Man... I feel like crap.

[Capt.Ahab]

Wow . Two days ago I had a scratchy throat. I told Mrs Ahab that I knew I had a cold coming on. By yesterday morning my nose was running like a faucet and my head felt like it weighed about a thousand pounds.
Today was the same but worse, and going to work didnt help things at all.
I left work around 2 pm , went home and crashed. Now it feels as though the cold is moving into my lungs and turning into a cough. YUCK!
Everybody is telling me that its been going around and takes like three weeks before you feel better.
Ive been pounding the vitamin C and zinc, taking a vitamin/herbal drink called Airborne and a couple tylenols every few hours. I havent puffed in two days, and believe me, when Capt.Ahab isnt puffin' somethings wrong.
Tonight I gonna make a bit of Afghani #1 tea and try to get a good nights sleep.
Work comes early tomorrow morning, along with a dentists appointment. That should make things interesting.
Any suggestions to help me kick this crud?

 

[Ohh.Word]

Vaporize!!

 

[pieceofmyheart]

First call your dentist and tell them you are sick and see if they would prefer you cancel your appointment. I wouldn't want to work on someone with a nasty cold.
You are risking making the staff and other patients sick, the potential for you spreading those cold germs in that setting is just immense.

Then drink lots and lots of water to thin the mucus in your lungs, staying well hydrated is the best thing when you have a virus like this.

 

[Guest]

i just got the exaaaaaaaaaact same thing, took 3-4 days to get over.

if you wanna get better aspap, DO NOT smoke, DO NOT vaporize. your immune system doesn't need anythin workin against it.

if you do, itll just take longer for u to recover

 

[Tarkus]

Ok, I am not saying this is what worked, or that anyone should try it, but: A while back I had a bad cold/flu, whatever, and my friend said he had the same thing not too long ago. He had been sick for about a week and a half and decided one night he wanted to get drunk. He got trashed, and the next day he felt 100% better. I said, what the hell, and proceeded to pour up some Jack. I was plastered, and the next day...I woke up and felt great. The most dramatic difference from sickness to health I have ever had. Went to sleep sick as a dog, woke up feeling fine. It was wild.

I might have been getting over this sickness that day anyway, but who knows? Alls I know is I felt better the next day.

 

[Ruosk]

Vitamins are good, but taking more than your body can use doesn't do anything. What I do when I get flu is vaporize some nice indica buds if I have some and take some paracetamol / caffeine / what ever drink (Panadol Hot is what I use) for the fever. Some over the counter antihistamines shoud do a pretty good job drying the runny nose.

 

[genkisan]

Take one crushed clove of garlic, six cracked peppercorns, a mashed piece of ginger the size of yer thumb, a few slices of ginseng root (dry) and three whole cloves (the spice) and put them into a small sealed bottle with 2-3 shots of vodka.

Let sit for 12-24 hours.

Strain thru a coffee filter and drink it all down in one go right before bed.
Chase with 8-12 Oz water and go to sleep.


You will sweat thru yer sheets fer sure....but any bug in yer blood that does not flee screaming after that will probably kill ya anyhoo.

 

[Tarkus]

Holy crap genkisan!!!!!!! That sounds absolutely horrid!! Wow, almost makes me wanna try it just to try it. It really works good? I have to remember that one.

I would rate that as about a 9.8 on my Richter scale of disgusting drinks (without having ever tried it. Who knows, might be better than I think).

 

[Guest]

Take one crushed clove of garlic, six cracked peppercorns, a mashed piece of ginger the size of yer thumb, a few slices of ginseng root (dry) and three whole cloves (the spice) and put them into a small sealed bottle with 2-3 shots of vodka.

Let sit for 12-24 hours.

Strain thru a coffee filter and drink it all down in one go right before bed.
Chase with 8-12 Oz water and go to sleep.


You will sweat thru yer sheets fer sure....but any bug in yer blood that does not flee screaming after that will probably kill ya anyhoo.

Why the garlic? As far as I knew garlic is a toxin to the body. Or is that the point of takin it...?

And why the alcohol?

I have a hard time believing toxins that your liver needs to take extra energy to process, while being sick, would be beneficial..?

 

[Storm Crow]

Here's what I do and I work at a school!

Here's what I do and I work at a school!

I'm exposed to EVERY germ that my area has! When I feel something coming on, I turn on my electric blanket, make a cup of hot chamomile tea and take a hot bath! OK, I know it sounds silly, but chamomile tea is "good for what ails you" and provides internal heat (I drink it while in the tub), the hot bath simulates a fever (fevers are highly misunderstood! It is a bodily DEFENSE against many types of germs that can ONLY breed in a narrow temperature range). After relaxing in the tub a while, I get into a warm bed and sleep a couple of extra hours. I am rarely ill, although I am exposed to runny noses, "sick tummies" and just about all the ills that humans can get! I suspect that the germs have "won", in your case, but it might be worth a try. Granny

 

[genkisan]

Why the garlic? As far as I knew garlic is a toxin to the body. Or is that the point of takin it...?

And why the alcohol?

I have a hard time believing toxins that your liver needs to take extra energy to process, while being sick, would be beneficial..?

The alcohol is to dissolve all the beneficial volatiles and stuff in the other things....the amount in the decoction will not stress yer liver that much unless yer jaundiced, have Hepatitis or cirrosis.

And as far as garlic being toxic.....that is the first time I have EVER heard anything like that. Garlic is one of the healthiest things out there....thins yer blood, is a powerful antibacterial/viral, etc etc etc.

 

[mtnjohn]

hope this helps

mj

 

[Capt.Ahab]

Thanks for the replies folks.
Had a rough night last night,but although I still have a cold its one of those colds that feels better during the day but hits you hard at night.
Im not one who likes to take a lot of chemmy over the counter meds, and try to stick to a more natural solution when I feel like this. Damn, this is the first cold Ive had in like,3 years.
A couple cups of coffee and a bit of breakfast made me feel better today, and I canceled the dentist appointment so I dont have to go and infect all those folks.
I do have a volcano but I think I will pass on smoking until I feel better. Dont drink a lot of alcohol so will skip that too.
Last night I ground a couple buds and put them in some 1/2 &1/2 with a little pat of butter. Then put in the microwave just long enough to melt the butter and heat the mixture slightly and let sit for a while. Strained it and added some chai tea and honey. It worked pretty good. Got a little buzz and slept OK for a while until it wore off.
Last week I had to go get a bunch of shots for an upcoming trip to South Africa.
I had to get a Hep. A vaccine shot, Polio booster, tetanus booster,Measle/mumps rubella booster and had to take typhoid vaccine for four days. I think all that junk really messed with my immune system and made me susceptible to this cold I have now.
Ok. Thanks again.Capt.Ahab.

 

[Guest]

Eat hemp seed...lots and lots of hemp seed!

 

[Nikijad4210]

Mother Nature's pharmacy's always better---Her stuff actually works. If you can, give this tea a shot---

Clove, Anise, Pleurisy Root, Eucalyptus----powder them (I use my mortar & pestal) Mix 2 teaspoons of everything but the Pleurisy Root.
Divide it into a couple of teabags (I empty out black tea bags) adding a tablespoon of the mixture to each bag, and add a teaspoon of Pleurisy Root to each bag.

Boil roughly 2 minced/diced tablespoons of ginger (fresh ginger is best) for about 20 minutes while covered.
Take the boiling ginger tea, pour it in a cup & let the tea bag mix steep for about 15-20 minutes.

If you don't like the taste of it, add honey. Sugar just doesn't work. Pleurisy Root is very bitter, kinda tastes like rubber bands---but for me, the clove & anise cover the taste well. However, Wolf thinks it's god-awful, so honey's sometimes you're friend. That, and it's good for the immune system.

Clove, Ginger & Anise keep the stomach in check if it's upset, and have anti-microbial properties---They work very well when you're sick.
Anise also has expectorant properties. Clove's mostly useful for preventing puking, but it's great for keeping intestinal germs at bay. Ginger's also pretty damn useful for keeping the sinuses clear, and combating headaches & fever.
Eucalyptus & Pleurisy Root are natural expectorants (clear your congested lungs out) They work damn well in conjunction with eachother, I use them whenever I end up with a chest cold. Eucalyptus also combats fevers & headaches, and is anti-microbial.
Pleurisy Root has anti-inflammatory properties related to the respiratory tract.

Drink at least 2 coffee cups' worth a day, preferably 3, for a few days.

It's not the first time I've given it to my mom, but I gave her a similar mix (added herbs to help her sleep better) when she had the flu a few weeks ago. She felt better literally overnight.
She didn't take me seriously when I told her to keep drinking it 3 times a day for a few days, though. She reverted back to feeling like shit by nightfall. I had her drinking the tea 3 times a day for 3 days straight. I gauged her for a day off the tea, and she was fine, back to her normal bubbly, blonde airhead self. It was a pretty good turn-around for someone who was running a fever, wrapped up in a blanket on the couch moaning & groaning in flu misery a few days earlier.

Don't bother with the OTC expectorants, they just don't work. The best place to find herbs, aside from online, is a multi-denominational religious store, one that's geared more towards catering to Hindus, Buddhists and Pagan religions----there's always a very wide variety of herbs to use, anywhere from 50 to a few hundred different herbs in well-established shops. Always educate yourself on the herbs you plan to use, however---Although they make excellent medicines, some have easily attainable toxicity levels (stay away from them, let a holistic doctor with a couple decades experiance treat you with those) For example, Belladonna is an extreamly effective muscle relaxer & pain killer, but it's highly poisonous. Play it safe & just don't toil with anything toxic/poisonous, let a highly experianced holistic doctor treat you with it.

As for online places, www.ravensnestherbals.com is a GREAT place to find just about anything. I've met the owner, I bought my Pleurisy Root from her. The stuff was so fresh, it was still a bit sticky when I ground it---A good sign for quality in Pleurisy Root. www.mountainroseherbs.com is also a great online store to check out. Both places are well-respected & well-established online.

There's a bunch of herb sites out there you can use for referencing. I rely on a couple for cross-referencing, but www.holisticonline.com/Herbal-Med/Hol_Herb_Directory_Index.htm is one of my favorite spots to do a quick check on something. Mind you, the place is centered around holistic treatments, so there's mentions of Ayurvedic & Chinese medicine uses, too.


And from what I can tell from "Airborne", there's not enough of anything in it to actually do anything for you. I've tried it, and it never did anything for me. The gummies make a decent tasting candy, though.

Also, if you're a chamomile tea drinker, there's very little tea in those bags, only about 1 half to 1 full teaspoon depending on the company---Next to nothing. It seems that to get any sleep-inducing effect at all, you actually need between 1 and 2 tablespoons to do the trick. That's 2 to 4 times as many tea bags as are actually used.

 

[m-eh00]

When Im sick I just get a warm blanket lay in bed watch movies drink lots of water sleep and sweat like a pig, I start feeling better by the middle of the next day. When Im sick I cant smoke makes me feel worse.

 

[Tarkus]

Damn Niki, that sounds pretty cool. I will have to give that a go next time.

I find myself actually wanting to get sick to try some of these remedies.

 

[nycdfan042]

i got a Z-pack and i feel much much better

 

[Capt.Ahab]

Thanks for all the info Nikijad4210.
I dont have access to a lot of the herbs and such you mentioned, due to the rural nature of where I live, but may order some of those things on line to prep for next time.
Went to a local health food store today and bought a tea called Gypsy Cold Care.
It has a lot of stuff in it. Elder flower,yarrow flower,peppermint leaf,hyssop,rose hips,cinnamon,ginger,safflower petals,cloves and licorice root.
Kinda on the same line as the tea you mentioned, and tasty to.
Drank a cup earlier today and it did make me feel a bit better.
Mrs Ahab pulled some strings and got me an appointment with a visiting doctor who will be in town tomorrow. Seems as though this cold has really been putting people down. Looks like I might end up with some antibiotics, which is OK . I dont take them very often as I want them to work when I really need them. Time for some tea. This time I will add another couple Afghani #1 buds like I did last night and kick back. Despite the fact that I feel lousy Ive had a busy day with work and all.