NOTE: READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE COMMENTS. My friend Andrea is a great nurse and has some really important notes if you’re thinking of using Sudafed.
So, I’m at the beginning of some gunk or another this morning. Usually the swollen gland on the right side of my neck is a good indicator that something’s up. And it says, “You can pay now, or pay later.” I drank some herbal tea, went to sleep, and hoped for the best.
12 hours of sleep later, I woke up with congestion, a sore throat, sore ears- general beginnings of sickness. Today’s job: get better. Especially as I’m supposed to sing with some friends tonight! We’ll see.
I thought I’d take the opportunity to share with you some of my favorite “don’t get sicker, get better” things. My regimen for general gunk. I’m not advising these as your only course of action for serious symptoms. Go to the doctor. This is for general gunk. Take it or leave it, but here are the things that go with fighting sick for me:
-Go back to bed.
-Steam. Whether in the shower or my handheld steamer or with my face over a pot of water over the stove, the point is to loosen the gunk and get it out so it doesn’t sit there becoming stagnant infection material.
-Sinus rinsing. I use a Neilmed sinus rinse bottle, some people use a neti pot. The goal is, again, to get things going, flush out those sinuses. Be gentle- I do believe I made an existing problem worse last year by forcing to much pressure into my sinuses, which were already cramped, inflamed and angry.
-Ibuprofen. Get the inflammation down.
-Sudafed. Get the gunk out. To the same effect, if you’re very crunchy and don’t like official medicine, Traditional Medicinals’s Breathe Easy Tea is comprised of ephedra- the herb that the modern synthetic pseudo-ephedrine- Sudafed- comes from. Good stuff. Use one or the other- that’s a lot of ephedrine in your body if you use both. Not healthy.
-Vitamin C. As it’s winter citrus season around here- carted in from Florida and California- I just bought a bag of my favorite citrus, clementines, and will be eating them like candy all day. Also, we really like Emergen-C packets around these parts- big boost of Vitamin C. They always go with us on the road, where your body is fighting so many depreciating factors- sleep deprivation, stress, truck stop restrooms…
-Garlic. You may want to quarantine yourself for a day or two if you go this route. Garlic is supposed to have awfully strong immune-boosting properties. So, I simmer about 20 cloves in a small saucepan with a bit of butter and/or olive oil until they’re soft- spreadable soft- and spread it like a paste on a piece of whole wheat bread. Or you could have a garlic martini, like at The Stinking Rose, the only and best all-garlic restaurant I know of. Oh, that’s right- alcohol’s not going to help you right now. Whatever you do, don’t do what my Friend Whom I Will Not Name did and strap a clove to your forehead. She tried this on good authority. Let’s just say she had to grow bangs afterward.
-Avoid white flour & sugar. They’re not helping your body.
-Chicken noodle soup. I’ve got no evidence, but I have heard that chicken broth is pretty good for you. I make chicken noodle soup with my own stock, made from the remains of the last chicken we’ve eaten.
-Favorite teas: Breathe Easy, as I’ve said before. Throat Coat. Does what it says, kind of feels “sweet” on your throat, if that makes sense. Yogi’s Cold Season tea.
-Olba’s Oil. Olba’s is out of Switzerland, and is an oil made of menthol, eucalyptus, cloves, and a few other herbs. We put a few drops in the steamer or a pot of boiling water and breathe it in. It hurts real good.
-Thayer’s Slippery Elm lozenges. So soothing, keeps you from coughing. Hence, keeps you from losing your voice.
-Don’t use your voice. It’s being besieged, let it rest.
-When you’re awake, watch or read something delightful. Those endorphins- they’ll do you good.
Think some of this is silly? Well, they’re the things I’ve gathered over the years. And moreover, in addition to their body-boosting properties, you’re telling your body and mind “I want to be well”.
OK, back to tea & something fun to watch.
Brilliant advice!
Can’t really argue with anything you said, Katy. The only thing I thought of as I read your ‘Under the Weather Strategy’ was regarding Pseudoephedrine. A lot of people don’t realize that there are TWO types of “Sudafed”——You can get “Sudafed PE” off the shelf at the drug store, but it’s really PHENYLEPHRINE, and NOT Pseudoephedrine. They are not the same thing. Pseudoephedrine is a much better decongestant, in my opinion, but it is a mild stimulant, and one must be 18 to sign for it at the pharmacy desk, as it is used in the illegal production of methamphetimine, so it is controlled. No prescription is necessary, but an adult must sign a book and show a driver’s license before the pharmacist will dispense. The dose is also different, another detail that is easily missed. The ‘Sudafed PE’ (phenylephrine) dosage is ONE tablet for an adult. The Pseudoephedrine is usually 2 tablets for an adult (30 mg. tabs). One more thing—those who have high blood pressure, take other stimulant medicines, or have prostate issues, should NOT take pseudoephedrine without checking with their doctor!! If you have chronic sinus pressure and inflammation, these medicines are decongestants, and should probably be taken with some sort of anti-histamine (allergy medicine) so that you are addressing both the problem and the symptoms. WHEW!!! This medicine stuff is complicated, isn’t it??
Thanks for the clarification, Andrea. I tried to steer clear of official medical advice- so I’m happy to have some from someone who knows- a favorite nurse! I’m a fan of the pseudoephedrine, too. And thanks for all of the warnings and caviats.
Also, I forgot to add, and meant to, my other favorite things that you told me: gargling with salt water! I did in fact think it was something akin to an old wive’s tale until you told me that it makes an unfriendly environment for microbes.
It’s awfully nice to have an Andrea on hand- thank you!
What about Mucinex? Doesn’t it get the gunk out, too? I also highly endorse Olbas nasal inhaler and pastilles - look at Whole Foods.
[...] you, too, are under the weather, you ought to check out Katy’s list of strategic ways to combat what ails you. My blood pressure precludes the use of Sudafed, but I did run through my supply of Breathe Easy [...]
I found out the hard way, when I really needed it, that you cannot buy regular sudafed OTC in Oregon like you can in GA. I was all ready with my license as per the protocol in GA. Have to have a prescription here. Stinks. Also a nurse.—LD
[...] - – - *Katy Bowser sings my favorite under-the-weather song, Laryngitis. When I went to her blog searching for the lyrics, she just happened to have a post up about feeling under the weather! [...]