Cold and flu remedies?

[Lady Day]

Got any old itime remedies for head colds?

Im in need of some TLC. *sniff*


Thanks to San Francisco and its blazin (for the citay) weather that sharply turns nippy at night, *sniff* Ive developed a blasted head cold. *sniff* Sore throat, cough, runny, RUNNY nose. Yuck.

My body feels super, its just the holes in my head need to be plunged. *sniff*

Any old time remedies you guys and gals can offer? Im soothing my throat with tea and honey. A delicious pickmeup.

Thanks loungers *sniff*


L*sniff*D

 

[VintageJess]

Rest, rest, and more rest.

Lots of fluids and good old chicken soup!

 

[Tourbillion]

My dad's sore throat remedy (which works):

1 tsp cayenne pepper: put it on a spoon, put it in your mouth and swallow. The sore throat feels better, as soon as your mouth calms down.

I think that the pepper either, kills the germs, or causes your throat to expel the germs or some-such. I was a skeptic, but it worked.

 

[scotrace]

The pepper sends the strongest alarm possible to your brain: "FIRE!" Which causes the brain to release a flood of endorphins - pain killers - to the site of the problem. Presto! Throat pain better. It's the same reason runners get a "high" from all that running, and that chiliheads like to eat the hottest chilies.

For a cold:
Get some of that Zicam. For me, it stops the flood pretty quickly.
Aspirin, warm salt water gargle for the throat (salt draws white blood cells to the throat), lots of OJ and water, and rest. If your head gets all packked up, deep breaths over steam (careful not to burn your lovely face...).

Hope you feel better soon!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Steam is very good for clearing out the congestion -- when I was little and had a head cold, Ma would set up a vaporizer next to my bed, and I'd sleep with that blowing on me until I was better. Vick's Vapo-Rub was another remedy she'd prescribe -- I don't know how it worked, but it did.

Something I also swear by is Alka-Seltzer Plus -- a glass of that before bed will help you breathe and help you sleep.

The *best* remedy though, is to pamper yourself -- snuggle up with a good book or some favorite movies and relax as much as you can!

 

[Nathan Dodge]

I'm just getting over the same type of cold and let me tell you, I tried everything and despite some relief with cold and sinus pills, I just found that I couldn't relax, so I stayed up all night watching the Westerns channel and TCM. So the bottom line is to just endure, unpleasant as it may sound.

Get well soon.

 

[Paisley]

The last time I started to get a cold, this kept it from getting a foothold:

Irrigate your nose twice a day. Mix 10 oz. of warm water with a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of baking soda. The idea is to get the water into one side of your nose and have it go out the other. (I use a waterpik with a nasal attachment.)

Take zinc tablets.

Use Umcka cold care cough syrup--it's the best cough syrup I've found.

Get well soon!

 

[mysterygal]

I hope you start feeling better soon Lady day! I agree with the steam treatment. Also, could it be allergies? this year has been horrible with pollen and what not...allergy symptoms most often times feels like a head cold, if you are still feeling the same after a week, I would suggest trying an antihistamine and see if you notice any difference. Good luck and take care

 

[magneto]

Hot water with lemon and honey is good, you can also add the cayenne pepper to the mix for easier swallowing.

 

[Caledonia]

As Magneto says, but add a good dash of whisky. Wrap up, don't over exert yourself, drink lots of water round the hot toddy.

 

[Michaelson]

OLD time Southern remedy....

Cup of hot tea, sweetened with pure honey (preferably gathered from your area), a squeeze of lemon juice, and the most important ingredient....a good shot of Jack Daniels.

Mix liberally, then drink slowly. Some old timers throw out the tea, lemon, and honey, and use the remaining ingredient, stating that they felt a WHOLE lot better. Didn't help their cold....but they really didn't care!lol

Seriously, though, this conconction is really an old Southern 'fix' that they've made for generations in Tennessee, and I know folks I work with who swear by it.

If you're not a JD fan, any good Kentucky Bourbon whiskey will fill the bill, but JD is the standard. Of the Bourbon, I recommend 'Ancient Age', if you're not a drinker. I'm not really, but know what I like when I do, and have seen both JD and AA bottled at their distilleries. Really impressive!

Regards! Michaelson

 

[Lady Day]

OLD time Southern remedy....

Cup of hot tea, sweetened with pure honey (preferably gathered from your area), a squeeze of lemon juice, and the most important ingredient....a good shot of Jack Daniels.

Mix liberally, then drink slowly. Some old timers throw out the tea, lemon, and honey, and use the remaining ingredient, stating that they felt a WHOLE lot better. Didn't help their cold....but they really didn't care!lol

Seriously, though, this conconction is really an old Southern 'fix' that they've made for generations in Tennessee, and I know folks I work with who swear by it.

If you're not a JD fan, any good Kentucky Bourbon whiskey will fill the bill, but JD is the standard. Of the Bourbon, I recommend 'Ancient Age', if you're not a drinker. I'm not really, but know what I like when I do, and have seen both JD and AA bottled at their distilleries. Really impressive!

Regards! Michaelson

Oh, I know all about that! Im from Lousiville, KY, but born in Memphis TN Howdy neighbor!

Mysterygal, yeah, another person told me it may be allergies, but Ive never had them before. I have flowering plants all over the place, and this just started three days ago. I didnt wear footies to bed the other night and my tootsies got ever so cold. I think that may have done it.

Good news is the sore throat is going away, so hopefully by the end of the week, Il lbe as right as rain.

Thanks all *sniff*


LD

 

[Michaelson]

Oh, heck then....I'm preaching to the choir, so to speak!lol

Hope you're feeling better!

HIGH regards! Michaelson

 

[ITG]

Stay away from Dairy unless you want an increase of phlem.

If you have a sore throat, to relieve some of it, I recommend a tea (you brew it by the cup) called Throat Coat. It has slippery elm in it. Also Thayers has a slippery elm chewable tablet that opera singers use and has the same if not better soothing effect. I also gargle with mouthwash and that seems to help get rid of some of the agitation-maybe killing bacteria.

 

[Haversack]

Back when I lived in Oregon, there came a time every winter in which I and my various, assorted friends would all end up with a head cold which lingered and lasted. Some people who got over it early even came back for a second helping. Well, since we were in the habit of doing potluck & movies on Saturday nights, I decided one year to make a Cure.

First, I took the idea of the Classic Jewish Grandmother's Chicken Soup interpreted with a heavy dose of Peter Ostroushko's song/recipe "Borscht". (http://www.peterostroushko.com/borscht.html) The key here is chicken and garlic. I used three chickens and at least that many bulbs of garlic. I then crossed this concept with the old Anglo-Indian dish, Mulligatawny Soup, which is a chicken and rice soup seasoned with chilis and curry powder. I started cooking on Friday in order to allow it to chill over night so to make degreasing it easy.

Since I was making this up as I went along I do not recall exactly what all else I put in it nor on the order/procedure...But let's see. There was the traditional carrots, celery, parsely of Occidental chicken soup. There were probably a few turnips and other root vegetable chopped fine. These were all sauteed first in butter or olive oil. Then some chopped up Habanero peppers, (maybe 4-6), some cayenne pepper, a sufficiency of curry powder plus a bit more, plus of course the afore-mentioned rice and garlic. It ended up simmering all day Saturday thus reducing down a bit and thereby concentrating its flavour. I packaged it up still in the stockpot and took it and some plain yogurt over to the house we were all meeting at.

Well, the initial reaction was along the lines of, "Oh, chicken soup." Warned about the liberal use of capsicums, most did not put a dollop of the yogurt in their bowl. That is until about 30 seconds after they began eating it. That was the first delayed reaction. Somewhat painful for some of them. Then after about 3 minutes, the endophins kicked in, as scotrace has mentioned they do. All of a sudden, people could breath and swallow, and life began to seem worth living once more. It was if I had made the Magic Elixer. The entire pot of soup disappeared that evening, and within a week, all dozen of us were healthy and remained so for that winter.

Unfortunately, I have never been able to duplicate that soup exactly. It had a clear, golden broth that smelled rich and chickeney with only a hint of the spices involved. It was full of chicken meat with just enough rice to balance. Most of the rest of the ingredients were chopped fine and had cooked down. Still, like the Philoshphers' Stone, the process of making it effects the cure as much as the end product. On the other hand, even though we had fog this morning over on Potrero Hill, it is not the weather to be simmering a large stockpot indoors and summer kitchens are not common in San Francisco houses. Still, it may be efficacious.

Haversack

 

[Paisley]

Low-cost nasal irrigation

My Waterpik broke last week. Instead of paying $50 for a new one, I accomplished the same thing with a small, $2 plant sprayer. I think if you flush your nasal passages, viruses don't have anyplace to grow and multiply, which helps keep you from getting a cold. (It's also good for allergies.)

 

[Viola]

Cayenne powder in GEL-CAP form is less old-timey, but also less excruciating, and it seems to cut the duration of a cold. But I was raised by hippies, so my stock answers are always cayenne tablets, echinacea tablets, and Vitamin C.

Orange juice is pretty classic, and its important to stay hydrated.

Chamomile tea with honey in it soothes throats and helps you get to sleep rather than wiring you up.

 

[EL COLORADO]

Sum good, good luvin.


Heh heh.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... I was raised by hippies, ...

I get it! You're Alexa P. Keaton!


(Just kiddin'. I couldn't resist making a reference to Family Ties.)

.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

A couple shots of vodka.
Some straight horseradish.
Hot compress on your back.
Bucket of hot water for your feet.

Or

Raw garlic.