What to eat when you have a cold, headache, and nasal congestion?

Written by Hu Bai Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on December 11, 2024
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If you have symptoms such as headache and nasal congestion with a cold, it is recommended that in addition to taking anti-inflammatory and anti-infection medications and cold medicine under the guidance of a doctor, you should also eat some foods that have the effect of expelling colds, such as appropriately boiling some brown sugar ginger juice to drink, or frying eggs with ginger and sesame oil. These dietary methods have the effect of expelling cold and stopping cough, and can also relieve symptoms of nasal congestion and headache well. If the pain is severe, you can take pain relief medication and combine it with massaging the temples to alleviate symptoms. Be sure to rest plenty, avoid overexertion, keep indoor air fresh and circulating, and also pay attention to eating more fresh fruits and vegetables to supplement vitamins, enhance your immunity, and promote disease recovery.

Other Voices

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Sore throat without cold symptoms

Sore throat is a relatively common clinical symptom, with many causes. If the duration is short, it could be due to acute pharyngitis, acute tonsillitis, or acute epiglottitis. If the condition lasts longer or recurs frequently, it may be caused by chronic pharyngitis or chronic tonsillitis. Therefore, after the onset, it is necessary to visit an otolaryngology department for diagnosis, where a laryngoscope examination and routine blood tests can be performed to clarify the specific cause, before targeted treatment can be administered. Regular follow-ups are also needed to monitor the treatment effects.

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Stages of Cold Symptoms

The symptoms of a cold generally fall into three stages. Initially, the symptoms of a cold may be mild or even absent, such as slight sneezing, runny nose, or nasal congestion. In such cases, it is advised to drink plenty of water, promote excretion, and improve immunity, as the early symptoms are often mild or not obvious and hence overlooked. Later, the symptoms of a cold get more severe. During the mid-stage of a cold, symptoms may worsen, including cough, phlegm, sore or swollen throat, or itchy and dry throat. Body temperature may also rise slightly. At this stage, it is recommended to actively follow a doctor's advice and take appropriate anti-inflammatory and anti-infection medication, along with fever-reducing and cough-relieving drugs to alleviate the symptoms. In the later stages of a cold, symptoms may improve, for example, the phlegm may turn yellow and the headaches and fever may subside. Under these conditions, it is sufficient to continue taking medication under a doctor’s guidance for treatment.

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What foods should you eat when you have a cold or flu?

For patients with typhoid and common cold, their diet should mainly consist of light and easily digestible foods, and they can eat more millet, rice, fish, chicken, and shrimp, which can promote the absorption of calcium and help speed up the healing of typhoid and common cold. It is advised to avoid raw and irritating foods to prevent worsening the condition. It's recommended to drink more water and urinate frequently to effectively speed up the healing of the cold. If the condition is serious, it is essential to go to a standard hospital promptly. Follow the doctor's guidance for symptomatic treatment and pay attention to rest, avoid overworking, and do not stay up late.

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What should I do if I feel miserable with a cold?

First, it is important to correctly understand the common cold and not to be overly stressed mentally or emotionally. The common cold is a respiratory infectious disease caused by viral infection, leading to symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, dry throat, cough, headache, dizziness, fever, and fatigue. Appropriate symptomatic treatment medications should be primarily used. For instance, antipyretic analgesics can be taken for fever, and it is also advisable to drink plenty of water, avoid staying up late, and eat more vegetables and fruits. If nasal congestion and runny nose are severe, medications that suppress gland secretion can be taken for symptomatic treatment.

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Can the same medicine be taken for a cold from heat and a cold from cold?

The common cold is a very common upper respiratory tract infection. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, patients are usually classified into hot-type colds and cold-type colds. Hot-type colds generally occur in the summer, while cold-type colds are more often caused by accidentally catching cold in the winter. For such patients, Western medicine may not show a clear distinction in symptoms and tends to be somewhat generic in medication use. However, in traditional Chinese medicine, distinguishing between cold and hot colds is very important in the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections. Therefore, when choosing medication treatment, Western drugs often do not differentiate much between hot and cold colds, while Chinese medicine treatments for colds vary significantly. For example, the most common cold treatment, Chai Hu formula, is divided into Chai Hu formula and proper Chai Hu formula. The Chai Hu formula is used for treating hot-type colds, while the proper Chai Hu formula is used for some cold-type colds. Thus, in clinical practice, some medications can treat both hot and cold colds, but some cannot.