“In Canada, the peak times for colds are at the start of school in the fall, in mid-winter, and again in early spring. Adults catch approximately 2 to 4 colds a year, and children catch even more.”

Coughing, sneezing and fevers- oh my! ‘Tis the season to get sick, no matter how hard you try to prevent it, the winter cold takes no mercy. Between chugging cough syrup to eating nothing but lozenges it can feel like nothing will work. Ready to try something a little different? Take a world tour of some weird and wacky cold remedies from around the globe.

Snail Syrup, Germany 🇩🇪

A little different to maple syrup, snail syrup is used in Germany to soothe sore throats. The syrup is made of snail extract (not the whole snail), just the slime from the trail. You’ll never know if it works if you don’t try!  

Raw Garlic, Russia 🇷🇺  

If you are about to go on a date, then maybe don’t try this one! Eating raw garlic or having plates of chopped garlic around the house is a common cold remedy in Russia. Parents will put garlic cloves in their children’s pockets to fend off colds (and vampires, of course).

Salty Liquorice, Netherlands 🇳🇱

The Dutch have a special salty treat called “salmiak liquorice” which has surprising healing powers. The salt and the liquorice root mix together to make a soothing throat lozenge. Plus, if you like liquorice then you’re basically just eating candy while curing your cold!

Dried lizard soup, Hong Kong 🇭🇰

What do you get when you mix dried lizards, yams and dates? You get a popular cure for the common cold in Hong Kong. The catch is you have to both genders of lizard in one soup for it to work. Would you give this a try?

Turmeric Milk, India 🇮🇳

This is like hot cocoa but different in almost every way. Add turmeric, ginger, honey and peppercorns to some warm milk and say bye-bye to your cold. Turmeric is a super food so if you like the taste sprinkle it on pretty much everything (maybe not ice cream but you get the idea).