Treat autumn colds and flu naturally!

Beautiful and warm weather one day, and windy, wet and cold the next. Yes, it's that time of year again, now sniffles and coughs both small and large, some stuffy noses are there too 🤧 Then it's time to conjure up some herbal comfort in the kitchen, or pull out the green herbal pharmacy. Of course, there are also some 🐝 Vossabia products that can be good to help and relieve seasonal colds. And what about stress in the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Stress weakens the immune system, but even there, nature can build us stronger and more resilient.
Check out my treasure trove of herbal magic to help me!

The common cold appears regularly with all its familiar symptoms: sore throat, stuffy nose, runny nose, watery eyes, cough, dry cough and sometimes fever 🤒 On average, we get colds two to three times a year (children up to nine times), but if you find that you get colds quite often , it may be a good idea to try to strengthen your immune system as well. 🌱 With a green pharmacy at hand, it is possible to both strengthen yourself and relieve the symptoms.

Native Americans swore by echinacea for hundreds of years. They chewed echinacea root, in addition to using it in tea, for colds, fevers, flu and many other ailments. This beautiful perennial plant has become super hot in modern times, and it's just a matter of jumping on the "trend" as many people have very good experiences with this super plant. And again: it's so beautiful! 💛 Look how beautiful it is here in one of Vossabia's gardens:

Black elderberry is another super plant for flu and colds, and if you don't have the plant in your garden, you can buy good black elderberry products at health food stores. Studies of black elderberry show very good results in faster recovery from muscle aches, fever, and other flu-related ailments.

There are quite a few herbs that can help strengthen the immune system and reduce the symptoms of colds and fever. In Panterbalsam I have 4 of them!

Panterbalsam has been a "lifesaver" for me who has had chronic sinusitis since my early teens. It's scary to think how dependent I was on nasal spray at times, not good ! But, then I developed Panterbalsam over 19 years ago! WOW!

Apply it under your nose for a slightly stuffy nose, stuff it inside and apply it to your nasal walls for a really stuffy nose: it loosens and opens up and then: FREE BREATHING!! Thank you peppermint, eucalyptus, camphor and rosemary! 🙌🏼🌿

😪 A stuffy nose can be caused by allergies and can be just as annoying (or more so) as a cold, and then you just have to resort to this saving angel!

''I wanted to try something other than nasal sprays from the pharmacy. I did as Vossabia recommends, "stuff my nose, when I have a stuffy nose". The effect is almost magical. Panther balm dissolves and it becomes much easier to breathe. Stuff my nose as soon as I feel the need, and apply a little extra before bed. It has resulted in me not being stuffy in the morning.''
- Turid H.

Panther balm actually has many uses for colds, sinusitis, and flu :
🌿💚 Apply for headaches (I apply where it hurts, and down the muscles in the neck and out into the shoulders)
🌿💚 Apply to the outside of the throat at the onset of a sore throat (several customers have reported symptoms disappearing if you apply it quickly at the onset of a sore throat)
🌿💚 Cough: apply to the chest and back of both children and adults, we have found that the mucus comes up more easily.
🌿💚 Sinus pain, apply butter!
🌿💚 And if you have stiff shoulders, back pain or other areas, just find the black box, let the herbs work and there's a good chance that the aches and pains will ease.


Cold sores on the lips are also quite common, and very uncomfortable. Many people also turn to Panther Balm for effective help, but our good Calendula Balm and the Mint and Lavender Lip Balms are also good helpers for such outbreaks.

What else can you do from your kitchen counter to help yourself and your loved ones when the seasonal virus is ravaging?
Here's some of what I've started doing when someone here needs some herbal magic for colds and flu:

🍯🧄 Honey and garlic!
Nature's antibiotic deluxe! This combination is really great for respiratory ailments, and especially in the upper respiratory tract such as the sinuses. A real power combo, and it is not only the antibiotic effect that can be useful, but also the beneficial immune-stimulating properties. These are our family's best tips for both prevention and treatment of colds and sinus problems:
- Put honey in a glass, or use a whole jar of honey (the darker the honey, the more medicinal properties, like heather honey for example)
- Finely chop 4-5 garlic cloves, let it soak in the honey
- Eat a spoon 2-3 times a day. It usually helps a lot here!

🧄🧅 Garlic and shallots
Great for colds and sinusitis, so lots of garlic for colds. Use as much as you can in cooking, and preferably add it at the end of cooking for full effect, as heating weakens some of the garlic's antibiotic effects.

🤎 Chaga
This incredible mushroom that looks like "tumors" on birch trunks (often slightly older trees, and typically where they have an injury). It has been used as medicine for probably thousands of years, and in addition to all the experience that different cultures and indigenous peoples have with it, there are many exciting research results with chaga as well. I make strong tea from it, which I freeze, and then the young people and we adults drink chaga tea during periods when we feel we need to strengthen ourselves, and as part of treatment for colds and flu. The chaga mushroom is antiviral and immune-boosting and one of the most powerful antioxidants there is! Read more about chaga in Rolv Hjelmstad's herbal encyclopedia online or in book form.

Do you have an herb garden, or otherwise access to, for example? peppermint, yarrow, meadowsweet, nettle, rosemary, thyme and lemon balm? These are some herbs that are known to have a good effect on colds, and they are great to use in tea, among other things.

☕️ Make your own tea blend
Feel free to vary the plant combination, and you will get different taste experiences too. I have an herb garden where I can still go out and collect great herbs to have fresh straight into the pan to make tea.

I also dry a lot, so I have it all year round for tea, food, and to make tinctures (extractions in alcohol) that I use in my water glass to strengthen and treat. Tincture of yarrow, nettle, rhizome and red clover is always at hand here!

By the way, a DIY cough suppressant tip: make tea from thyme! And/or put a few drops of thyme essential oil in a good vegetable oil, like extra virgin olive oil if you have it, and rub it on your chest. Thyme is so good for coughs!