Hello again. Here’s now the sequel from the previous post: How to treat swine flu?
No big secret: Just like the regular kind.
My self help blog style advice… (remember that I’m not a medical doctor (my doctorate is a Ph.D.), just an alternative health stuff nut.
Then again, in Germany, where I grew up, my father was definitely practicing integrative medicine. So I grew up with herbs etc and Kneipp treatments and all kinds of cool stuff, the specialness of which I only learned to fully appreciate many years later.
So I’m a walking repository of info on alternative treatments of various kinds… and I’m happy to experiment too. Just remember, you might want to check with your doctor before taking any of my advice, which is right below:
First of all, be careful with over the counter meds. Make sure you don’t overdose on taking multiple kinds with overlapping ingredients.
I once found myself fearing for my life when I had inadvertently ingested twice the recommended max dose of some ingredient that caused me to get an extremely rapid heart beat.
It was in the sinus stuff AND in the cough syrup, and i had missed the bit in the cough syrup. Now I read ingredients very carefully, and prefer single symptom remedies with single ingredients (or no more than a couple) and make sure I know what each of them does and that they don’t interact before I combine them.
For the sniffles, I am still a great fan of the “classic” Sudafed that I now have to get from behind the counter. It works like a charm (even at half the recommended dose, so one pack lasts a LONG time) and helps me sleep because it keeps my nose unclogged (usually, and much better than anything else).
Cough: Robitussin DM (I use the sugarfree kind). Learned that in Berkeley from a nurse practitioner in the Student Health Center.
Sore throat: gargling with salt water. Among other things.
Lozenges are great too. My favorite — Olbas Pastilles
And with other meds — be sure to read the ingredients of lozenges and stuff as well — you don’t want to overdose.
And then, the other stuff… Here’s my list of things I did and took that helped me feel and get better:
Your mileage may vary, but heres a sampling:
My power chicken soup. I take organic chicken stock, heat it, mix in some shiritaki noodles, and lots of chopped garlic, ginger, and green onions, plus some cayenne pepper, and some other spices to taste.
Have a bowl of that several times a day. Other than that, drink herbal teas for their soothing as well as medicinal qualities, and take loads of supplements.
Among my favorites: Quick Defense by Gaia Herbs. In fact, that stuff has accelerated the progress of various colds and flus ever since I first discovered it. I now keep it handy just in case because it’s important to take it right away.
Also NAC (N-Acetyl Cystine) and Olive Leaf are great immune system strengthening supplements.
And of course the usual multi and C and so on.
A regular dose of Airborne.
Vick’s Vaporub and essential oils for respiration.
Lots of soup, chicken and otherwise.
And LOTS of sleep.
What helps you? Any secret recipes? Comments?
No Tags
Hello again. Here’s now the sequel from the previous post: How to treat swine flu?
No big secret: Just like the regular kind.
My self help blog style advice… (remember that I’m not a medical doctor (my doctorate is a Ph.D.), just an alternative health stuff nut.
Then again, in Germany, where I grew up, my father was definitely practicing integrative medicine. So I grew up with herbs etc and Kneipp treatments and all kinds of cool stuff, the specialness of which I only learned to fully appreciate many years later.
So I’m a walking repository of info on alternative treatments of various kinds… and I’m happy to experiment too. Just remember, you might want to check with your doctor before taking any of my advice, which is right below:
First of all, be careful with over the counter meds. Make sure you don’t overdose on taking multiple kinds with overlapping ingredients.
I once found myself fearing for my life when I had inadvertently ingested twice the recommended max dose of some ingredient that caused me to get an extremely rapid heart beat.
It was in the sinus stuff AND in the cough syrup, and i had missed the bit in the cough syrup. Now I read ingredients very carefully, and prefer single symptom remedies with single ingredients (or no more than a couple) and make sure I know what each of them does and that they don’t interact before I combine them.
For the sniffles, I am still a great fan of the “classic” Sudafed that I now have to get from behind the counter. It works like a charm (even at half the recommended dose, so one pack lasts a LONG time) and helps me sleep because it keeps my nose unclogged (usually, and much better than anything else).
Cough: Robitussin DM (I use the sugarfree kind). Learned that in Berkeley from a nurse practitioner in the Student Health Center.
Sore throat: gargling with salt water. Among other things.
Lozenges are great too. My favorite — Olbas Pastilles
And with other meds — be sure to read the ingredients of lozenges and stuff as well — you don’t want to overdose.
And then, the other stuff… Here’s my list of things I did and took that helped me feel and get better:
Your mileage may vary, but heres a sampling:
My power chicken soup. I take organic chicken stock, heat it, mix in some shiritaki noodles, and lots of chopped garlic, ginger, and green onions, plus some cayenne pepper, and some other spices to taste.
Have a bowl of that several times a day. Other than that, drink herbal teas for their soothing as well as medicinal qualities, and take loads of supplements.
Among my favorites: Quick Defense by Gaia Herbs. In fact, that stuff has accelerated the progress of various colds and flus ever since I first discovered it. I now keep it handy just in case because it’s important to take it right away.
Also NAC (N-Acetyl Cystine) and Olive Leaf are great immune system strengthening supplements.
And of course the usual multi and C and so on.
A regular dose of Airborne.
Vick’s Vaporub and essential oils for respiration.
Lots of soup, chicken and otherwise.
And LOTS of sleep.
What helps you? Any secret recipes? Comments?
No Tags