I have to have a decongestant that WORKS when I'm stuffy. I go to the counter and get something that has Pseudeophedrine.
If I drink Nyquil, I can't even get up the NEXT day.
If I drink Nyquil, I can't even get up the NEXT day.
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What's your best cold/flu remedy?
- Thread starter tickytat
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Best suggestion yet.
From acetaminophen? It's toxic at lower doses then the NSAIDs (advil, aleve, etc) and if I recall correctly - some of those OTC cold meds have 650mg of acetaminophen per two tablet dose.
I don't take any of the OTC cold meds, I'm working my kidneys enough already and they do not work for me anyways. DH likes Theraflu. If the cold hangs on for too long and feels like it's settled into your chest - get to the doctor.
Slightly related note - I was looking at a box of the Alka-Seltzer plus for chest congestion earlier.... Why does everything have to have artificial sweeteners in it?
Nope...from AFRIN!!!! That was the only thing I was taking for symptoms (I can live with just about everything EXCEPT for a stuffy nose). Found blood in my urine (I had a urinalysis because I was getting sick every two weeks)...from there, it was an IVP which found the papillary neucrosis! DANG! And I am only 35! Well, better yet...that was 7 years ago.
Fast forward to just this month: lithotripsy, same kidney: STONES. LOVELY.
It's a BIT** aging!! LOL!
Fast forward to just this month: lithotripsy, same kidney: STONES. LOVELY.
It's a BIT** aging!! LOL!
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1. Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea.
2. Raw garlic in food. 1 or 2 cloves per person.
3. Tomato soup, with lemon pepper.
4. Lots of hot tea.
5. Lemon slices, in a cup of hot water.
6. LOTS of water.
7. Soup of any kind (except cream-based).
8. Drinking a glass of cold water, with 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar, preferably cider vinegar, mixed in. Yes, I know it tastes yucky, but I swear I feel better!
9. Sitting in a hot bath, with a few drops of oil of peppermint in the water, and in a steamy bathroom. Great for making you sleepy, too.
10. Swallowing a teaspoon of honey twice a day/or dissolving it in hot water/tea. Helps a sore throat, too. Honey has healing properties, both inside and outside of your body.
11. Orange juice several times a day. I can't do this, due to the sugar, but drinking even a 1/2 glass in the morning seems to help me.
12. Wrap up warm, lay on the sofa, with a blanket and the remote, and watch TV. Warning: watching the History Channel while sick and dozing off, may make you think you've gone delusional--you will notice that Hitler invaded Poland for the THIRD time that day. You are not crazy. They repeat the morning programs over again later in the day. It took a bad case of flu for me to realize this. Oh, and the infomercials, if you are awake at 3 AM. You'll learn how YOU can cure male pattern baldness--even if you're female. Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT have access to your credit cards now. You'll find yourself buying junk, just because you're weak, half-asleep, and bored...no, you DON'T need that Ronco Spin-O-Matic ear-wax cleaning gadget. I said, PUT THE CREDIT CARD DOWN NOW!
2. Raw garlic in food. 1 or 2 cloves per person.
3. Tomato soup, with lemon pepper.
4. Lots of hot tea.
5. Lemon slices, in a cup of hot water.
6. LOTS of water.
7. Soup of any kind (except cream-based).
8. Drinking a glass of cold water, with 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar, preferably cider vinegar, mixed in. Yes, I know it tastes yucky, but I swear I feel better!
9. Sitting in a hot bath, with a few drops of oil of peppermint in the water, and in a steamy bathroom. Great for making you sleepy, too.
10. Swallowing a teaspoon of honey twice a day/or dissolving it in hot water/tea. Helps a sore throat, too. Honey has healing properties, both inside and outside of your body.
11. Orange juice several times a day. I can't do this, due to the sugar, but drinking even a 1/2 glass in the morning seems to help me.
12. Wrap up warm, lay on the sofa, with a blanket and the remote, and watch TV. Warning: watching the History Channel while sick and dozing off, may make you think you've gone delusional--you will notice that Hitler invaded Poland for the THIRD time that day. You are not crazy. They repeat the morning programs over again later in the day. It took a bad case of flu for me to realize this. Oh, and the infomercials, if you are awake at 3 AM. You'll learn how YOU can cure male pattern baldness--even if you're female. Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT have access to your credit cards now. You'll find yourself buying junk, just because you're weak, half-asleep, and bored...no, you DON'T need that Ronco Spin-O-Matic ear-wax cleaning gadget. I said, PUT THE CREDIT CARD DOWN NOW!
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My record is 5.5 LARGE boxes (250 count) of Puffs, when I had the flu!Originally Posted by Wildflower79
I know what you mean. The amount of tissues that I go through when I get a cold is absolutely ridiculous!
As far as remedies go, I don't think I can be much help. I have yet to find anything that truly works. The OTC stuff does nothing for me. I swear my body is immune to all medicines.
My average is 3 boxes.
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Pseudoephederine was the only stuff I could take--I used to use Thera-Flu; but now the governement made those laws restricting it, and now Thera-Flu no longer has it in it, and I'm afraid to try it.
When I had bronchitis last summer, I tried children's cough tabs--grape-flavored tabs that disolve on your tongue--actually worked quite well for me.
When I take most antihistimines, I nearly hallucinate. I hate that feeling, so I do home remedies.
Fluids and lots of rest.... that is what works for me. I'm allergic to pseudoephedrine and every other decongestant so I am kind of limited as to what I can take. I probably can take peudoephedrine now, but I'm not going to risk a serious reaction.
I had a horrible cold/flu over new years week and nothing helped. I took anything and everything I could find and it seems like all the medicine does these days is make me feel worse than before.
When I'm sick I swear by the Theraflu severe cold Night-time. I drink it before bed and it helps me to sleep. When I wake up the next morning I always feel better than the day before. I think it's because it helps me to get such a good night's rest.
Otherwise I don't really like taking too much medicine. I learned in a biology class I took years ago that they only suppress your symptoms and actually keep you sick longer. I basically just make sure to blow my nose frequently and I drink lots of tea with honey.
Hope you feel better soon
Acetaminophen is hepatotoxic - causes liver failure in high doses, not kidney failure. The other NSAIDs, like Advil, Aleve, ibuprophen, etc. are the ones that cause renal failure. I went into acute renal failure several years ago due to a prescription NSAID (Arthrotec.)Originally Posted by strange_wings
Best suggestion yet.From acetaminophen? It's toxic at lower doses then the NSAIDs (advil, aleve, etc) and if I recall correctly - some of those OTC cold meds have 650mg of acetaminophen per two tablet dose.
Afrin is a vasoconstrictor. It doesn't affect the kidneys at all. My NSAID induced renal failure also had renal papillary necrosis, proteinuria and extremely elevated serum creatinine. If you do a Google search on renal papillary necrosis, you will see that it is almost always caused by NSAID use. FWIW...IVP dye can also exacerbate elevated creatinine and papillary necrosis secondary to NSAID use. That's what happened to me. I was in ARF due to the NSAID use, pain from sloughing a renal papilla, they did an IVP in the E.R., and my kidneys shut down. Fun.
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^ I thought it could do both? And have always read/been told that acetaminophen didn't take as much to reach it's toxic level. (ie a person can take 2000mgs of an NSAID, but that amount would be bad for acetaminophen)
I know I have come across at least one report of just a small dose causing necrosis. (boredom many months ago late at night, I'd likely never come across it again)
Either way it's good to warn people that OTC doesn't mean risk free, no matter how familiar we are with the product we're using.
I know I have come across at least one report of just a small dose causing necrosis. (boredom many months ago late at night, I'd likely never come across it again)
Either way it's good to warn people that OTC doesn't mean risk free, no matter how familiar we are with the product we're using.
Exactly. It takes a much lower dose of acetaminophen to cause liver failure than it takes for the other NSAIDs to cause renal failure. Renal failure from NSAID use is usually reversable....liver failure from Acetaminophen is often fatal because it is so very hard to neutralize. It takes longer for the toxic effects to show up, and by that time, the damage is done and can't be undone. As a nurse, Acetaminophen really scares me.
As a side note....I'm an Afrin addict...have been, off and on, for nearly 20 years (my bad! Yes, I tried weaning several times with Flonase...didn't work!) With my ARF issues, I certainly wouldn't use it if it had any effects on kidney function.
That is weird because I didn't take anything else. I only take Tylenol, etc when I have a headache or something (fever, too)...but I didn't have a fever with what I was going through back then...I was on Afrin, though, for like 2 months NUMEROUS times a day......no wonder since it was back-firing on me.
My PCP told me it had to be the Afrin... huh.
What else could cause that???
My PCP told me it had to be the Afrin... huh.
What else could cause that???
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #34
Wow, it's great to hear everything that works for every one else. I like hearing home remedies! I have decided that all those cold/flu OTC rememdies basically do nothing for me. I'll stick to my Extra Strength Tylenol, Puffs Plus with the scent of Vicks, Nyquill at night if I absolutely need it, and the occasional shot of Afrin!
I have drank two cartons of orange juice since Wednesday. Yikes! But I swear it helps. And for some reason, Mom's chicken soup ALWAYS has healing and comforting properties.
I'm feeling much better but have developed a strange cough on the tail end of this thing. I think I'm going to try something weird but people (and even my mom) swear by it: putting Vicks on your feet, putting socks on, and going to bed. I have read numerous reviews on the internet about this! Can't wait to try this ridiculous remedy.....
I have drank two cartons of orange juice since Wednesday. Yikes! But I swear it helps. And for some reason, Mom's chicken soup ALWAYS has healing and comforting properties.
I'm feeling much better but have developed a strange cough on the tail end of this thing. I think I'm going to try something weird but people (and even my mom) swear by it: putting Vicks on your feet, putting socks on, and going to bed. I have read numerous reviews on the internet about this! Can't wait to try this ridiculous remedy.....
Originally Posted by MargeCat
1. Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea.
2. Raw garlic in food. 1 or 2 cloves per person.
3. Tomato soup, with lemon pepper.
4. Lots of hot tea.
5. Lemon slices, in a cup of hot water.
6. LOTS of water.
7. Soup of any kind (except cream-based).
8. Drinking a glass of cold water, with 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar, preferably cider vinegar, mixed in. Yes, I know it tastes yucky, but I swear I feel better!
9. Sitting in a hot bath, with a few drops of oil of peppermint in the water, and in a steamy bathroom. Great for making you sleepy, too.
10. Swallowing a teaspoon of honey twice a day/or dissolving it in hot water/tea. Helps a sore throat, too. Honey has healing properties, both inside and outside of your body.
11. Orange juice several times a day. I can't do this, due to the sugar, but drinking even a 1/2 glass in the morning seems to help me.
12. Wrap up warm, lay on the sofa, with a blanket and the remote, and watch TV. Warning: watching the History Channel while sick and dozing off, may make you think you've gone delusional--you will notice that Hitler invaded Poland for the THIRD time that day. You are not crazy. They repeat the morning programs over again later in the day. It took a bad case of flu for me to realize this. Oh, and the infomercials, if you are awake at 3 AM. You'll learn how YOU can cure male pattern baldness--even if you're female. Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT have access to your credit cards now. You'll find yourself buying junk, just because you're weak, half-asleep, and bored...no, you DON'T need that Ronco Spin-O-Matic ear-wax cleaning gadget. I said, PUT THE CREDIT CARD DOWN NOW!
And I wanted to add... those tissues with lotion in them? They really do make a huge difference when you have a cold or flu. They'll help keep your nose from getting all sore and chapped... and you can also massage in some vitamin E oil or just plain moisturizer or hand lotion a couple of times a day.
Decongestants actually make me feel worse. I have found that expectorants like Mucinex work better at helping everything drain.
I once had a cold where I was so stuffed up that I felt like I was suffocating. As mentioned before, the decongestants weren't helping. Finally in desperation, I took a bottle of picked jalapeño peppers out of the refrigerator and starting eating them like potato chips. It cleared me up very quickly.
I once had a cold where I was so stuffed up that I felt like I was suffocating. As mentioned before, the decongestants weren't helping. Finally in desperation, I took a bottle of picked jalapeño peppers out of the refrigerator and starting eating them like potato chips. It cleared me up very quickly.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #37
Yeah, I was eyeing that bottle of Tobasco hot sauce in the fridge in a moment of stuffy desperation, but I was too chicken! It does work, if you're brave enough!
Go to the doctor if you're sick. That's my best recommendation. I spent several weeks trying to "kick" my cold recently with OTC medicines and the only thing that got me was bronchitis and a severe sinus infection
I held off on going to the doctor because i am in between insurance coverage and didn't have a lot of money at the time- but you know what- my doctor worked with me on the price and it wound up being MUCH cheaper than i thought it would- AND she gave me free medicine samples and coupons for the prescription she didn't have a sample of!
Within a few days i was already feeling better! It was worth it. If i had only gone weeks earlier i would not have gotten that ill and felt soo crummy for soo long. My best solution - go to a good doctor
(Also the other things that really help in addition to a doctors visit for me are : Vicks vapor rub, Vicks vapor inhaler (you put the little inhaler up to your nose and breath in -it helps unclog your nose so you can breath!!!! , a humidifier, my mom's homemade vegetable soup
,sudicare shower soothers (the vanilla and lavender ones!), and Hall's natural cough drops. I also drink plenty of orange juice and try to get a little light exercise/eat well and get plenty of sleep- that helps soo much.) Good luck! Feel better soon
Within a few days i was already feeling better! It was worth it. If i had only gone weeks earlier i would not have gotten that ill and felt soo crummy for soo long. My best solution - go to a good doctor
(Also the other things that really help in addition to a doctors visit for me are : Vicks vapor rub, Vicks vapor inhaler (you put the little inhaler up to your nose and breath in -it helps unclog your nose so you can breath!!!! , a humidifier, my mom's homemade vegetable soup
My personal cold savior is.........ZICAM.
The trick is to use it at the first hint of a cold coming on. I apply it into my lower nostrils every 4 hrs. and the cold is gone within 3 days.
I goofed up this last time. I waited too long and didn't use the Zicam until the cold was already set in. It took about 7 days to clear up but at least it never got any worse than it already was.
The trick is to use it at the first hint of a cold coming on. I apply it into my lower nostrils every 4 hrs. and the cold is gone within 3 days.
I goofed up this last time. I waited too long and didn't use the Zicam until the cold was already set in. It took about 7 days to clear up but at least it never got any worse than it already was.
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- #40
Yes, I too tried the Zicam too late. But, if you really do start using it at the first twinge of a cold, it does work.
