MacGuyver

Yeah, I could just scour the internet, and WebMD, or actually go to a doctor, but I'm using this as an excuse to start a discussion. So I want to know what YOUR favorite, most effective secrets for battling illness. I think I have the flu, and I've felt like absolute shit for the past couple days and my fever and body aches are the big deal. It's not so much a stomach flu, and I only have light cold symptoms (nasal congestion/running, dry cough) and those have been developing as it goes along instead of starting with them and going away. My fever has been all over the road from 98 - 101.7 currently back and forth.

What I'm really hoping for out of this is for some "Old Wives Tales" and personal quirks that you don't really get from actual medical advice! haha Of course actual medical advice is welcome.

Personally, whenever I'm sick, I love to down tons of Gatorade (Light Blue Gatorade Frost ONLY!), at the very least to kind of re-energize me. I also use that before and after drinking heavily, and it slims my hangover and makes me feel like a hundred bucks after a long night of alcohol. I've also been popping lots of Advil, and I usually only take Advil over any other brand (tylenol, etc.) How about you?

__________________
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
---Aristotle

Deeds, not words, shall speak [for] me.
---John Fletcher

ColonelSpecial

Whenever I get sick, either with the flu or a cold, I make sure I move around. It is so easy when I feel run down to sit on the couch or in bed and just feel miserable but moving around, even just walking around my apartment makes me feel better. It gets me out of my little sick cloud. You are already working the fluids which is great but don't forget to eat. Your body is fighting off an infection and needs its strength. Stay away from milk products if your stomach is upset at all. Clear broth, meat soup, crackers, sandwiches, etc are filling and easy to make/eat.

__________________
"Mommy, the presidents are squishing me!"

"Using the pull out method of contraceptive is like saying I won't use a seat belt, I'll just jump out of the car before it hits that tree."

Sara

CinnamonGirl

I'm the opposite of Colonel Special... when I'm sick, I'll sleep for days, and only get up to move to the couch, go to the bathroom, or get more orange juice.


One of my favorite remedies, especially for sore throats, is pouring boiling, or near-boiling water over some lemon slices and letting them marinate for about five minutes or so. It doesn't taste wonderful, so I'll add sugar or honey to sweeten it a bit. Kind of a poor version of Theraflu, but I like it. Very soothing.

__________________
"...for though she was ordinary, she possessed health, wit, courage, charm, and cheerfulness. But because she was not beautiful, no one ever seemed to notice these other qualities, which is so often the way of the world."


"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

MacGuyver

Huh. That sounds great. Next time I have a sore throat I want to try that. Do you make like a tea by having the water in a big mug with lemons in it or what? I like the sound of this because I usually like to avoid taking medication. I'd rather do things naturally. I have this thing, I don't really like the doctors or hospitals or medication. Advil is really the only thing I'll take, because that's the only thing that I think works my general all around pains, and it's kind of a multi-tasker (Also, Advil oddly tastes GREAT to me.) Usually when I can feel myself start to get sick the day or two before a small head cold happens, I completely oversaturate myself with filtered tap water. If I have like 10 bottles of water at least over the course of the day it really puts off my incoming head cold.

__________________
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
---Aristotle

Deeds, not words, shall speak [for] me.
---John Fletcher

Redlemon

My glee club director gave me a similar remedy for a sore throat. Unsweetened grapefruit juice, heated to boiling, then drank just after it drops under the scalding point. I used this to get through two performances when I had lost my voice; each dose gives about 15 minutes of singing time. Unfortunately, I couldn't talk for about a week afterwards, due to the damage I had done, but it did what it needed to do.

__________________
I can't read your signature. Sorry.

PonyPotato

Lemon juice + boiling water + honey for a sore throat. Throwing some ginger in there is really good, too.

I love Gatorade and Powerade when I'm sick, it's often all that I'll drink because water usually makes me more nauseous if my stomach is upset.

Ramen noodles.

I eat whatever I have a random craving for, especially if I haven't been hungry at all recently. That way I at least get something in me! I tend to lose weight very easily when I'm sick because I just never feel like eating.

Also: a hot shower and getting out of the apartment does amazing things for me when I don't feel good. Fresh air is really good for clearing out that dull, headachey, stuffy-foggy feeling. And then coming home, putting on some super comfy pajamas, and passing out on the couch with a heated blanket or wrapped in plenty of warm blankets to sleep the rest of the sickness away helps, too.

__________________
"Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark."
— Henri-Frédéric Amiel

Baraka_Guru

Okay, if I feel a cold or flu coming on, or even if it's just decided to strike, I don't fuck around. I make a tea with the following ingredients:

• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced/pressed
• 1 inch fresh ginger, minced
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• lemon juice and molasses to taste

Simmer the ginger, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and molasses in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes. Add the garlic 1 minute before removing from heat. Let it cool for 2 minutes, and then strain and serve. Drink the entire volume of liquid this yields. Honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar can be used in place of molasses.

I give myself bonus points for not straining it before pouring it into my cup.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Mirth

I do the cayenne pepper + water trick for sore throats. It really works, for me at least. And apple cider vinegar for canker sores.

And I can't eat noodle soup when I'm sick, cause if I throw up it comes out my nose.

I know you said you could scour the internet for sources for home remedies, but for anyone else that's interested, I go to Earthclinic Ailments all the time to find remedies for medical issues I get. A lot of them seem to work very well.

MSD

Advil for aches and pains
Gargling a few times daily with salt and hot water tends to stop a sore throat if I do it before it gets bad
Neti pot in the shower in the morning if I'm particularly congested, otherwise just blowing my nose in the shower to keep everything clear
Ginger ale with fresh ginger slices for nausea
Half a gallon of Gatorade before I go to bed to prevent a hangover.

Rhinocort to keep my sinuses open and Zyrtec on bad allergy days
When it comes to my lungs, I'm at the doctor in a flash. In the best case, I end up with one course of antibiotics and fluid in my lungs for a few weeks after that, but I'm not risking ending up in the hospital with a 106° fever on IV fluids again. Plus I get Tussionex for the inevitable cough because, as the doctor put it, "I don't necessarily want to say OTC cough medicines are bad, but they all suck." DXM doesn't do shit for my coughing at non-psychoactive doses. Too bad they give me the same dose as they'd give a 12-year-old and won't give me more than three weeks of it because of risk of dependence.

SabrinaFair

Sore throats:

• gargle with a mixture of cayenne pepper, salt, and boiling water. OK, so I let the water cool down *some* before I start gargling, but I do it with the hottest water I can stand.
• Hot drinks with honey and lemon. Sometimes just with water, sometimes tea, sometimes bourbon.

Cold/Flu/Sinus Infection

• Lots of saline nasal irrigation. I don't have a Neti pot, but I do use an oral syringe with a long pointed end. It's leftover from my wisdom teeth surgery, and definitely does the trick.
• Plenty of fluids--orange juice and ginger ale especially.
• One thing that I've tried that works but is really gross is taking a big bite of raw garlic. It'll light your ass on fire, and you definitely shouldn't try to kiss anyone for a while, but it'll clear you nose out lickety-split.
• I will always love Vick's Vaporub. I put a healthy coat on my chest before bed.
• Vaseline under the nose--yeah, it looks stupid, and I wouldn't go out in public all greased up, but it helps keep leaky noses from getting red and sore.

__________________
"With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."
-Desiderata

snowy

When my throat is sore, I gargle with sea salt and water that's as hot as I can stand it. I also drink a lot of lemon ginger tea and herbal teas with lots of licorice root when I'm sick. Hot Emergen-C is also good. I take a lot of hot showers. My SO is kind enough to give me massages. Those help a lot.

And Wolfgang Puck's chicken noodle soup. Preferably the organic variety.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

noodle

The last couple of weeks, I've been sicker at times than I've been in years.
Sugar-free popsicles,
Tons of ice water,
Ibuprofen if I have to during the day with Mucinex regular (one tablet),
Tylenol Cold multi-symptom liquid nitetime formula at night.
Lots of hot showers and baths when I can take it and sleep when I can get it.
Love soup anyway so as much of NON cream based soups as my tummy can handle.
When my nose gets really bad, I go get pho and add in some chili paste.
Then the nose is all better for a few hours.
I hate that I'm having asthma attacks several times a day, so I can't go to the gym as I'd prefer to do. And I've become an albuterol junkie, which I wouldn't suggest doing.
But, I let my fever burn itself out as much as possible when I can stand the headache.
I also crank down the heater or air conditioner and curl up with blankets so that I can throw them off when my temp is up and snuggle in when it drops.
I also love Celestial Seasonings' Moroccan Pomegranate Red herbal tea. It just tastes good and soothes my throat.
I also try to bump up my iron, zinc and echinacea for three days. Any more and I get sicker. Sometimes I'll add in spirulina and occilicoccinum, which I have to write down because I can't spell it right... ever.
And a box of Puffs Extra Strength without lotion, a tube of hemp lip gloss from The Body Shop and peppermint foot lotion. Don't try to use Tiger Balm on your feet though... BAD. Very Bad.

Good luck. This season's bugs are nasty. And I even got a flu shot.

__________________

genuinegirly

I love cool or hot ginger tea and tons of sleep. Also enjoy having mindless projects to keep me busy so I feel productive at the end of the illness.

__________________
"Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq

"violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

ngdawg

If I'm feeling really sick, I bundle up in sweats and a robe, then make hot tea with whiskey and if I have it, lemon.
I hate whiskey, but it knocks me out.
I was reading about a study done in England that stated that none of the traditional home remedies actually helped fight a cold, but soothed the psyche and that leads people to believe they're getting better. Trying to find it....

When I had pneumonia, I had to drink so much water, I thought I'd gag. I think I did now that I remember.....

__________________
Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

Anxst

Same thing my father always gave me...hot whiskey, with a slice of lemon, and maybe a teaspoon of sugar. Then, sleep a bunch. When you wake up, drink water till you slosh, use the WC, more whiskey concoction. Repeat till better.

Doesn't really make you better...but you'll sleep till you are, if you drink enough of the whiskey to get sleepy every time.

__________________
Don't mind me. I'm just releasing the insanity pressure from my headvalves.

thespian86

The first two are pretty Eastern Canadian things as far as I know but whenever I'm doing a show and I start to get ill (which happens when you rehearse and work 18 hours a day) I do four things:

Friars Balsam: It's a pine extract that is incredibly powerful. I put it in a huge bowl of boiled water and steam myself for like 10 minutes. Clears up and heals the nasal passages. Amazing stuff.

Homeovox: It's the ridiculous Quebecois sugar pill that can take someone with no voice to full vocal capacity within a couple of minutes. It's magical. I don't know how it works but I bet it involves a small army of French-Canadian Wizards.

Ginger Tea w/ honey and lemon: Good for your nasal passages, your throat, and your stomach.

Drink a ton of water.

I have pnuemonia right now, as well as a bronchial infection and a little bit of fluid in my trusty lungs. So I'm pretty sick. Those four things make it pretty bearable.

__________________
EX: Whats new?
ME: I officially love coffee more then you now.
EX: uh...
ME: So, not much.

snowy

The company who makes Homeovox, Boiron, also makes a preparation for colds called Coldcalm that I use. It gets rid of the ookies and makes me feel much more human when I have a cold.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

noodle

Okay... strep remedies anyone? I never get this crap, but it explains a lot.

__________________

ametc

BEE POLLEN! Well.. sorta. I like teas a lot because it always feels good going down my throat. But, bee pollen manages my appetite really well. When I'm sick, I tend to not eat at all and when I'm well, I tend to eat a lot. Bee pollen gives me a good enough appetite while I'm sick and lessens my appetite while I'm well. Great for regulating my weight, too.

diddagirl

Buckley's PILLS! They come in Night and Day formula...and my god do they work! They completely take awake the aches pains, the congestion...and everything. Pretty much, they get you nice and high and make everything feel ALOT better. I have recommended them to several other people who all had really positive experiences like me. Good luck!

__________________
"Is it so small a thing to have enjoyed the sun, to have lived long in the spring, to have loved, to have thought, to have done."
-Matthew Arnold

Sue

Chicken soup & gingerale for foods that make me feel better. Nyquil for me to sleep while I'm sick.

__________________
Teg yw edrych tuag adref.

snowy

Had strep repeatedly as a kid, and the no. 1 thing to remember is lots of clear liquids (trust me on the CLEAR thing; I don't know about you but having strep often made my tummy very, very sensitive, and orange puke is not so much fun to clean up), plus Popsicles and Jell-O. Lots of Popsicles and Jell-O, if your tummy is cooperating.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Sue

Besides motrin/tylenol for pain and/or fever.... antibiotics.

__________________
Teg yw edrych tuag adref.

MSD

Gargle with warm/hot salt water and get some antibiotics after a culture verifies that it is strep or another bacterial infection.

Cheater

a shot of whiskey, a teaspoon of honey, and two aspirin, in a cup of tea - you will sweat it out over night

noodle

Antibiotics since Friday when the test came back (they should have done it three weeks ago when I first went in for this), the glands have gone down but I still feel like shite.
Lots of popsicles, ice water, hot teas. My throat isn't raw-sore any more but it's achy-like-a-sprained-muscle-sore and very tight. Fever comes and goes.
I asked for straight penicillin. They gave me amox. I think I was right. It's not doing anything. Thanks for the suggestions.
And sorry for the threadjack to my own sickies!

__________________

Zeraph

A combination of vit C, herbs, sleep, and fresh air. The first two I just get from energy drinks and something like 'Airborne'. Personally I think the biggest effect is simply making yourself think your better/happy, which actually makes your immune system respond better. Mental health begets physical health kind of thing.