Trikatu Powder for Common Cold

The word “cold” is a catch-all term that describes symptoms such as sneezing, wet nose, running nose, scratchy throat, heaviness in head, body ache, headache, indigestion, nausea, stomach ache, vomiting, diarrhoea and fever.

Trikatu powder consists of fine powder of three pungent drugs viz. Shunthi, Maricha and Pippali in equal proportion. Shunthi is the dried rhizome of ginger. Maricha is the dried fruit of black pepper and Pippali is the dried fruit of long pepper.

Trikatu is a simple herbal preparation with which common cold can be managed successfully taking prescribed precautions:

• Patients suffering from common cold should prevent direct exposure to cold wind, intake of heavy meals, drinking of cold water, suppression of natural urges of stools, urine and flatus, sleeping on the floor and during daytime.
• Light meals with spicy, sour and salty taste, curd, garlic, frequent drinking of warm water, fresh radish, brinjal (eggplant), and hot soup of green gram are helpful in common cold.
• Covering head with cap or any warm cloth, steam bath, head massage, gargles with warm water and avoidance of anger facilitate recovery from the common cold.

Dose and mode of administration

Adult dose of Trikatu is 2 grams given three times a day preferably with warm milk or water or honey. In children the dose may be reduced according to the age and can be given in a dose of 125 mg to 500 mg thrice a day. Another way is – add Trikatu powder to one cup of milk, boil it for a few minutes and take it warm.

Reference – Traditional Herbal Remedies for Primary Health Care