Looking for the best home remedy for the flu? Here are eight talked-about treatments, with expert advice and scientific evidence about how to get the most benefit.
Try as you might, you may not be able to avoid getting sick during cold and flu season. After all, the influenza virus doesn’t discriminate between healthy and unhealthy people, or old and young ones. Plus, the virus spreads easily through droplets in the air when someone who is infected coughs, sneezes, or even talks, so we’re all potential targets.
Plus, flu season is longer than you might think — it runs through fall and winter and even into spring, peaking sometime between December and February — so time isn’t on your side.
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Prevention is key. Getting an annual flu shot can help protect you from getting the flu. You may still get sick even if you’re vaccinated, but flu symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, and body aches are likely to be less severe.
If you do get the flu, you may want to take an antiviral drug such as oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu), zanamivir (Relenza), or baloxavir marboxil (Xofluza) within two days of the onset of symptoms, especially if you are at high risk of flu complications. You may not be able to get rid of the flu in 24 hours, but these medications will help shorten the length of illness.
There are also home remedies, natural treatments, and other tactics that can help you feel a little better while your immune system fights the flu. Read on for eight strategies.
1. Sleep Away Your Flu Symptoms
“Getting sleep and taking time to recuperate is the best thing you can do for yourself, your coworkers, and your family,” says Len Horovitz, MD, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Sleep strengthens the immune system, he explains, and the truth is, when you’re feeling sick, you won’t feel like doing much else.
Sleep as much as you can and avoid contact with others until you have been fever-free (without taking any fever-reducing medication) for 24 to 48 hours.
While lying down, place an extra pillow under your head to help drain your nasal passages and make yourself more comfortable.
2. Gargle to Soothe a Sore Throat
“If you have a sore throat, gargle with water or salt water,” Dr. Horovitz says. Gargling can help lessen inflammation and loosen mucus in the throat, he explains, clearing out irritants such as germs.
3. Drink Water and Herbal Teas to Dodge Dehydration
The immune system requires hydration in order to do its job. “You have to stay hydrated so your cells are functioning as well as they can,” says Christine Ryan, RDN, a registered dietitian-nutritionist in Seattle. “Dehydration can delay your recovery.”
For additional benefit, get your hydration from tea. Ryan recommends teas containing herbs, spices, or other flavorings known for their antiviral properties. Turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, chamomile, eucalyptus, fennel, thyme, and pennyroyal can all help calm inflammation, according to Ryan.
A report published in 2020 in Natural Product Communications lists even more antiviral herbs that are useful against cold and flu, such as peppermint leaf and oil.
There’s also green tea, which contains a type of antioxidant called catechins that may protect against a variety of viral illnesses, according to a study published in 2021 in Molecules.
4. Sip Chicken Soup
Chicken soup isn’t just warm and comforting. Research published in 2022 in Nutrients found that compounds in chicken soup called carnosine and anserine have “excellent” antioxidant and immunity-boosting effects that can help ease flu symptoms.
The National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus website notes that chicken soup has been a popular home remedy for the common cold since at least the 12th century, and while it’s not a cure, it may relieve symptoms for a short time.
5. Clear Congestion With a Neti Pot
If you’re stuffed up and feeling miserable, you might try using a neti pot — a small teapot-like vessel with a long spout — to flush mucus from your nasal passages twice a day, Horovitz says. This is done by placing a saline solution made with distilled, sterilized, or previously boiled water in the neti pot, and carefully following instructions for safe usage.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration offers a neti pot how-to on its website.
6. Keep Nasal Passages Moist With Steamy Showers
Taking a long steamy shower can help soothe irritated throat and nasal passages, while also helping clear them of mucus, says Neil Schachter, MD, medical director of the Mount Sinai–National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute in New York City and author of The Good Doctor’s Guide to Colds & Flu.
If the flu is making you feel lightheaded or weak, don’t risk fainting in the shower; instead, simply turn on the hot water, find a place to sit in the bathroom, and inhale the steam for up to 10 minutes.
7. Consider Elderberry
In recent years, elderberry (sambucus nigra) has been gaining attention as a possible natural flu treatment. Syrups, pills, and other products containing elderberry line the shelves at major retailers and pharmacies.
Scientists are still investigating the antiviral effects of elderberry extract and juices, says Ryan, “but researchers theorize that elderberry can block HA glycoprotein spikes on influenza viruses, which prevents the viruses from duplicating.” She adds that elderberry may also work by enhancing the effects of immune system proteins called cytokines, which help fight inflammation.
In a research article published in 2021 in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, researchers reviewed almost 1,200 records and five randomized trials on elderberry for the treatment or prevention of viral respiratory illness. They concluded that elderberry may be a safe option but stated that “evidence on both benefits and harms is uncertain and information from recent and ongoing studies is necessary to make firm conclusions.”
8. Give Zinc a Try
Some experts are proponents of zinc as an immunity booster that may help shorten the duration or severity of the flu and improve symptoms if used early on. “I recommend using one or two lozenges per day,” says Dr. Schachter.
Even though there is some research supporting this view, such as an investigation published in The Journal of Family Practice, study findings overall have been mixed on whether zinc can help fight respiratory infections. For instance, the results of a randomized controlled trial published in BMJ Open concluded that commercially available zinc acetate lozenges were not effective in treating the common cold. In an analysis of pooled data from 28 randomized controlled trials, also published in BMJ Open, scientists noted that many studies found zinc had only a modest effect or none at all on viral respiratory tract infections, especially in terms of easing daily symptoms.
Note that the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health advises checking with your doctor or pharmacist before taking zinc, as it may interact with antibiotics and penicillamine, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and a number of other conditions.
What If Your Flu Symptoms Don’t Improve?
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It’s important to remember that the flu can have serious consequences, ranging from ear infections to pneumonia to worsening of chronic conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, and diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some cases, it can even be deadly.
If you have the flu, you should be feeling better within five to seven days, “but if you are not and still have a fever or have started to feel badly again, be sure to call your doctor,” Schachter says.
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