible, it is also helpful in curing the infection. Fill hot water in the bottle from morning itself and keep drinking it in small intervals.
Ginger tea and soup - If you drink tea, then keep the quantity of ginger more and if you drink black tea with ginger then it will be more beneficial. Consumption of soup is also helpful in reducing phlegm.

Add turmeric powder (less than an half spoon) with a warm Milk (without sugar), mix them and drink it half an hour before going to sleep. Try it for at least one week, you would feel cure and comfortable slowly. This is one of the best method when prescribed medicine doesn't work out for the purpose.

The persistent cold and cough could be due to allergic on certain food intake, some fruits not suitable to an individual, dusty area surrounded or staying in cold atmosphere etc.

Also, it is better to avoid frozen items, oily, mayonnaise, cheesy, spicy and fried items etc.

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Of course I am not any medical doctor or pharmacist. But this suggestion is based on my personal experience and since I am not a diabetic or Blood pressure patient, this suggestion is only general. I am not marketing any product but in good faith only I have made this suggestion. Moreover the said medicines are not alcohol based. As I received the kofend through prescription by a good doctor and got cured before completion of a bottleful medicine.