Thursday, 29 October 2009
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Feeling Sick? Here Are My Remedies!
Despite getting a flu shot every year, I usually get sick. They are mostly just colds, but last year I got the flu for 3 days and thought I was dying! It wasn't until I turned on the heat with some of my personal remedies that I started to feel better.
First, let's define the difference between "flu" and "cold." I've been kind of disappointed by a few people in my life who have gotten sick, and immediately said they had swine flu. It's not that common and most people are still suffering from colds and sinus infections brought on by allergies and other irritants.
Swine flu varies little from the regular flu. It is somewhat more dangerous to the young, old, and sick because it has a slightly different genetic makeup to regular flu and our bodies lack a resistance to it. A H1N1 flu shot could be very helpful in this way, allowing our bodies to makethe antibodies to fight it that we didn't have. However, remember that a flu shot is injecting yourself with the actual virus- and since it's new, there have been few tests and we don't know what we are dealing with. The healthy should make it an option to receive this shot, while those who are young, old and sick, should heavily consider it.
With everyone worried about swine flu (instead of just the regular flu which still kills more people each year), I thought I'd hand off a few of my own remedies:
1) STAY HOME from work or school unless it's absolutely necessary for you to be there. Are you a genuine rocket scientist? Maybe you're Barack Obama and the free world requires you to work everyday. But if you're a receptionist, workin a cubicle farm or any other form or lesser job- STAY HOME. Not only can you make other people sick, you can make yourself sicker with all the other pathogens you'll come into contact with. So unless free trade will discontinue and wars will break out, stay home. You'll feel better in your bed than a desk anyway.
2) WASH YOUR HANDS AND COVER YOUR MOUTH. It's the best way to make sure you aren't spreading your germs to others. And if you're well, these are important as well. The germs that cause infections and flu live in your throat and nostril and are likely there even when you're well. But spread them to the outside world where they can flair and become contagious, and you're a walking disease pit.
3) DRINK FLUIDS. Duh! But a lot of people still continue to drink soda when they're sick. It can't be said enough- drink water! Lots of it! Whatever your normal h20 take in is, double it! Triple it! Don't let your body get dehydrated.Hot tea and juices (just watch the calories in the latter) is also good. Hot beverages help keep you healthy because they wash down the bacteria and viruses that live in your throat to an environment (your stomach) where they cannot thrive. So, drink up.
4) MUCINEX. I swear by this stuff!!! The problem with Dayquil, Nyquil and all other over the counter medicines is that they treat only your symptoms and not fix the problem. That's why people end up taking them for weeks and still feel crappy. Mucinex is an expectorant that will loosen the mucus in your head and chest, helping you to feel better. It will take 3-4 days to officially kick in. Whatever the max dosage is per day- TAKE that. If they say to take 1-2 tablets two times a day, do it! And you have to take it until the whole bottle is gone! The best is Mucinex D- Mucinex with pseudoephedrine, which will dry up your mucus. Especially for colds, this will "fix" you. Yes, it's expensive, but it works!Aside from drinking water, taking Mucinex and staying home, I eat popsicles like they're going out of style, eat chicken soup with Tabasco (YUM!) and if I'm hungry enough, I eat macaroni and cheese (the real stuff) with salsa. I also take a dose mynose with Afrin (to clear my head fast) and use a Saline solution to make sure my nostrils don't dry out too much and cause an infection. I also make sure to sleep!
I hate being sick. I feel miserable... But these help me feel better fast. I hope my remedies can help you too.
What are your remedies? Have you ever followed anything from the list above?
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Comments (10)
Good post, thank you :)
These are good ideas to follow in general, I think. I know mucinex works, as well as any other kind of -D pseudoephedrine type of pharmacology -- I'll use it as necessary, especially if it will put an immediate stop to say... post-nasal drip which will cause a sore throat, then a general ENT/ eustachian tube infection, which then just runs out of control and makes for a lot of misery...
...but being a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner/ user, I tend to prefer holistic therapies when ill -- having the body treat itself, and the source of the illness itself. The thing about fluid cycling is very important, both in western and eastern medicine -- it's the #1 thing I tell people when they're ill.
i hate being sick as well.
when i'm sick i wear as much clothes as i can put on and try and sweat the sucker out.
Whiskey. You forgot a glass of Irish whiskey.
Also, "take it until the whole bottle is gone". Thats a sure-fire way to do your body potential harm in the future.... take it until you feel better. Of course, I don't take medication in the first place. I also don't get flu shots. I dont get sick very often!
@shes_lump@xanga - the idea of staying home is not as much for you but for those around you. I understand it's difficult when you have obligations that aren't very forgiving but wouldn't you feel bad if you had the flu and gave it to someone else? I know when I go to class and there is someone sick there I kind of get upset because with my husband and three kids at home the last thing I want to do is bring the ickies back to them
Since it is the start of the fall flu season, there not only will be the ordinary flu, but also the H1N1 influenza strain, or the Swine Flu. Any vaccine carries risk of infection, but most likely it will protect you. The worst possible H1N1 vaccine risk is a possibility of developing GBS, or Guillain Barre Syndrome, an auto-immune condition which involves the break down of the lining of nerve cells. The odds in an H1N1 vaccine leading to GBS are about a million to one. However, the risk to already high risk patients is worth running – as the swine flu can kill. Children under 2, adults over 65, pregnant women, teenagers on an aspirin regimen, and adults that are already immunocompromised. It's worth getting emergency loans, never from unlicensed lenders for an H1N1 vaccine.
i loooooove mucinex. it is one of the few things that's always worked for me!
@crystal_air@xanga - yessss, Hot Toddy's are the best. My mom is from Ireland and she swears by it since I was little.
@sufikitkat@xanga - It tastes much better than NyQuil
What the hell? You call these remedies? These aren't remedies, these are the basics. Everyone learned this shit in elementary school. Remedies are things like eating a lemon because it has vitamin C and will get rid of your cold-like symptoms much quicker and don't harm your body as much as other medicines. Remedies are drinking hot tea with honey because it soothes the throat. They are things like eating REAL chicken soup that doesn't contain preservatives because chicken broth is healing and it helps you to sleep, so that you don't have to kill your liver with Nyquil.
Your post, was a big - fat - JOKE.