Thanks for calling me a drug seeker!!

[sms001]

I hope you get better soon. And here is the "stick" for that "doctor"

I think the doctor already has a stick, and I'm pretty sure I know where he keeps it....

aw sweetie *careful hugs* I have been there and know how you feel. Vicks has a cough syurp that will put you to sleep.

We tried Vick's Nature Fusion this year and it seemed quite effective. The honey IS very soothing, there's a hefty dose of acetaminophen, and for some reason the cough suppressant and antihistamine don't seem as heavy handed as Nyquil or some such.

Also Vicks has these shower tablets that will open up the airways. At least they did for me.

What are these shower tablets you speak of? I have not heard of them.

Vicks hasn't made those in YEARS, but SudaCare makes very similar ones now.

Will have to keep an eye out, they sound interesting.

My big problem with a heavy cough is my diaphragm and abs gets SO sore. Not much to do about that one I guess.

Lupo, hope you make the Riverwalk, have fun.

[morgana]

On the elderberry, I get mine at the health food store. I usually use the syrup; it can also help to ease the scratchy throat.

Maybe a heating pad for the sore abs and chest?

Hang in there, Lupo hon.

[Sapphire Silk]

OH!! I HAVE seen/used those before. I can just never find them anymore, not in any store I've searched. Makes me quite sad. A friend gave me a bottle of eucalpytus oil, and told me to put a few drops in the corners of the bathtub, and it's roughly the same effect when the steam hits it. Will have to try that, and see how it works.

I recommend against putting any oil based product (natural oils or petroleum product) near the nose or mouth. If inhaled, they collect in the respiratory tract and can cause infiltrates or abscesses. Not good.

Putting the drops in steaming water nebulizes it, is just as effective, and is safe.

[siead_lietrathua]

weird thing that works for hubs and i is tossing a chopped up onion into water to boil and inhaling the steam. something in the acids i think.

[telecom_goddess]

Ginger is good, I also like peppermint tea with a butt-load of honey. These are the shower thingys, I love them.

The walgreens page it led to says it's no longer available....and apparently they are hard to find....gonna have to research where they are I guess.

[FormerCallingCardRep]

The Gypsy Cold Care Tea I found for Little Bits has peppermint and elderberry in it. I made it and added honey to it to take the bitterness out and to give her the benefit of the honey to ease her throat

[kpzra]

Ah, nothing like coughing so hard at work it triggers your gag reflex as you pass out from lack of oxygen, hitting your head on the U-Scan desk on the way down. My FEM at the time STILL wasn't going to let me go home, LP saw it and told the SM.

[ralerin]

Do you tend to eat a lot of bread/grain products and sugar? Fastest way to get sick that I know of. For me, thise tend to suppress my immune system. I've been eating Christmas cookies and sugar things and not only did my food allergies flare, but I got flatlined with a cold within 24 hours. Next year, I would suggest cutting out your favorite treats for at least a couple weeks in December.

Also. Heat will kill colds and viruses. It's how I reduced a horrible cough that was crackling in my chest to nothing within 2 days. Find a corn heating bag on Etsy, buy it, heat it for 2 minutes, wrap in a towel and slap on your chest, alternating 5 minutes on with 5 minutes off.

Epsom salt baths work wonders! Especially with a few drops of pure cinnamon, vanilla and/or sweet orange oil. Shake in a bowl and pour into warm running water. You're finished with your bath when your body wants to get out of the water. Don't ignore it and stay in, you'll feel dizzy and crappier. And I mean a few drops of cinnamon oil-too much and you're going to set your backside on fire because cinnamon oil is strong. The smell is soothing.

Where do I find elderberry, and what is it?? I'm confuzzled on that, freely admit it. I'm about to make a concoction of lemon juice, honey and ginger. According to a natural remedies book, I've read, that's supposed to be good and cleansing for colds and coughs.

2 parts lemon juice to 1 part honey and 1 part brandy, cognac or gin. So 2 tablespoons lemon juice to one each of honey and alcohol of your choice. I suggest cognac, it pairs better. Take 1-2 spoons a day and keep tightly covered when not taking it. The alcohol helps to dry out the water in the mucus and the honey and lemon juice are soothing. My grandfather gave this to all his children when they got sick and it helps, but be prepared to be knocked for a loop, it's really potent.

ETA: Oh! Oh! Oh! Carrot ginger soup! About.com has a recipe for a vegan gingered carrot soup with orange juice and other ingredients. It calls for vegetable broth but I use chicken and I put a pinch of cayenne and cinnamon in. Deeeeelicious!

[lupo pazzesco]

argh

The coughing has reduced to where it's just dry hacking. And everytime I exhale i feel a tickle in my chest, which causes more coughing. It's completely unproductive. There's nothing left down there to cough up, except my irritated bronchials. I just need it to quiet down a bit. There may be a shopping trip in the future that nets me either some elderberry syrup or some Delsym, just cuz i want to sleep more than an hour or two at a time, hopefully.

Other than that, i am well on the mend. Still a bit of a runny nose here and there, and my ears are still playing the clog/unclog game, but that and the cough are all that's left. No fever in over 4 days, nasal congestion gone, aches and pains gone. I'm getting better!! Except for the damn cough.

[Pagan]

I'm glad you're feeling better. *hugs*

I haven't caught anything....so far. Knock on wood.

One site recommended taking a tablespoon of honey to coat your throat to help calm the tickle, and when steaming yourself in the shower, breathe in something mentholated, like Vicks to help the coughing. Couldn't find those shower tabs, though, and I really wanted to try them. Target, you disappoint me!

I took the honey, and the tickle is gone. Throat feels SO much better. After a bit, I crawled into the shower and steamed the bathroom up horribly. Turns out there WAS more stuff to cough up and wow...I'm feeling loads better already. I'm actually sitting here drinking a mug of tea (minty, yum!!) And the mint in it is further helping unclog stuff and GENTLY coughing up stuff.

Yogi makes a tea called Throat Comfort. Oh my, does that feel good on the throat!

Vicks hasn't made those in YEARS, but SudaCare makes very similar ones now. Anything eucalyptus or peppermint should work though.

I've had good luck with tea tree oil, too.

You have my sympathy, I get bronchitis sometimes and it's like having a phlegm demon ensconced in your chest. Glad you're feeling better!

Like the Mucinex commercials?

[ShadowBall]

Ohhh bronchitis is always a hoot...I remember when my ENT had me on four meds for a bout of bacterial bronchitis. I was on Allegra in case it was an allergy, an inhaler in case it was asthma, Mucinex to make the cough more productive and some other thing to suppress the cough. Now how the hell is it supposed to help me cough up the offending shit when I'm taking one pill to increase the mucous in my lungs and another to keep it there?

I've found I also just have to wait my bouts out unless my mother gets annoyed with hearing me cough every two seconds at night and takes me to urgent care for antibiotics. I would take hot water and mix in honey, lemon juice and a little sugar when I had strep throat. It only helped for about 20 minutes at a time, so I was constantly drinking that mixture until I realized strep wasn't gonna go away on its own and that it could become scarlet fever, so off I went to the ER for a bottle of penicillin.

I've also heard standing over hot water with a towel on your head and inhaling the vapors for about 5-10 minutes can help loosen up congestion from lung infections or colds. Personally I feel like I'm suffocating when I try this, but maybe you'll have more luck with it?

Hope you feel better soon - bronchitis sucks.

[lachesis]

These are the shower thingys, I love them.

I got a bad cold over the weekend and looked for a similar product. I found the CVS version which has the same description online as the Walgreens ones.

I tried it this morning and the whole shower smelled like Carmex. I detest that smell, but it somewhat helped with the congestion. I will have to also agree with someone about a Neti Pot. Those things rock, though what comes out is NASTY. I use mine for allergies too.

As an aside, can I get a recommendation as far as fever sweats and cold chills? I am getting them on and off and short of sitting on top of the furnace, is there anything that can help regulate my body temperature without drugging myself to sleepytown?

[trailerparkmedic]

Now how the hell is it supposed to help me cough up the offending shit when I'm taking one pill to increase the mucous in my lungs and another to keep it there?

Cough suppressants stop the incessant coughing all night so you can't sleep and nothing coming up coughs. They don't stop coughing from irritation, so you'll still cough up junk. Mucinex dislodges the stuff (scrapes it off the walls, so to speak) so your coughs will be productive and the junk will get out of your lungs.

As an aside, can I get a recommendation as far as fever sweats and cold chills? I am getting them on and off and short of sitting on top of the furnace, is there anything that can help regulate my body temperature without drugging myself to sleepytown?

Over the counter pain relievers (Tylenol, aspirin, Motrin, all of 'em) will reduce your fever and help with the chills/sweats. Pick your favorite and follow the directions on the box (seriously, please don't overdose).
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is found in prescription pain relievers and a lot of over the counter cold remedies and ibuprofen is in some over the counter cold remedies. If you're taking any of these medications, read the label and treat your fever with a medication that is not in your NyQuil. It is very easy to accidentally overdose on Tylenol by taking multiple medications (since you're thinking SO clearly when you're sick, right? ). Then you end up in the hospital, drinking a medication that smells like rotten eggs.
Don't give aspirin to kids and avoid Tylenol if you're a heavy drinker.

Of course, I am not a doctor and you need to see one if you aren't feeling better soon or if over the counter stuff doesn't work.

[Pagan]

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is found in prescription pain relievers and a lot of over the counter cold remedies and ibuprofen is in some over the counter cold remedies. If you're taking any of these medications, read the label and treat your fever with a medication that is not in your NyQuil. It is very easy to accidentally overdose on Tylenol by taking multiple medications (since you're thinking SO clearly when you're sick, right? ). Then you end up in the hospital, drinking a medication that smells like rotten eggs.

What TPM said. With the maximum dose of APAP at 4gm per 24 hours, it's really easy to do.

I've seen some genius doctors write for hydrocodone 5-500 1-2q4-6h and 650mg APAP 1q4-6h. That prompted a "What the hell are you doing, trying to kill them?" call from the RPh.

[Sapphire Silk]

What TPM said. With the maximum dose of APAP at 4gm per 24 hours, it's really easy to do.

I've seen some genius doctors write for hydrocodone 5-500 1-2q4-6h and 650mg APAP 1q4-6h. That prompted a "What the hell are you doing, trying to kill them?" call from the RPh.

That's nothing. One of the most commonly prescribed narcotics used to be Darvocet (proproxypene and apap). The base acetaminophen dose in ONE capsule wasss 650mg. Docs would write for 2 tabs q 4 hours. Each dose would be an overdose, and a patient might get up to 7800mg of Tylenol in 24 hours: double the max recommended daily dose. Patients would take that much, too. Darvocet is very addicting.

I was so glad when the FDA took it off the market . . . and less glad that the reason had nothing to do with the Tylenol dose, but rather a propensity to cause heart arrhythmias.