Sweat tea for a cold: These herbs and flowers help

Sweat tea is a tried and tested home remedy for colds. The hot drink made from fresh flowers stimulates the immune system and supports the immune system. This is how you prepare it.

When a cold starts, many people like to resort to tried and tested home remedies. Herbal teas are at the forefront – one variation is the so-called sweat tea.

If you have a cold, you should generally…

• …drink a lot of fluids. Two to two and a half liters a day are recommended.
• …strengthen or support your immune system. As home remedies, you can also use some herbs and flowers that have a diaphoretic, anti-inflammatory and soothing effect.

A sweat tea should not only have a pain-relieving and calming effect, but also help the body to eliminate germs.

But: High temperatures overload the cardiovascular system and bacteria and viruses cannot simply be sweated out. So why a sweat tea?

What does sweat tea do?

“In principle, viruses cannot be sweated out,” as Prof. Dr. Daniel König from the University Hospital of Freiburg explains in a report from 2017. This statement is also repeatedly confirmed by doctors in more recent reports, as a report by Bayern Radio emphasizes.

However, the following effects of sweat teas when it comes to colds are beneficial:

• Promotes blood circulation: Heat stimulates blood circulation and the immune system. So it has a supportive effect on the immune system.

• Elderflower tea and lime blossom tea have a sweat-inducing effect. They also promote mucus production in the bronchi.

• Chamomile tea is anti-inflammatory and stimulates the immune system.

Note: Even if sweat tea is a home remedy, side effects can occur in large quantities – especially if your sweat tea is not a pure herbal tea, but contains additives such as licorice. So check with your doctor beforehand if you are unsure. Pure herbal teas, on the other hand, are generally well tolerated.

Sweat tea: This is how you prepare it

You can prepare a sweat tea from a mixture of dried flowers. Linden blossoms, elderflowers and a little chamomile are good for this.

The exact amount of herbs used in relation to the water can vary and is specified differently in many recipes. Experience has shown that you can use the following information as a good basis and vary it as you wish. For example, use different flowers or different quantities, depending on what you like best and what you have at home.

This is how you prepare everything:

Fill a tea infuser or a tea bag

• a teaspoon of linden blossoms
• a teaspoon of elderflowers
• half a teaspoon of chamomile flowers

And this is how you brew your sweat tea:

1. Pour the flower mixture with 250 milliliters of hot water.
2. Let the tea steep for ten minutes.
3. Drink the cup of tea as hot as possible. But be careful not to burn yourself.

Use as part of a sweating treatment

You can drink the sweat tea as part of a sweat treatment. Attention: If you have a fever, you should not take such a treatment as it overloads the body.

There is no precise scientific information on the recommended duration of a sweating cure for a cold. That’s why it’s important that you listen to your own body and stop the treatment immediately if you feel uncomfortable. Below you will find basic instructions for a sweating treatment that you can follow.

Here’s how you can do a sweat cure for a cold at home:

1. If you feel strong enough, first take a cold bath. Make sure that the water temperature in the bathtub is warm enough but that you don’t burn yourself. Experience has shown that 35 to 38 degrees Celsius is a good guideline. According to Bayern Radio, the temperature should not be higher than 39 degrees Celsius. If your circulation is still too weak for a bath, you can do an ascending foot bath instead.
2. While the water is running into the bathtub, you can prepare the sweat tea.
3. Relax in the bathtub for about 20 minutes. If you feel unwell, finish the bath sooner. You shouldn’t bathe for too long so as not to overload your poor circulation. Bayern Radio explains that you shouldn’t stay in the bathtub for longer than 20 minutes. Also, be careful not to fall asleep in the tub, as can happen when you are weakened, such as with a cold.
4. Drink the sweat tea during the bath or immediately afterwards.
5. After the hot bath, dress warmly and make yourself comfortable under the blanket. Experience has shown that you should now rest and sweat for at least half an hour.
6. After sweating, it is important that you don’t stay sweaty and wear dry clothes.

7. If possible, change the bed linen or ask someone for help.

8. Get some rest. It’s best if you go to sleep for a few hours.

Important: Which type of heat is suitable as a home remedy and which should be avoided?

• It is not advisable to visit the sauna if you have a cold. The extremely high temperatures are harmful to the weakened body and overload the circulatory system. It is a myth that bacteria and viruses are flushed out of the body with sweat.
• Warmth in the form of bed rest under a warm blanket is recommended. Heat also promotes the immune system locally. You can take advantage of this in the form of teas or by inhaling.

Rule of thumb: sleep is the best medicine

You’ve probably heard it before: sleep is the best medicine. And that’s true. Likewise, warmth helps with recovery.

Here are the most important rules for sweat teas and sweat cures:

• Check with your doctor whether sweat tea is suitable for you.

• Drink the sweat tea as part of a sweat cure at the start of a cold. Later in the course of the disease, the circulatory system is often too weak to cope with high temperatures. This is especially true if you have a fever.
• Rest in bed after sweat therapy should not be less than 30 minutes.
• If you have a high fever, you shouldn’t put heat on your body, and you shouldn’t go to the sauna if you have a cold.

Edited by Jennifer Watzek

Read more on Techzle\.com:

• Make your own cold bath: Mixtures for soothing baths
• Chest wraps for coughs: How to use the home remedy correctly
• Cold tea: These varieties help against coughs, colds and sore throats

** marked with ** or orange underlined Links to sources of supply are partly partner links: If you buy here, you are actively supporting Techzle\.com, because we then receive a small part of the sales proceeds. More info.