Can't see a Doctor for a week. Probably be dead or well by then. Anyone have suggestions on how to get rid of this cold/sinus problem everyone around here seems to have? I have had it for 2 weeks and my daughter (17) has had it for 4 days. I took 24 Sudafed Cold/Sinus for every 4 hours. Then a week later the same thing. My daughter has taken Sudafed and Robtussin for 5 days. Still feeling punk. Without an antibiotic what can we do? We have steamed the house up and still feel bad. Help any Doctors out there?

-- Beth (ballen224@hotmail.com), March 27, 2001

Answers

I'm not a doctor but when i get a cold or to prevent a cold i put garlic in some honey and let it sit for a couple of days and then take the honey and garlic by the teaspoonful two to three times a day also i take honey and apple cider vinegar in hot water morning and evening and it helps haven't had a cold all year try it

-- myra gail akins (dakins@cottoninternet.net), March 27, 2001.

I'd head to the clinic. My step father(ornary old man!) Refused to go to the doctor for chest congestion, we argued with him for weeks! and he has insurance! Tonite he's in intensive care with a lung cavity infection.

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), March 27, 2001.

Don't you love it , Hello Dr office I am really sick and need to be seen.OK Ms. Smith hows 2 weeks from monday ? Dugh! Well heres what helps me ,Vicks vapor rub on my chest ,forhead and nose .Hot steam often and hot liquids.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), March 27, 2001.

LOAD up on Vit C!!!

-- DW (djwallace@ctos.com), March 27, 2001.

I've been battling the same stupid thing for 3 weeks. Had a doosey of a sinus infection that led to bronchitus.(sp) They put me on antibiotics twice but still have it. Guess that goes to show you it's a virus and has to run it's coarse. My 16 yr. old is getting it now. Missed school today. The best thing that gives some relief is warm garlic oil in each ear. (do one, wait 15 min., repeat other ear)Mint tea seemed to be a real treat! Sucked on cough drops non stop. A friend of mine had homemade horehound syrup. Really had a bite to it but was better for the cough than any over the counter stuff.Got tired of sleeping on 4 pillows!

-- Pat (mikulptrc@aol.com), March 27, 2001.

Vicks NyQuil and Vicks DayQuil. Works for me. I even feel a cold coming on and I take it. The good thing is I haven't missed a day of work in about 10 years. The bad thing is I haven't missed a day of work in about 10 years.

-- David in NH (grayfoxfarm@mcttelecom.com), March 27, 2001.

I had that stupid stuff (of something similar) for a month.. (Pat, this has been going on for a long time for you!) What ended up working for me, surprizingly, is getting an Rx for amoxicillin 500 mg 3 times a day. A course of that for 10 days finally killed it, and even so, I have been having some residual post-nasal stuff going on. I also got codeine-based cough syrup (Rx only) but elected not to use it as the antibiotics helped quickly enough.

Be that as it may, I got relief from practically living on the generic versions of TheraFlu....daytime to get me through work, and nighttime to help me sleep. Just relieves symptoms though.

I recommend seeing a doc, though. There's a lot of junk floating around out there. I am one of those types who have to be dragged kicking and screaming into a clinic (and I work in one!) to see a doctor, unless it's for an annual checkup. This was situation that I'm glad I did.

-- sheepish (WA) (rborgo@gte.net), March 27, 2001.

Hi Beth, Sorry to hear your feeling puny!! The garlic in honey is a wonderful tip, garlic has natural antibiotic properties and that is the best way to take it. Also loading up on vitamin c,5 or 6 grams a day should help, taken thru out the day and not all at once. Most people can tolerate that much during a bout with a cold without getting diarrhea. I'f diarrhea does develop, just back off by a gram or two to determine your body's tolerance to it. Flood your system with lots of liquids, again not all at once but thru out the day. Make some homemade chicken soup and use lots of fresh garlic in it. Also try Echinacea capsules and or tea which is very soothing. Grape seed extract also helps your immune system. Rest as much as you can. In the meantime, you might want to consider getting another doc or at least going to a clinic that takes walk-ins. Hope you get better soon. Teresa D.

-- teresa d. (t1noodles@aol.com), March 27, 2001.

What is that stuff going around? Barb and I were wiped out for 3 weeks with the same symptoms as your sufferin with. It was real tough for me because barb was in no shape to wait on me hand and foot!! Ha. Also I'm with Patty about Vicks. Stuff feels good if it works or not. In my 52 years I must have shoved 20 lbs up my nose!! Ha. Hope you feel better....Kirk

-- Kirk Davis (kirkay@yahoo.com), March 27, 2001.

Had the same thing twice this year so I know what you're feeling. This last time (a couple of weeks ago) I finally called my doctor and asked if I could have her phone me in an antibiotic prescription. Don't know if it's the fact that she knows I'm not about to pay almost $50 so she can look at my throat or that she's got 100 other patients with the exact same thing but I got my script w/o an appointment. It might be worth a try. I'm just now getting into herbal rememdies so I haven't tried that route. I've heard good things about garlic though.

-- Hoosiermom (hdnpines@hotmail.com), March 27, 2001.

Beth, taking Sudafed etc will certainly alleviate symptoms so people can function if they have no choice, but unfortunately it compromises the immune system making it much more difficult for your body to fight off infection/viruses. If you have a virus, of course you probably know an antibiotic will do nothing helpful, and will harm your intestinal bacteria. On the other hand, if you have a serious infection, you may need one. Take lots of garlic and raw honey, both natural antibiotics, and let people take care of you.

Blessings,

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), March 27, 2001.

I tried the nyquil, well actually I ran out. it was the last of the bottle, so I mixed dayquill with it ... figured I'd let em - fight it out for QUIL-DOMINANCE.... it's kinda like showdown at the quill corral, now... we'll see if I'm alive and kicking by morning

-- The Action Dude (theactiondude@yahoo.com), March 27, 2001.

Get some echinacea tincture and take the dose on the bottle 4x day. Your daughter can also use the adult dose. Be sure it is a good quality tincture, not one you buy in Walmart or Shoprite. Cut out the Sudafed--it suppresses the symptoms and may even make it worse. What color is your mucous? If it is green or brown, that indicates dried blood in the mucous membranes (irritation) , as well as possible bacterial infection. If the mucous is yellow, that denotes heat--you want to avoid treatments that provide more heat to the area. In that case you may find cool compresses to the sinus area to be of benefit. Herbs that are cooling are also helpful, such as peppermint, and spearmint--they also help open up breathing passages. I'd combine it with some Elderflower. If the mucous is clear, go for some warming herbs like Mullein, Ginger root, Horseradish (this will really clean out your sinuses--eat it), and garlic. I love tea with grated ginger root and lemon. Lemon thins the mucuous. Goldenseal root is noted for subacute respiratory infections. It can be irritating and drying to the mucous membranes if used in excess. I would use a good quality tincture in small frequent doses and see if it helps dry up your sinuses. combine it with Marshmallow root for its ability to soothe the mucous membranes. You can also do some inhalations with essential oils like Eucalyptus and Lemon. Lemon thins the mucous and Eucalyptus is decongestant.

Do you have access to quality herbs?

hope this helps, Amy

-- amy (acook@in4web.com), March 28, 2001.

Thanks everyone for your response. I tried some of your suggestions. They were comforting but still have problems. It seems every Doctor in this town goes on Spring Break at the same time. I got appointments at a Prime Care Facility in a town 18 miles away with a Doctor that lives 2 blocks from us. There have been several cases of Menengitus(sp) in our area in the last couple of weeks. I just want to be careful. I am so glad to find this forum. My next door neighbor reads it and told me about it. I feel like I have new friends. Thanks.

-- Beth (ballen224@hotmail.com), March 28, 2001.

Medical person here..."colds" are caused by viruses and they couldn't care less about any antibiotic. I have fought with patients for 31 years over this. The problem is anecdotal...Sally has a slight fever, a cough and a runny nose, headache and sore throat..she tries a slew of over the counter meds for several days..not much help..then she goes to the doctor and wants antibiotics..not wanting to lose a patient, the doc gives her antibiotics...four days later, Sally begins to feel better (that was a total of 14 days of illness)....Sally's friend, Sue, now comes down with the same symptoms and because of Sally's story, is convinced that she also needs antibiotics, and so it goes. Modern day folks insist on a "cure' or at least something to allow them to go about their business as if they are not sick. In the old days (you know you are old when you say this), when folks caught a cold or the flu, they were sensible enough to take themselves to bed, drink lots of hot liquids, bundle up and sleep as much as they could. A cold lasts a week usually, unless folks are up and about trying to function..then it can last two weeks and the cough can last as long as three or four weeks. Fever with a plain old cold can be up to 100 and last the first few days...if the fever reappears, or is higher than that in an adult, there is a problem. Again, in the good old days, folks used poltices...nice flannel material with goodies such as mustard and onions heated up and smeared inside the flannel...vaseline smeared over the chest and then the flannel poltice was applied. The heat helped to break up the congestion, the smell of onions and mustard would make almost anybody's stuffy nose clear up pretty fast! Drinking hot teas causes the same effect...the more you drink, the more blood volume increases and helps to carry away the virus...With so many people working outside the home, or being single parents, some just cannot lay down and stay down...but for those who can, I have found over many, many years of practice that if a person goes to bed and stays there for 48 hours when a cold first starts, they are up and around and feel so much better than folks who insist on carrying on as if they were not ill. I cannot tell you how many times I was blasted by patients for refusing to give antibiotics to them for the common cold or the flu. Why anybody would want to take a powerful medication when they don't need it is beyond me. BTW, amoxicillin is a good drug for upper respiratory infections, but only if certain germs are causing it..it is not effective against many germs that cause bacterial pneumonia..the macrolide antibiotics such as erythromycin and biaxin are much better. God bless.

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), March 29, 2001.

I use herbs.... There is a good capsule on the market which contains both echinacea and goldenseal. But... Don't take it for more than three weeks. Sides - if you have to go that long, you need the doctor anyway.

Cayenne pepper is good for loosening congestion and phlegm.

Garlic and onions wouldn't hurt a bit!!!!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 29, 2001.

Husband has the respiratory flu virus, started giving him licorice root capsules, 3 capsules (dose is by weight of the patient) 3 times a day, made a huge difference in a few hours, started breaking up the congestion, eased the hacking cough, you can tell when the licorice root starts to wear off! This stuff is the best for respiratory viruses, now for the cold/ snotty head, it has no effect, but astragalus root is the specific for that, 2 or 3 capsules 3 times a day, immediately starts boosting your white blood cell counts, which is your only way of fighting off a virus!

Herbs can do the job of fighting viruses way better than OTC medications like Sudefed and Nyquil etc., these just suppress the symptoms and your immune system, don't use them!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), March 29, 2001.

Ditch the over the counter stuff, from everything I've seen, they can make colds drag on a lot longer, when they don't actually make things worse.
Drink loads of water to keep things flowing.
Cut out dairy products, they can encourage mucus production.
Make a big pot of chicken soup, and load it down with garlic, onion, hot pepper, rosemary, thyme, and anything else you can find in the herb cupboard that sounds good. Many culinary herbs are medicinal as well, and were originally used for their antiseptic properties before refrigeration was around. If you aren't a fan of spicy food, go easy on the 'hot' stuff, and just stick with the herbs. Just about any spicy food will help clear your head, and most 'hot' spices are excellent antiseptics.
Instead of antibiotics, which tend to be for specific types of bacteria, take herbs that will strengthen your immune system. The echinacea/goldenseal blends are ideal, but make sure you get a good brand, that uses the ROOT. The leaves are so dilute in action that you might as well not bother.
On the steam, you aren't going to get more than incidental benefits unless you SERIOUSLY steam yourself, sweatlodge style. You can go all out, and use a small dome tent covered in blankets, or just sit under a blanket draped over a few chairs. The important thing is to get LOTS of steam going, and raise your body temperature slightly to get things loosened up. A large pot half full of hot water, with fist sized rocks heated in the oven or on the woodstove, then dropped in as it cools off, will generate enough steam. The best rocks are granite and such, anything sedimentary in structure (sandstone, shale, etc.) will come apart at the sudden temperature change, sometimes explosively. Peel down as much as modesty permits, climb in, and stay there as long as you can stand it, with someone else passing rocks in as you need them. From what I've been told, sweating out nicotine and alcohol can make this a bit rougher, so if that's an issue, there's your heads up. Repeat as needed until your sinus's and sweat glands are running freely. For the steam itself, plain water will work, but tossing in herbs or essential oils will add to the effect. Sage, cedar, eucalyptus, mints, or just about anything highly aromatic (not flowery) will work. When you're done, shower off with the coolest water you can tolerate. This isn't at all the same as the 'endurance' sweats for healthy folks, if the temperature extremes are getting to you, hot or cold, adjust accordingly. Hope you feel better soon!

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), March 29, 2001.

I suppose everyone is well now, but I'll put in my 2 cents worth anyway. Over the counter meds are expensive & only mask the symptoms, which is good, sometimes. What we use is a couple spoonfuls of lemon juice and honey & a shot of brandy in a cup of hot water. If it doesn't cure you, at least you feel better! My mother knew an old mountain man who skipped the juice, honey & water. At the first sign of a cold, he went to bed with a bottle of whiskey. When the bottle was gone, so was his cold!

-- Bonnie (stichart@plix.com), April 01, 2001.