Sick, cold, what do you all do for this???

[Zisso]

When I get water in my ears during a shower, I use drops for swimmer's ear. It dries out the water in there and I feel better instantly. For the cold, I take Echinacea. It boosts the immune system and from all I have read is also a natural antibiotic.

These are two things I absolutely swear by, although I know a lot of people disagree with the effects of Echinacea. I can only say that when I feel any hint of a cold coming on, I start taking it right away and have not had a full blown cold of any kind for more than 10 years, during which I worked outside in all kinds of weather. The last two winters I worked in the pouring down rain in WA for months and never got sick.

[Dotty]

Ask your pharmacist if you haven't already.
My daughter always had ear pain.
If it were me I would take acetaminophen every 4-6 hours, put a heating pad on your ears. If you don't have that put a hot facecloth in a bag, water bottle and hold that to your ears.
That will take care of pain and any aches.
If you need a decongestant take one of those.

[BroncoK]

Bocron, do you find the wellness formula gives you tummy trouble? It has golden seal in it and I have been concerned at what it would be like on the tummy, but I have never met anyone who actively takes it.

[bocron]

BroncoK, I've never had any issues. I take 3 at a time when I feel a cold coming on and it really does the trick. It does have a garlicky aftertaste for a bit so I do try to eat a cracker or something when I take a bunch. Maybe that has helped?

[GatorBytes]

That looks like a great product! Immune boosting herbs, anti-bacterial herbs...andrographis is a consideration for IBD/IBS.

I personally don't take anything (no money left over b/c of my dog), however, I haven't needed to as far as offsetting cold and flu season, had minor cold 5 yrs ago and over 10 years prior to that...I think it was my exposure to germs on a regular basis that boosted my bodies defence. I was bartender in a high volume estab. and I was surrounded by germs, customers staff, hacking on me, drink glasses, money exchanged.

[selzer]

Ok, I got Hyland's ear drops. It has gotten better, but they are really sore now from all the digging I have been doing.

I looked for EmergenC, but could not find it. I used up my generic robitussin from Drug Mart so bought the WalMart brand. The other stuff was red grape flavor. This stuff is the nastiest cherry that I have ever tried. I am also taking Claritin D 24-hour. I am feeling a bit better today. I did not take any more of that tussin stuff today -- last night was enough.

[selzer]

So, here it is Monday. My eyes are crusted, both my ears are blocked, my nose is totally stuffed up and blocked, but dripping -- yeah, so it is red and chapped where I have used puffs, and keenex, napkins, and toilet paper in my quest to keep my stuff to myself. My throat is clogged, I can't breathe, Coughing is painful, sneezing is painful and explosive, parents of small children see me and turn their children away shoving clorox whipes over their noses and mouthes. Even at Jesus' birthday party, not one person said they were happy to see me there.

In short, I decided I had better keep the doctor's appointment today.

I went and sat in the waiting room for an hour. It was a petri dish. A Germ Fest. They tell you if you have a cough to get a mask, but no one does. I don't. A mask in my current state would kill me, and, when they went to drag my dead body away, my nose would have run out in that mask -- just not happening. Spending an hour in a doctor's office trying not to touch anything and only breathing enough to sustain life, raises the blood pressure, and anxiety and all of that.

The final verdict is a sinus infection. She gave me two different types of nose sprays -- one because my nose is so clogged that the other stuff wouldn't be able to touch it; and antibiotics for the infection. And took some blood, which is the real reason I went.

I told her I only go to see her when I am miserable.

I am glad for the scripts though. I hope I can be clean by Sunday, so I can bake cookies with my sister. She has a really cool modern kitchen, with an island, and counters, and two ovens.

[Midnight12]

Glad you went and if you take your meds like your suppose to, you should be all better and ready to make cookies. If you're not alot better by weds, you should be calling the dr. back.

[Carryingon]

I hope you feel better soon.
I am also not qualified medically in any way but here's what I personally believe about cold remedies/prevention:

Echinacea works for me. But I take it in tincture or infusion (not capsules) when I'm exposed to sick coworkers, up to the onset of a cold. No more than a week or so (supposedly its efficiency needs "breaks.)

Goldenseal is an antibiotic and supposedly specifically helpful for respiratory infections.

The best thing I've found is garlic. I so hate being sick that I am hardcore enough to eat a garlic clove (minced or cut up with honey over it) morning and night - garlic will fight off respiratory viruses and help you get over them quicker once infected. I'm sure this also helps keep my sick coworkers away from me since yes, doing this makes you stink like garlic. The garlic/honey combo is also a natural antibiotic/wound healer and the only thing that healed a bad scrape on my leg recently. It had turned red and streaky and hot, in spite of iodine, topical antibiotic, and alcohol and I resolved to go to the dr. the next day, but put a honey/garlic poultice on it overnight and it rapidly healed after that.

Elderflower berry- there are several mainstream concoctions of this - is a flu/respiratory virus fighter.

Sugar, refined flour and alcoholic drinks are immune suppressors. Eating a bunch of candy or cookies while battling a cold can make it worse. Immune boosting foods include garlic, the mushroom that is spelled like a bad word ending with -aake, apple cider vinegar, ginger, fresh vegetables and fruit. This is one reason chicken soup from scratch is a great way to eat during a cold.

Probiotics are also helpful to a strong immune system.

[Lilie]

My doctor has always said drink plenty of hot liquid. The hottest you can drink it without scalding yourself. Not sure exactly why, I suppose the heat helps the sinuses. I was told that it helps kill off germs in the throat. I don't know what the reason is, but I always feel better when I drown myself in hot totties. (I actually drink hot tea all day.)