Tartar tea. Hot sand. Readers swear by their cures for the common--and uncommon--cold.

From “The Guggle Muggle” to “The Nasty Tea” to “The Recipe,” Southern Californians have a pharmacy full of home cures that they claim stop colds and flu dead in their tracks.

As we crawl and cough alongside you during this, one of the ugliest flu seasons in a decade, we make no guarantees that any of these remedies remedy.

We suggest that you check with your physician before trying a remedy if there is any doubt, or if you have a condition aggravated by salt, alcohol or any of the ingredients listed below. Alcohol should not be given to children.

Concoctions

* “Onion Juice”

Ruth Anderson, Canyon Country

Fill a teacup with chopped onions, sprinkle with a teaspoon of sugar. Invert a saucer on top and then turn over so that the cup is upside down in the saucer. Place it in a warm place (stove top or warm oven) for several hours until the warm juice collects in the saucer. Spoon up onion juice and swallow.

“It tastes great and we swore up and down it got rid of whatever was ailing us!”

* “Blender Remedy”

Deborah A. Mitchell, Culver City

Take one large onion (red onion is preferable), add three pieces of garlic. Dice, then put in blender with a tablespoon each of honey and lemon. Liquefy until completely blended. You can either strain the mixture or pour it into a bottle. Swallow a tablespoon of it every four hours.

“The recipe is one that my family uses when we get a cold. Even though it may sound unappetizing, the kids love it.”

* “Sure-Fire Way to End Your Flu-Time Suffering”

Denise Royal, Canoga Park

Squeeze three to four fresh lemons, removing the seeds. Slowly bring to a boil. Add one or two cloves of fresh, crushed garlic and reduce heat. Simmer five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/8 cup to 1/4 cup honey, 1/8 teaspoon each of nutmeg and cinnamon. Simmer for five more minutes and stir from time to time. Pour into large mug and serve. It is necessary not only to drink all the liquid, but also to eat the pulp of the lemon and garlic.

“This was given to me by a friend once when I was on my deathbed. I thought I’d never get it down, but the next day I was healed! Since that day, I’ve been a believer in the natural way.”

* “The Guggle Muggle”

Annette Baran, Los Angeles

Heat some milk to scalding. Add a generous tablespoonful of honey. Stir well. Beat an egg to froth. Add to liquid. (Be careful to mix without curdling.) Add a drop or more of whiskey, depending on age of patient. Serve hot, and make sure the ailing one drinks a full cupful or more, sipping slowly and swallowing thoroughly. Repeat every four to six hours, if necessary. Some families add cinnamon, nutmeg or cocoa.

“Its origins are Eastern European, probably Lithuanian Jewish. In my ghetto neighborhood of Chicago, we children were dosed with the Guggle Muggle at the first sign of a respiratory infection. It was reputed to have extraordinary powers to strengthen the immune system, kill the bacteria and soothe the sore throat, raw cough and congested chest. . . . A well-made Guggle Muggle was not unpleasant, but if not emulsified properly, the result was to gag, without a doubt.”

* “For Fever”

Norma Kalina, Van Nuys

Take one thumb-size piece of ginger root, washed and peeled, and boil in a cup or so of water for two or three minutes.

Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon honey and juice from half a lemon. Drink as hot as possible, as quickly as possible.

“The recipe was given to me by a Hawaiian acquaintance.”

* “Cure for Colds--Common or Uncommon”

Mary Hambleton, Torrance

Ingredients: one heaping teaspoon baking soda, grapefruit, sugar (optional).

Squeeze juice from grapefruit. Strain. Add sugar, if necessary. Pour into large glass. Put baking soda into another large glass. Pour grapefruit juice into glass with the baking soda. Pour from glass to glass two or three times over sink because it will fizz unmercifully. Drink immediately.

“It must help. Mom always used it and she is 95 years old with all six children living and well and most of us in our 70s. Of course, it doesn’t hurt her to spend her winters in Florida.”

* “Elixir of Grapefruit Rind”

Susan Hiscock, Sherman Oaks

Cut up a complete grapefruit. Put in pot of water and boil two to three minutes. Drink warm or cold.

“Absolute cure!”

Soups and Teas

* “Spicy and Sour Shrimp Soup”

Matt Easton, Los Angeles

Stop in at your favorite Thai restaurant and get Spicy and Sour Shrimp Soup. Ask for it as spicy as possible. Take it home.

“Eat it slowly while reading your current book.”

* “Bob’s Onion Soup”

Hilary Hartman Kip, Van Nuys

Ingredients: one large yellow onion sliced into fine rings (about 1/8 inch thick), one 15-ounce can chicken stock or broth (low sodium is preferable), three or four cloves garlic (minimum) minced, one tablespoon olive oil ( not butter, not margarine), 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

In a stockpot or saucepan, heat olive oil on medium. Add onions and saute. When rings begin to separate, add garlic. Stir frequently until onions are translucent. Add broth and nutmeg and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Serve hot. Get well.

“When my husband (Bob) and I were still dating, I came down with a miserable flu at one point, and he made this soup for me. It worked like a dream, and I think it clinched the marriage. Now if one of us catches a cold, the other comes to the rescue with Bob’s Onion Soup. It’s fast, easy and it works.”

* “Herbal Remedy: Mallow”

Jim Lowery, San Pedro

For colds and cough, make tea from one teaspoon or tablespoon of dried mallow leaves per cup of water and sip. For persistent sore throat, make a cold tea and drink up to a quart a day.

* “Dina’s Honduran Garlic Cure”

Dina Byrd, Buena Park

Ingredients: one mug full of hot water, 1/2 fresh lemon, one clove garlic, one tablespoon honey.

Squeeze the lemon into boiling water. Squash the garlic clove to release its essence and drop it into the lemon water. Add honey. (May add more to sweeten.) Let the mixture steep for a few minutes while you get into PJs and a sweat shirt. Get under the covers and sip the tea slowly. You will begin to sweat, but that’s good.

“Ask any one of my skeptical friends; they laughed, they tried it and they were cured. It works!”

* “Tartar Tea”

Dorothy F. Wolcott, Laguna Hills

Dissolve one teaspoon of cream of tartar in one cup of hot water. Drink two or three times a day when you first notice the signs of a cold.

“I am an 81-year-old woman who was raised with this one cold remedy. It was given to my mother by a small-town doctor around 1915 and has been used ever since by her four children, who have all lived into their 80s, as well as all our children and many friends. It often stops the cold from developing. It’s a winner!”

* “Echinacea Tea”

Zaneta Kosiba-Vargas, Goleta

Drink organic echinacea tea with organic honey, alternating every few hours with organic or wild-crafted echinacea tincture mixed with spring or filtered water.

Add echinacea tincture only if the symptoms are “particularly unmanageable.” Can also take 1/2 teaspoon (2,500 milligrams) of calcium ascorbate crystals mixed in a glass of juice twice a day. . . . Remedy works well with the addition of organic miso soup.

* “Korean Concoction Sore Throat Remedy”

Lucia Coulter, Whittier

Put 10 slices fresh ginger root into a large saucepan with a tiny amount of water and heat until ginger turns yellow. Add 10 cups of water, two cinnamon sticks and five or six red dates. (Other dates will not do. Red dates are available at Korean supermarkets.) Bring to boil. Simmer for 35 minutes. Strain and store in refrigerator. Pour into mug and microwave. Drink a hot cup five times a day.

“Nothing even begins to compare with this recipe given to me by a very well-educated woman whose husband (also well-educated and highly intelligent, I am sure) studies Korean traditional medicine as an avocation.”

* “Sage Tea”

Sally Holmes, Glendale

Ingredients: whole sage, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, honey.

Steep a tea ball filled with whole sage for five minutes. Remove tea ball. To tea, add one teaspoon apple cider vinegar, a pinch of cayenne pepper and honey to taste. Sip while hot. Repeat every few hours throughout the day when the relieving effects of the remedy begin to wear off.

“This tea is surprisingly pleasing in taste. For the past three years, I’ve used Sage Tea at the first hint of a cold or sore throat. The result is that I’ve had fewer colds and the ones I’ve had are much less severe.”

* “Te”

Peggy Chilton, Coronado

In a liter of water, add two eucalyptus leaves and half a stick of cinnamon. Boil for five minutes. To a cup of tea add a tablespoon of honey and juice of half a lemon. Any sweetener is acceptable, but the honey is especially smooth to the throat.

“For 23 years, our housekeeper, Catalina Sanchez, has offered this remedy when we have colds. It is so soothing!”

* “Nona’s Cold Remedy”

Nate Esformes, Los Angeles

Preheat a large, double-size tea mug. Place two chamomile or Twig & Leaf tea bags into the mug. Add the juice of half a lemon. Add a tablespoon of honey. Add half a teaspoon of ground cloves. Add 1 1/2 jiggers of brandy (not cognac) or dark rum. Add boiling water, fill to the brim. Allow this brew to steep for at least four minutes.

The rising aroma will indicate when the brew is ready to drink. It’s best taken at the first signs of the cold.

“My maternal grandmother, Rachel Honan, brought this cold remedy with her when she emigrated from Salonika, Greece, with my parents in the early 1920s.”

* “Green Tea and Garlic”

Stacy R. Mullany, Riverside

Make a big pot of green tea. Drink one cup after another with one garlic capsule per cup. Then take one more garlic capsule every two hours and one 500 milligram vitamin C tablet every three hours with a glass of water.

“The timing is important; it works best when you’re just getting sick.”

* “The Nasty Tea”

Brenda Rees, Glendale

Ingredients: three cups water, 10 teaspoons cayenne pepper, three cloves garlic (crushed), three tablespoons honey, three lemons, three teaspoons fresh ginger (chopped fine).

Brew all ingredients together. Squeeze juice from lemons but leave rinds floating in tea. While simmering, put face directly over the steam and inhale. Sip tea and make horrible face. Repeat as often as necessary.

“The recipe was handed down from a singer who swears she has stopped numerous sore throats by drinking this tea regularly upon any hint of a cold. I’ve since added to it, and it has helped me combat the winter nasties. It tastes horrible.”

Sandwiches and Meals

* “Garlic Sandwich”

Eileen Barry, Lake View Terrac e

Pop a few cloves of garlic into the microwave, set on high for 15 seconds. Then put them on a slice of wheat bread along with a slice of tomato. Voila! Not even a sniffle.

“My husband of 44 years scoffed at this until he had a very serious, three-week bout with a cold and cough and I sailed through it all unscathed, bathed in the righteous glow of my microwaved garlic.”

* “The Recipe”

Ann Stockdill, Santa Paula

Cook parsley, celery, zucchini and string beans with your favorite broth. Eat.

“My kids refer to this as ‘the recipe.’ I learned this home cure from a patient, new to California, from Indiana, I think. She told me she hadn’t had a cold in nine years.”

Gargles

* “Gargle for Sore Throat With or Without Fever”

Lee Ann Silber-Schoenwald, Los Angeles

Put one tablespoon white Karo syrup (brown syrup in a pinch) in warm water. Gargle.

“It is more soothing than salt in warm water. And for one watching their sodium intake, you can see the advantage.”

* “Sore Throat Remedy”

Liz Anderson, Los Angeles

Part One--Gargle deeply and often within the first 24 hours, alternating between solutions of lemon juice and very warm water, and salt and very warm water. Try this four times an hour.

Part Two--Alternately drink these brews every two hours: Hot water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and one clove; hot water, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper and one clove. Make these brews to taste--as strong as possible but not too much sweetener (only use honey).

“This has helped generations of our family.”

Non-edible Remedies

* “Clogged and Inflamed Sinuses Cure”

Ruth Prinz, Santa Monica

Boil one pint water, add one teaspoon salt and one teaspoon soda. Cool and add one tablespoon witch hazel. Sniff up the nose and spit out. Do this several times a day.

“Really gives relief.”

* “Earaches Cure”

Gerri Garner, Los Angeles

Heat sand, salt or oatmeal in a pan, pour into a sock and knot it, and heat in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds. (Check to make sure it is not too hot because uneven heating sometimes occurs in microwave ovens.) Place it on the ear. It is warm and can conform to the contour of the ear far better than a heating pad.

Note: Learned from Russian grandmother.