The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsGot my first cold of the season. I'm coughing. A little chilled. What is
your go to remedy for the common cold. I love cough medicine and neocitrine myself but must stay away from the alcohol in the cough medicine. So i'm looking for alternatives. I do have honey. Do you put it in tea?
alwaysinasnit
(5,075 posts)applegrove
(118,805 posts)alwaysinasnit
(5,075 posts)applegrove
(118,805 posts)alwaysinasnit
(5,075 posts)applegrove
(118,805 posts)handmade34
(22,758 posts)ginger tea... honey optional
C
liquids! hydrate
light on processed foods and meat... you need nutrition but your body needs to work on fighting the cold not digesting heavy food...
read a good book
rest
get well soon
applegrove
(118,805 posts)Alliepoo
(2,225 posts)I start downing an emergen-C twice a day. Hot tea (any kind)with plenty of honey. Sometimes just a plain old spoon or two of honey! Chicken noodle soup is always good too!! And rest!!
applegrove
(118,805 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Cut up some ginger, make a tea out of it.
applegrove
(118,805 posts)marlakay
(11,498 posts)Gargle with salt water, do nose rinses twice a day.
Drink lots of tea, water, juice low sugar kind.
Eat fruit, soup, nothing with sugar, and no alcohol because it kills Vit C.
Rest, if cough gets worse turn pure hot water on in shower and just stay in the room wth lots of steam.
Wash hands often.
I just got over two bad colds with one week healthy in between was sick for 5 weeks.
My problem was immune system was low from having to take antibiotics in September.
And watch comedies destress.
applegrove
(118,805 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)It helps suppress the cough. I take Mucinex (not DM) just the expectorant to loosen up the chest and also use Vicks VapoRub w/ a hot compress (use a warm cloth that I put in the microwave) on my chest that is very soothing and relieves the congestion as well.
I use Benadryl to dry up the post-nasal drip so that I don't have it leaking into my lungs. It helps to dry everything up and also helps to make you a bit sleepy. I love Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Vanilla Tea. It's very soothing and relaxing. I also put Vicks around my nose to clear my nasal passages. I use the lavender version. It's much nicer than the regular kind.
I don't use many OTC preps because a lot of them interact w/ the medication that I take (like dextromethorphan) and I don't like daytime meds like Sudafed or anything like that because it makes me feel racy, which I hate. I also take New Balance Elderberry tablets and will occasionally chop up a few garlic cloves and just swallow them with some juice or water as they are known to be a natural antibiotic (only if you think you have bronchitis or some other bacterial infection). However, I think garlic is also good for viruses as well. It seems to kill everything!
Anyway, I hope some of this helps and I hope you feel better soon! It's been a terrible cold season. The best thing you can do is just to rest and take care of yourself. If you can get away with it, stay in bed - lay low as long as possible. My cold was dragged out for over a month because I had to go to work and was constantly running around to get things done. I would rest on the weekends and feel better, but then head back to work on Monday and as the week went on, would feel progressively worse until I would have to spend the next weekend back in bed again. I think if I could have just spent a week in bed, I could have gotten over it much more quickly.
Best of luck and feel better soon!
Fla Dem
(23,764 posts)applegrove
(118,805 posts)medicine and nothing to take it for.
Fla Dem
(23,764 posts)if you did have to use the cough syrup, you would've been miserable for a few days. Don't know what the expiration date is, but maybe you'll get to use it at some point in the future. Glad you're better.
applegrove
(118,805 posts)turned out i didn't need it. Then i got home with no symptoms and thought i didn't want to go to my dad's nursing home if i had symptoms so i didn't want to mask them. Am i still catchy if i have had no symptoms for a day? I will give it another symptom free no masking with medicine day before i go visit him.