Stuffy nose & colds

For a blocked nose the tradition uses steam and warmth: inhalation over a pot with aromatic species, a wrap, a warm infusion. The ten herbs the catalogue lists here are mostly aromatics — peppermint, wild thyme, rosemary, common sage — complemented by the mucilaginous plantain and common mallow.

The point is a subjective sense of clearance and relief, not a shorter illness.

The feeling of a clear nose and the actual airflow are not the same thing — menthol can create the sensation of a free nose without shrinking the swollen lining at all. It is legitimate relief, just not what most people think it is.

Among home measures, a saline rinse has the best support. Steam inhalation has weaker evidence and carries a real risk of scalding, especially in children. Over-the-counter decongestant drops turn against you after a few days and make the blockage worse.

Swelling or redness around the eye, impaired eye movement and a severe headache with fever need an examination immediately.

Also have assessed a one-sided blockage with traces of blood, sinus pain with fever lasting over ten days, worsening after improvement, and clear fluid from the nose after a head injury.