Handy! These 6 household remedies will help clear a blocked nose
When autumn arrives, you can count on three things: it gets dark earlier, Sinterklaas is on his way and half of the Netherlands catches a cold. Do you currently belong to the last group, with your nose completely blocked for days? Open your fridge or kitchen cupboards and check whether you have the following household remedies at home.
Because believe it or not, the following 6 products — which you may simply have in stock — are said to help clear a blocked nose.
Red onion
Red onions contain all kinds of strong essential oils. If you cut a red onion in half and put it on your bedside table, the released essential oils are said to unblock your nose and help you breathe more freely. Bear in mind that you will probably wake up in a rather smelly bedroom.
Wasabi
Do you ever eat wasabi with your sushi? A small bite of this spicy stuff is said to open up your nose again. And make your eyes water. In any case, something will undoubtedly start flowing when you eat wasabi, whether it is snot from your nose or tears from your eyes.
Ginger
It is claimed that eating a piece of ginger could get rid of your cold in no time. The sharpness of this spice unblocks your nose, allowing you to breathe better again. Ginger also appears to have pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties. It is healthy anyway, so there is absolutely no harm in eating plenty of ginger while you have a cold. Is eating ginger a step too far for you? Drinking ginger tea is said to be effective too.
Butter
I hear you thinking: how on earth is butter going to help me get rid of a blocked nose? Do I have to eat entire packs of butter? If you want to, I will not stop you. But it will not make your cold any better. What is said to help? Rub a little butter under your nose before going to bed. When you wake up, your blocked nose should have disappeared as if by magic.
Horseradish
This one is somewhat similar to ginger and wasabi. The sharpness of horseradish could also help open up your nose again. Grating horseradish in particular — and then inhaling the released oils deeply through your nose — is said to help.
Salt water
Do you not have any of the products mentioned above in your fridge or pantry? Then there is another solution: rinse with water and salt. You undoubtedly have water and salt (sodium chloride) at home, so you can always make a saline solution. You ‘sniff’ the saline solution up through your nose, and your blocked nose will open up again by itself. You can see exactly how to do it in this video from AMC.
A glass of hot whisky, red wine and chocolate (!) are also said to be effective in your fight against a cold. And yes… I understand that you might try those first before giving the tips above a go.
