Oh Sudafed, sweet Sudafed. Cold remedies? Post 'em!

[nolabear]

I have a meeting tonight so I'm on the hard stuff, but tomorrow I'm going on the chicken soup, hot tea, vitamins D&C, steam my head program. I can't do zinc (lost my sense of taste once on that one) but am open to good home remedies.

Anybody?

[NightWatcher]

1. Nyquil. Every time you wake up, drink another half bottle

After a week or so, you'll have outlasted the damn cold

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. That would be my suggestion, too.

Nyquil will keep you mostly unconscious until the cold goes away.

[gvstn]

23. Careful!

It's the large amount of acetaminophen that Nyquil contains mixed with the alcohol that is potentially bad for your liver. Drinking half a bottle is unwise. Maybe alternate between Nyquil and Zzzquil (no acetaminophen).

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. Half a bottle would render me comatose long before my liver quit.

The recommended dose is more than enough to wipe me out for 12 hours.

[gvstn]

31. Yes, I'm very suseptible to the effects of

Cold medicine for the first cold of the season. Two days of feeling "comfortably numb" then rest of the season it doesn't really effect me like that. I don't take much cold medicine anymore but it was always a cheap high as a teenager, at least for the first cold.

I only realized they stopped marketing Dimetapp extendtabs--a few weeks ago. That stuff was over the top. I only took it once for a bad sinus infection but it was coma inducing for me. I took it at work, not knowing its effect and could have curled up in a corner and slept through the winter--not caring about where I was or who was around.

But, yea, people should still be careful about Nyquil.

[bluesbassman]

2. Copius amounts of Tequila.

But then I'm a musician and I'll use any excuse for some of the nectar of the gods.

BTW, hope you feel better soon!

[liberaltrucker]

13. Salt, shot, lime!

Although, at my age, It'd likely kill me.

Ah, memories. Or lack thereof!

[hobbit709]

3. Habanero salsa with chips. Hot lemonade with honey.

Plenty of rest.

[benld74]

4. Netti Pot - As soon as I feel one coming on - Swear by it,,,

[pipi_k]

20. Same concept...

I have a nasal rinse squirt bottle and, like you, swear by it. It's the best thing for:

1. helping to prevent colds by keeping nasal passages moisturized

2. clearing out a whole LOT of nasty mucus

[Taverner]

30. For someone who gets sinuitis on a monthly basis, let me 2nd that...

Neti pot is the way to go!

[kentauros]

32. I have NEVER had the confidence to try that.

I'll recommend it to others, but the thought of pouring water into one of my places I use to breathe has never sounded safe for me.

[benld74]

34. I admit I was too skeptical and a little worried, but

in one nostril out the other!

[dembotoz]

5. combo claritan and singular

one of each
each and every day

fewer problems with my asthma
and the head stays open

[hlthe2b]

6. camomile tea with honey & all the usual remedies-- but I swear by hot and sour soup...

clears those sinuses.

[MissMillie]

33. I'm w/ ya on the Hot & Sour soup

full of protein and VERY tasty!

[NuclearDem]

7. They got my picture up at the drug store and won't sell me any sudafed

[handmade34]

8. Cayenne Pepper

drink a tsp every morning in lemon (or tomato juice)… haven't had a cold in years…

[pinboy3niner]

9. It's great in fresh ginger tea

It doesn't cure a cold, but after that bite of cayene and ginger, your throat is feeling no pain.

[DebJ]

10. Several tablespoons of honey and same for fresh-squeezed lemon juice served hot

Great for a cough from drippy sinuses.
I had been coughing for days no matter what I did one year, until an employee at
the restaurant I managed made this for me.
I drank it down, and stopped coughing. Permanently.

Clears out the mucus, and the natural properties of the honey and the citric acid in the lemon juice
helps kill the bug.

[HarveyDarkey]

18. I do that too

except it has a couple of shots of spiced rum added after it gets hot.

[In_The_Wind]

25. In addition to the honey and fresh lemon ...

I add a bit of fresh ginger, cayenne pepper and hot water as a drink for most of the day.

[Baitball Blogger]

11. Throat coat if you have a swore throat.

[liberaltrucker]

12. Jack Daniels

Really doesn't help the cold, but ya don't give a shit.

[eShirl]

14. if you can get your hands on some dried elderberries, make a tea & drink it

every few hours

or buy some Sambucol elderberry extract

[texanwitch]

37. Sambucol is the best.

I always keep a bottle on hand.

[eShirl]

15. also, Hot & Sour Soup from a Chinese restaurant

will make you feel better for a little while

[LadyHawkAZ]

16. Megadoses of C and B vitamins and chewable aspirin

were how I got through workdays with colds.

[Brigid]

17. Black elderberry.

Get it at the health food store. Heard about it here on DU, and they even used it on "Walking Dead" last night. True story. Hope you feel better soon.

[texanwitch]

36. I have a friend who was so sick with the flu, really sick.

Just 3 days later she was well and moving around.

She fought me about using black elderberry.

I made her take it.

She now tells other people about it.

I don't like over the counter cold and flu meds.

There is even black elderberry cough syrup, at Walgreens and CVS.

[fizzgig]

19. my husband swears by cleaning his ears with hydrogen peroxide

he uses a couple of drops in each ear when he starts to feel like he's coming down with something and hasn't gotten sick in a couple of years.

[pipi_k]

21. As posted above...

I do saline nose rinses

Plus, for the past, oh, five years or so, I've been taking daily doses of raw crushed garlic. One clove, crushed. Stir into a cup of hot but not boiling water, let sit for a few minutes, then wolf it all down, garlic and all.

I've only had one head cold in five years, and even that one was not as severe, and not as long, as usual.

Garlic is reported to be anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral. But only raw garlic. No supplements, and it has to be uncooked for the compound, allicin, to work.

[Auggie]

26. Cancel the meeting?

[nolabear]

27. Thanks to everyone. Made the meeting and then fell right over.

Forget what I said about the Sudafed. Miserable night. I like all the hot liquid suggestions, and vitamins C and D, and the benefits of a hot toddy cannot be overemphasized.

Next question: If you had a bottle of Afrin left over from your last cold six or eight months ago, do you think there's all kinds of yuck growing in there? Oddly, the internet does not seem to have the answer to that question.

I'm staying home today, and putting a hit out on that grocery checker that I incredulously watched touch my groceries in between hacks and sniffs last week.

[Kali]

28. store brand/generic "airborne"

just something about overpriced orange tasting fizzy vitamins

[Taverner]

29. Menudo, Chicken Soup, any clear soup

Something about the steam, warmth and lowered calories make them excellent lozenges

They won't cure you, but you won't feel AS shitty

[texanwitch]

35. Black Elderberry extract, been used forever.

Any good health food store will have it.

Works for both colds and flu.

The cold or flu will not last very long, just a few days.

I have used it for years.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

38. ginger, honey, lemon and hot water

[a la izquierda]

39. I'm sick too

Yuck...