I have been hit with a very bad cold (knocked me on my rear). I was wondering if anyone has a quick fix, inexpensive, to alleviate the symptoms? I started using Zycam yesterday, my husband swears by it, but it is expensive. Thanks for any suggestions. I know all of us will be getting this again.
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Plain old Sudafed helps me greatly. Obviously nothing CURES but just being able to live sometimes seems like enough, hu? Lots of juice and chicken soup and just hang on. =(^.^)=
Most stores (like Walmart) make a generic version of Airborne. The nighttime one is especially helpful but the added zinc and Vitamin C really help.
I had a cold a couple of weeks ago. Since I have recently been put on Coumadine I didn't know what I could take so I contacted my doctor. The only thing I can take is Benadryl. So I got some lemons and drank a lot of hot lemonade. It takes about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to make it strong and then put enough sugar in it to make it good. Sure makes the throat feel better. I also purchased a nasal rinse kit by Ayr and used it 3 times a day. That really helped.
I make this little concoction whenever I have a cold or feel like I'm getting one, and it works for me. Basically, I put a tablet of Airborne (I also use the generic brand, and it's totally the same thing as the expensive stuff) into a big mug of hot decaf tea, and add liberal amounts of honey and lemon juice.
Make a ginger infusion. Get a piece of fresh ginger and cut it into small, thin pieces, then boil it in water and sweeten with honey. It always makes me feel better.
I did a 2 day cleanse and it kicked my 2.5 week cold! It even kicked my sinus infection.
RECIPE: 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 6 tablespoons organic maple syrup, 1 liter water. See "Master Cleanse"
You can buy a store brand antihistamine for relief of: runny nose, sneezing, itchy, throat, itchy and watery eyes at the dollar stores. Sure beats the high price of the well known brands.
Thanks for the replies. I will try them. Anything is better than nothing at this point.
I had the flu a couple of years ago that made me sicker than I can ever remember being. I started taking a one-a-day type vitamin 3 times a day, one with each meal, and I recovered very quickly after that. Since then I have read a lot about preventing illness, and aside from taking vitamin C ever day, most natural healers also recommend taking vitamin D.
Whenever I come down with the flu or a cold, I take:
800 IU Vitamin E, 10,000 IU of Vitamin A, and 1,000 mg of Vitamin C once a day for 3 days. By the end of the 3 days I am usually better and if I'm not 100%, my symptoms are much reduced and I just take 1 multivitamin a day to finish the cold off.
Vitamin E acts like a natural antibiotic and kills bacteria; Vitamin A acts like a natural antiviral and kills off any viruses; and the Vitamin C helps boost your immune system so your body is better able to defend itself.
They also have no side-effects to worry about.
All three are inexpensive and easy to locate - I keep them in my medicine drawer all the time; because, they also have other uses.
We had a friend who showed up at the door one day when I had a bad caugh. He gave us this receipe. I didn't take it then but a few weeks in my husband made it for me and before I knew it my caugh and sore throat was gone. It is in hot water put in some lemon juice, honey, vinegar and a pinch of ginger. Drink it while it is still hot. Tastes terrible but it works. Cheaper than the store boughten stuff.
After I pray for god's healing, I then take two strong acidolphilus, 50 mg. Of otc zinc, and drink lots of water, gargling with salt water every hour (1 teaspoon per 8 oz. Cold water) if it's gone to my throat.
I stop eating fast foods, which somehow seem to spread germs more in the winter, and stop eating mucous-causing foods such as milk products, especially cheese and ice cream, carefully watching not to eat fresh produce because so many are sick and must shop while coughing over unwrapped veggies, not considering others. Since my daughter once picked cherries in Oregon or California. She said not to buy fresh fruits during the fall to spring season because the poor pickers are frequently migrant workers who are sickly but must work to survive and cannot help but spread their colds as they pick the fruits/veggies.
I try to limit my diet to frozen and canned foods during that time and have prevented a lot of illness using god's wisdom, along with frequent hand washing as described in Leviticus for our good health.
I am more careful when sanitizing. Use paper, plastic disposable plates, cups, flatware i have bought on 70% off sales just for the cold/flu season, or if anyone is sick that visits, taking out garbage more frequently,and am careful about keeping germs inside paper when coughing or spitting.
I also save and recycle all clear plastic / glass containers, jars, small cans for such times as this, which supplement for when the sale items run out first.I found a place that sells 12 toothbrushes for $1.00, Which allows faster healing by changing brushes every two days until well, and rinsing with mouthwash after eating, all helping to prevent reinfection as they do in hospitals with daily new cups and straws. I wash linens more often during any illness, in cold water, bleaching if whites.
Whenever ill, and my son offers to buy otc meds, i usually prefer muscinex for head congestion, and benedryl for the drips, carefully spitting out immediately all mucous that drains or that is released for expectorating into toilet paper roll that I carry around with me until well. : )
Taco sauce --
It only takes mild for it to work on me. Like it is right now after a lunch of taco's from the drive thru. It tends to make me break a small sweat & the next thing you know I feel a little more cleared up.
Honey, check your dollar general they have medicines that are cheap and good. Ok
I stop my colds in one day using this method. Seriously. It works best if you can do this at the first signs of a cold, but it will help if you are in the middle of one, too.
Tea tree oil. (Do not swallow it or use it internally.)
Put some on a Q-tip or your finger and put it in your nostrils. Seriously. The cold virus lives in your nasal passages. At first it will make you sneeze and your nose will run, but you have a cold that does this anyway. With the Q-tip you can get right into all the tough to reach areas in your nose. Be careful not to go too far. Be smart about this and avoid the brain area. lol. I like to deep breathe the fumes when I do this, too, to get the fumes into my sinuses. Use one end of the Q-tip for each nostril.
Rub tea tree oil on your neck glands by your ears, if they are swollen, and on your throat, if you have a cough or sore throat. Wrap neck in towel to keep it warm. If your ears are plugged or itchy, put a little drop on a piece of cotton ball and stick into ears.
Go to bed early. Try for at least 9 hours. Drink lots of water. Eliminate all sugar and refined carbs. Very important. And blow your nose often (but don't rub when you wipe, or you'll get chapped, raw skin.)
Like I said, I've managed to keep colds at bay by doing this. I haven't had a real cold for over three years.
I don't think Ziacam will work unless you begin using it the moment you THINK you are getting a cold. So, if you are already in a full-blown cold, really the old-fashioned rest and lots of fluids works. People don't think they're doing much even when they are just pottering around the house, but that's NOT resting! And lots of water. The more water your body has to process the weaker that virus will be. Bundle up and prepare to be bored watching TV.
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