IT IS that time of year again—winter is coming and with it the common cold. Even though treating our colds should be our top priority, sometimes we are too lazy to get out of bed, or our hectic lives prevent us from seeing a doctor. So instead of visiting the hospital or taking bitter medicine, we turn to the comfort and convenience of home remedies––though some have dubious scientific grounding[1]. The Yonsei Annals interviewed Yonsei undergraduates on their experiences of trying out home remedies to combat colds.

Hemin Pho Vu (Soph., UIC, Information & Interaction Design)

   “While it’s common knowledge that warm lemon juice is supposed to make a cold disappear, few people know that it’s actually the lemon slices that get the job done. I relied on this seemingly strange home remedy throughout my high school years when I was living with my aunt in California. Even though the weather in Southern California is super pleasant all year round, I still had some pesky health issues coping with the Californian winter. One time, when I caught a cold, my aunt took one or two lemons from the fridge and sliced them. She then rubbed the slices on my forehead, face, stomach, hands, and legs. At the time, I couldn't help but feel skeptical and confused. Only when my fever eventually went away did I agree with her that lemons were a pretty effective DIY[2] cure.”

Seo Soo-rim (Fresh., UIC, Underwood Div.)

   “I once heard that depending too much on medicine can make your body grow resistant to it, so I usually don’t go to the hospital right away to treat colds. Whenever I catch a cold, I bundle up and make my room warm––as it is a traditional Korean belief that your fever starts going down once you start sweating. Surprisingly, home remedies such as drinking hot tea or juice, covering my neck, and making myself warm, work out well when I catch a mild cold––even though they might just be a placebo effect. Whether it is true or not, I am afraid that if I rely too much on pills, they will not work when I need them the most. So whenever I catch a cold, I use these home remedies instead.”

Hailey Doyle (Soph., UIC, Political Science & Intl. Relations)

   “During my high school years, my morning routine consisted of downing Advil on my way to school because I frequently got sick. Among some memories of being sick, I remember getting the most horrific case of the flu when my family members from Finland were visiting. On hearing news of my sickness, my grandma immediately rushed to the nearest market and brought back bottles of unpasteurized honey, lingonberries, mustard, and ginger. Meanwhile, my family members had no idea what she was doing. My grandmother ground the ginger with the lingonberries and mixed it with hot water, lots of honey, mustard, and some turmeric and brought it to me. She then brought the mixture up to me as if it were a simple mug of tea. I asked her what was in it and I remember looking at her as if she was crazy once she listed all of the ingredients. My grandma is quite knowledgeable about other countries and cultures, and home remedies from around the globe is one of her favorite research fields. While my grandma’s mixture was probably the grossest thing I've ever had, I can't deny that her recipe definitely helped me a lot. If you're feeling under the weather, maybe give some of these ingredients a try.”

Lee Sung-jae (Jr., UIC, International Studies)

   “I was once introduced to a cold treatment called a Priessnitz's wrap[3], which is supposedly quite popular in Europe. It involves wrapping the affected site with a cold cloth to accelerate blood circulation and healing. There are ready-made wraps available for the cold sealing, but homemade substitutes are quite common since the method does not require much preparation. All you need is a dry towel, a wet towel, and a plastic wrap. You place the wet towel against your skin, cover it with the wrap, and then cover both of them with the dry towel. I tried the Priessnitz's wrap myself for a few hours, but I must not have done it correctly since I found myself being worse off than I was before.”

Tong Jing Xuan (Fresh., UIC, HASS Div.)

   “Living in Singapore, I didn’t want to go to the doctor when I got sick because clinic fees are kind of expensive here. So one time when I caught a cold, I asked my mom if there was anything I could do to deal with it. She made ginger tea for me and told me to drink it while bundled in a blanket. I followed her advice for a few hours, wrapping my whole body from head to toe until I started to sweat because that’s what ginger tea was supposed to do. However, after trying this home remedy, my cold got worse. I started coughing even more and developed a runny nose. When I told my mom about it, she paused and started laughing because she figured out that she had mixed up the remedy that was supposed to treat a cold with the one used to treat a fever. Turns out that the remedy I’d been trying by sweating for hours was for nothing.”

Izabela Berile (Sr., UIC, Nano Science & Engineering)

   “This might be a tad ironic but every time I catch a cold or get sick, my go-to remedy is to go out for an ice cream. I remember other people always telling me to drink something warm or to stay warm and bundled up, but my mom used to tell me to ‘eat a little ice cream’ whenever I got a cold. I’ve actually been following this method for a while now. Whenever I feel a sore throat or a runny nose coming, I go to the nearest convenience store and buy their biggest bucket of cookies and cream ice cream. To be honest, I eat one whole bucket of ice cream in one night when I’m sick. I really like the feeling of the cold and smooth ice cream coating my throat; in a way it alleviates a lot of the soreness and congestion I feel. Some may say that it’s just an excuse to be eating tons of ice cream, but for me, this remedy actually works and helps when I catch a cold.”

[1] Please do not try out these home-remedies to cure colds as they are not to be substituted for actual medicine.

[2] DIY: An abbreviation of “do-it-yourself”

[3] Priessnitz’s wrap: A remedy that Vincez Priessnitz, the founder of hydrotherapy, invented to treat colds