Grassroots Cold Remedies

Tis the season to be sick. I started the downhill slope on New Years day and here I am running a triple-digit fever.

What are your time honored cold remedies? I already tried a drive in the Miata so I think this is one instance where it's not the answer.

I have no help for you but man you were racing that good with a triple digit fever? Wow that's dedication.

Get well soon.

Zinc - coldease - won't cure it - but will speed it up a couple of days. Will make things taste funny
Antihistamines to dry things out.
Time - 7-10 days

Chicken soup, bourbon, and swearing. Vigorous exercise once I'm able to do it without falling down too often.

A 750ml bottle of jager in one sitting usually does it for me.

Black tea, peppermint tea, honey, half a lemon, bunch of black pepper and a shot of bourbon/gin.

Won't do a thing for your cold but you'll get drunk after a few.

Garlic chicken soup.

Hot totties: hot water, whiskey, big slice (like a whole half) of lemon, and honey.

Hottest (spice-wise) food you can stomach. Load up chicken soup with cayenne pepper- butthole will burn but it's worth it.

An entire jar of pickled onions. Just don't drink the juice (though, if you do, after you're finished puking, you ~will~ feel better).

Zicam will help you get over it quicker. Plus drink lots of fluids!

And start taking lots of Vitamin D every day to boost your immune system. It's cheap, and it works.

Orange juice, a ton of it. Then I make garlic bread. I'll use enough garlic that almost no one else can eat it. If I think of it I'll eat some super super strong onion on something.

Then hot tea and lemon.

I don't know if any of it works, but hey, it certainly can't hurt, and everybody else stays away from me because of my breath.

Ginger Brandy by the water glass in a steamy hot bath tub, repeat as necessary. Put sweats on, sweat it out in bed.

For avoiding illness and getting over illness, keep your fluids up. That is the number one reason people get sick dehydration. Ever hear the saying about a dog being sick if his nose is dry? It's the same stuff at work dehydration.

Same goes for hangovers also, your brain is literally shrinking in your skull from dehydration. It's why it's harder to get hung over from drinking beer as opposed to liquor. You are adding some hydration with the water in the beer. (and why those morning after pills say to drink 6 cups of water with the placebo pills you just bought )

Now mix alcohol and sick and you will just end up more sick

If you have a sore throat/loosing your voice lemon/citrus in water will make a temporary improvement. Salt in water can too, and hot can help too.

jere wrote: Same goes for hangovers also, your brain is literally shrinking in your skull from dehydration. It's why it's harder to get hung over from drinking beer as opposed to liquor. You are adding some hydration with the water in the beer. (and why those morning after pills say to drink 6 cups of water with the placebo pills you just bought )

Drink a cup of water for every drink you have (either in between or before you go to bed) and the hangover is gone. Of course, you'll be up peeing all night...

Ginger Ale, any drink with vitamin C, hot tea with honey, lemon and crushed ginger, hot Tang. Or if you can handle it chew raw garlic...nature's anti-biotic.

mndsm wrote: butthole will burn but it's worth it.

That's what she said

Here are my suggestions:
- Vitamins on a consistent basis (multi-vitamin + vitamin c in particular)
- NeilMed's Sinus Rinse: http://www.neilmed.com/usa/sinusrinse_isotonic.php
- Exercise helps me feel better (even if I'm feeling like garbage when I start)
- Proper sleep
- Fluids - I drink a lot of water on a consistent basis
- Citrus - I eat a ton of oranges/grapefruit in the winter

If I'm feeling like I'm coming down with something, I ramp up the Sinus rinse to twice a day (AM and PM), take an extra vitamin C, and try to get some hot tea in me. Provided I'm getting the appropriate amount of sleep, I typically can keep colds at bay for most of the year.

I really swear by the Sinus Rinse for preventing and recovering from Sinus Infections. A few years back, my wife and I got the same sinus infection at the same time. She started on anti-biotics, I did the Sinus Rinse (without antibiotics). I actually recovered quicker than she did.

Wasabi. It'll be real weird for a minute but there is no better way to clear your noise. Just make sure you follow the directions.

For sore throats.. Take some burbon or whiskey, pour a shot, gargle, then swallow. It will burn a bit, but it kills a bunch of the nasties and reduces the time it takes.

Brush your teeth in the shower to help with congestion. Frees up the stuff in your throat and lets you hawk it up and spit it out. (less congestion from there down, less cough)

Hot showers, lots of em'

other than those things.. Nyquil and sleep.

Load up on vitamins. I usually go with lots of OJ for the vitamin C but I used to drink 5 alive by the case when I had to pull an all nighther.

Drink lots of water in between.

Gargle with hot water and salt to get rid of a sore throat.

I usually take a hot bath before bed to sweat it out a bit and then go to bed with pants, long sleeves, and socks on to sweat it out some more. I'm not sure if that would be a good idea with a fever mind you.

Ps - hope you feel better :)

DaveEstey wrote: What are your time honored cold remedies?

Prevention.

Be outside. Be reasonably fit. Exercise in the cold. Frostbite kills germs in your lungs. Don't kiss people at parties. Don't have unprotected sex with Haitians. Be careful not to nick yourself with the knife when cutting up strangers. Avoid people in general, especially children. They are filthy snot filled meat sacks of disease. Don't be a germ freak though - get used to them. Throw away the hand sanitizer. You have to aclimate to your filthy environment. It is like poison... you can get used to stuff that will kill everyone else but you have to work up to it.

Good luck!

Old friend swears by this, never had the guts to try it myself.

Use rock and rye honey, lemon juice mix together and take for a cold

Rock and Rye liqueur can be difficult to find. Essentially you want to build a nice rye whiskey toddy. Honey, rock candy, or simple syrup can all be substituted to sweeten the drink.

To make a great batch of Rock and Rye that has a real kick in the head for a winter cold follow this recipe:

Get a few wire mesh tea balls and a large glass jar or decanter. Fill one mesh ball with dried lemon peel. Fill another with equal parts dried horehound, clove, and cassia bark. Take any good Rye whiskey such as Old Overholt and pour into the jar with about 2 cups of rock candy, or rock candy syrup. Drop the tea balls in. Remove the horehound tea ball before 12 hours has elapsed. The lemon peel tea ball can remain in the mix longer. Mix equal parts Rock and Rye with hot water in a glass and add a fresh lemon peel.

Rest, fluids, lay off the booze; that's according to every doctor I've ever known, but what the hell do they know, right? I medicate heavily. Dayquil/nyquil. Lots of ibuprofin to stay ahead of the fever. Lots of hot showers. Expectorant if it moves into the chest.

Triple digit fever would suggest infection. Might be worth a $60 trip to the doctor in case you need antibiotics.

Keep your hands clean to avoid spreading.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Stay healthy, exercise, get enough sleep, drink lots of fluids.

If I feel a sore throat coming on, I drink green tea with ginger and eat echinacea capsules. If I do get sick, I get over it very quickly.