General Blogs

Changing of the season survival guide: How to keep your family healthy As the seasons shift, our bodies often feel it before we even see it. A scratchy throat, a sudden bout of sneezing, or that heavy feeling in the chest. As we hurtle towards winter 2026, we want to share these proactive measures to maintain your family's health.  Instead of waiting for the seasonal sniffles to take hold, you can support your body’s natural defences. In this guide, we’ll look at how to maintain your wellness using a 360-degree approach to seasonal health. Why do we get the "sniffles" when it gets cold? When the air gets cold and dry, the inside of our nose and throat gets dry too. This makes it easier for germs to get in. To stay healthy, we need to protect our "entry points": our nose and our mouth. 3 Simple Steps to Stay Strong 1. Support from the Inside Your body has its own "army" to fight germs. You need to keep that army strong. Drink Water: Even when it’s cold, your body needs water to keep your throat moist and support your body's immune system.  Daily Support: A daily tonic, like our Immune Booster, helps your body stay ready before you even feel a sniffle. 2. Keep Your Nose Clean Most winter germs start in the nose. Dust and cold air can make your nose feel blocked or itchy. Wash it away: Keeping your nose clean helps get rid of dust and germs. Use a gentle spray: Our Nasal Spray has no harsh chemicals or steroids like Cortisone. It doesn't "burn" or make you feel addicted, and it keeps the inside of your nose healthy. 3. Breathe Easy (Chest Care) Sometimes the cold settles in your chest, making it hard to breathe easily. Nebulise: Using a nebuliser with our gentle Nebulising liquid, or even our Immune Booster liquid, can help soothe a tight chest and fight infections. Warm Steam: Sitting in a steamy bathroom or breathing in warm (not boiling) steam helps loosen phlegm.

Finding Calm When Hay Fever Hits: A guide to gentle relief for Nasal Allergies As we warm up to the summer months, you're likely familiar with the arrival of hay fever. That familiar mix of an itchy, runny nose, sneezing fits, and a feeling of constant congestion can make enjoying our beautiful outdoor spaces a real challenge. What’s Really Happening Inside Your Nose? Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, is simply your body's immune system reacting strongly to something harmless in the environment. In South Africa, this is often pollen, but it could also be dust mites, pet dander, or mould. When you breathe in these tiny particles, the sensitive lining inside your nose sees them as a threat. The Reaction: Your body releases chemicals, including histamine, which triggers an immediate, exaggerated inflammatory response. The Symptoms: This inflammation causes the tiny blood vessels in your nose to swell and become leaky. This leads to the classic symptoms we all know: the swelling (congestion), the excessive watery discharge (runny nose), and the uncontrollable sneezing. When your nose is constantly irritated and inflamed, it needs support to calm down, flush out, and restore its natural balance. Simple, Practical Steps for Managing Allergy Season While it’s impossible to completely avoid every allergen, you can take simple, consistent steps to lessen your symptoms and find comfort, especially during peak season. Keep it Clean: After spending time outdoors, washing your face and hands, and even changing your clothes can help remove trapped pollen before it triggers a reaction indoors. Support Your Nose: The most crucial step is to regularly cleanse and soothe the reactive nasal passages. This is where a gentle, isotonic nasal spray can make a significant difference. Targeted, Gentle Support with Silverlab Nasal Spray When your nasal lining is hyper-reactive and inflamed, it needs calming support and gentle cleansing. This is the core of our approach at Silverlab. One of the most important things to know about the Silverlab Nasal Spray is that it can be used daily, without a limit on the number of days you use it. The Silverlab Nasal Spray is designed to provide accessible, non-drowsy relief through a unique, dual-action approach: 1. Calming Inflammation with Ionic Silver Our spray contains Ionic (Ag⁺) Silver, the same supportive ingredient found across our range. Like a knight's armour protecting what matters, the Ionic (Ag⁺) Silver provides gentle anti-inflammatory support to the sensitive, reactive membranes in your nose. This helps to reduce the swelling and irritation that cause congestion and excessive sneezing, helping your nasal passages find comfort. 2. Gently Washing Away Irritants The spray is an isotonic solution, meaning it matches your body's natural fluids. This ensures a comfortable, non-stinging application. The fine mist acts as a gentle, yet essential, wash. It helps to clear away accumulated environmental allergens like dust and pollen that are trapped inside the nasal cavity, breaking the cycle of irritation. The Long-Term Comfort You Can Trust Many people are hesitant to use nasal sprays frequently because conventional decongestant sprays can cause a dependency or "rebound effect" if used for more than a few days. They often contain harsher chemicals or steroids. Because our formula is gentle, non-irritating, and free from conventional decongestants, it supports your nasal passages to restore their natural health and comfort over the long term. You can use 1 to 2 measured doses into each nostril as often as needed, particularly during high allergy exposure. At Silverlab, our mission is to give you simple, accessible tools to take control of your health. With the Silverlab Nasal Spray, you have a science-backed, gentle option to manage your hay fever and enjoy a healthier, more comfortable life, whatever the season brings. Key Benefits in a Glance: Calms Reaction: Ionic (Ag⁺) Silver helps soothe inflammation. Clears Allergens: Gently washes away pollen and dust. Comfortable: Buffered isotonic solution ensures no stinging or drying. Sustainable Use: Can be used daily and long-term, unlike many short-term sprays.

Many look forward to spring after the cold winter, however hay fever and allergy sufferers dread this season as they await a couple of months of allergy symptoms such as blocked noses, sneezing and watery eyes. Colloidal Silver For Allergies, Hay Fever & Sore Nose Hay Fever (Allergic Rhinitis) Hay fever, otherwise known as dust allergies are an allergy to proteins in the pollen of trees, grasses, some plants, or mold which affects the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes, and air passages. Many of the symptoms of hay fever are similar to those of the common cold. Symptoms include: itchy, red eyes watery discharge from the nose and eyes sneezing fatigue nervous irritability. People with allergic rhinitis often have allergy symptoms that also involve the eyes. Other Allergies Other allergies cause a distinctive clear, thin nasal discharge, whereas secretions caused by colds usually become thick and yellow-greenish as the illness progresses. Colds are often associated with mild fever and are usually gone within a week, while allergy sufferers often have a feeling of becoming “wiped out” for weeks on end. [Prescription for Nutritional Healing [fourth edition] Phyllis A. Balch, CNC  Pag 452] Symptoms of Allergies Symptoms that occur shortly after you come into contact with the substance you are allergic to, may include: Itchy nose, mouth, eyes, throat, skin, or any area Problems with smell Runny nose Sneezing Tearing eyes Symptoms that may develop later, include: Stuffy nose (nasal congestion) Coughing Clogged ears and decreased sense of smell Sore throat Dark circles under the eyes Puffiness under the eyes Fatigue and irritability Headache Silverlab Colloidal Silver As An Allergy, Sore Nose & Hay Fever Aid Use Silverlab Nasal Spray to keep the nasal passage clear. Block off one nostril, spray two sprays into the other nostril while inhaling through your nose. Repeat for the other nostril. Wait 5 minutes and then blow nose into a tissue to clear the nasal passages. Repeat two sprays into each nostril as above. If you have itching ears, you can use Silverlab Ear Rescue. Sore red nose If you are suffering from flu symptoms and have a running or blocked nose, use the Silverlab Nasal Spray. Take care to read the instructions on the box as they are not the same as your average nose sprays. Use Silverlab Healing Cream on and around the nose if it is inflamed and tender. You’ll love how it effectively works to take away the inflammation and rawness. Use it as often as needed through the day. Natural Health Tips For Allergy, Sore Nose & Hay Fever Relief – From Jan J Lategan Colloidal Silver Hay Fever Treatment (Dust Allergies) Symptoms Sneezing, red itchy eyes, running nose, circles under the eyes, hay fever. Causes Pollen, pet hair, dust mites in bedding, low blood sugar. Quick Cure Spray nasal passages with Silver Nasal Spray. If eyelids are affected, spray with the Silverlab Healing Spray. Prevention Always cook with lots of onions and drink two glasses of pure apple juice daily. Supplements Antihistamine tablets; Allergy Ease [Vital}; Immuno Choice; Nettle capsules. [Natural Health Tips 2012 Jan J. Lategan pg.38] Nose Bleed In most cases, the blood comes from a broken blood vessel inside the nose, and can be controlled by applying pressure to the sides of the nose for at least 7 minutes. Main Cause Vitamin K deficiency. Natural sources of Vitamin K are: yoghurt AB, Alfalfa tablets, avocado, parsley, cabbage family, eff, soya, kelp, green vegetables. Supplements to consider Ester C: 2-3 capsules per day with meals; it strengthens the blood vessel walls and accelerates the healing of the damaged blood vessel.  Reduce by 50% as problem disappears. Apply Silver Healing Gel or Cream in the nose after a bleeding; the blood vessels will heal sooner. Dis-chem’s Cal-Mag for osteoporosis contains Vitamin K. Bilberry capsules [60mg, 2 per day]. It strengthens the capillaries in the nose. Green tea capsules or Stress Vite or Magnesium SR controls stress and thus prevents a sudden increase in blood pressure which may cause bleeding.  Green tea is a powerful antioxidant that neutralises any damage by free radicals in the nose and eyes due to smoke, air pollution etc. OR Immuno Choice, which contains powerful antioxidants like extracts of grape see, green tea, flavonoids, plant sterols etc. which neutralise the damage caused by free radicals in the nose and eyes due to smoke, exhaust gases, air pollution etc.* (*Optional) Lifestyle Avoid Aspirin, Disprins, Ecotrin, Warfarin and Ginkgo biloba, which dilute the blood. Avoid cortisone and antibiotics.  Take Arthro Guard Intensive instead of cortisone for rheumatoid arthritis and Colloidal Silver instead of antibiotics. Avoid  passive smoking at all costs. Monitor your alcohol intake and decide whether there is a connection and a safe intake. Monitor your blood pressure monthly at a pharmacy or clinic.  Sit still for five minutes; take readings until two correlate. Normal blood pressure: Systolic: 130- 140; Diastolic: 85 – 90. Take pH Balance of Alkaline Powder for high blood pressure. [Natural Health Tips 2012 Jan J. Lategan pg.60] Sinusitis Definition Inflammation of the sinuses [nasal passages] which makes breathing difficult and makes it difficult to sleep. Causes Usually a complication of an infection in the upper airways due to colds or flu. Symptoms Pressure or headache above eyes that worsen when you bend down; difficulty breading through nose; postnasal drip; feeling of fullness in the face; yellowish-green nasal discharge. Lifestyle Tips The ‘Quercetin’ in apples and onions is a natural antihistamine; cook with lots of onions and drink 2-3 glasses of apple juice per day. Avoid foods that cause mucus like cream, full cream milk, white bread, pies and pastries. Viruses multiply extremely quickly with a sudden change in temperature.   Drink two sips of water when you leave a warm room in winter, especially at night or early morning. Blow your nose gently and sleep with open windows. Supplements Reduce congestion by inhaling eucalyptus oil or Friar’s Balm and steam.  Add a few drops of oil to boiling water in a basin. Cover your head with a towel and inhale through your nose. Spray Silverlab Nasal Spray deep into the nasal passages to stop the infection. [Every hour] B-Complex [Dischem][2×2] and 6 odourless garlic capsules to boost the immunity levels. Vitamin C: 500mg x 3 tablets per day with meals or Ester C [1×3]. Echinacea or Echinacea Plus kills viruses and bacteria fast; (1×2 tables.  6 out of 7 days]. Immuno Choice to improve your immunity against infections. Remarks Over the counter sinus medications only suppress the symptoms and can force the infection deeper into the sinus openings. Prescribed sinus medication often causes severe constipation. [Natural Health Tips 2012 Jan J. Lategan pg.74] Excerpts from Jan J. Lategan’s book, “Natural Health Tips”.