Suggestions

I am having my annual winter fight with bronchitis I have gone to the dr. the problem is my body is so used to the medicine that they give me for this (I get this every change in season) that the medicine is not very effective. i am allergic to PCN so that is totally out of the question. is there anything "natural" that i could try. Ive done teas and my mom used to give me whiskey& onion syrup (ewwwww) im running out of ideas. i need somthing to relieve the pressure in my sinuses (i do not want to have to go to the dr to have this done (OUCH!)

Have you tried aromatherapies? Like peppermint oils?

Try boiling some water and pouring it into a large bowl. Put a few drops of mint oil in it, and then put a towel over your head and breathe in.. It might relieve your symptoms temporarily.

You also might want to take EmergenC vitamins.. you can buy them online!

I know how yah feel! I'm allergic to soo many things! I hate taking medicines because I usually have reactions!

I'm very into natural products. Recently my fiance and I were getting sick (actually he was coughing and sneezing and soar throat, I had the throat tickle) and we started taking a goldenseal, echinacea, etc liquid and it kicked our colds in 24 hours. I was raised on goldenseal for just about everything and am a first believer in herbal products.

Unfotunately I'm not very knowledgable on bronchitis. I would suggest going to a small health food store and asking someone there for advice to treat bronchitis. Everyone carries different products and the people that work there I find are always very knowledgable and willing to help you find the right product. They thrive off of feedback from their costumers. I live in a Raleigh and yet I've still found a little mom and pop store where they know who I am and we give feedback on everything we try (they also sell our raw pet food!).

Having suffered for years with several bouts of colds, strep throat, bronchitis and pleurisy as well as pneumonia every year, a friend of mine told me about GSE (grapefruit seed extract) I have been taking 3 drops every morning in juice for the last 5 years now and I have had one cold, and one bout of flu. I swear by this stuff. You can get it at a health food store. I use it on the animals as well, treating their water, and haven't had a URI hit my crew in years.

Not for the squeamish, but if you're really suffering from congestion using a Neti pot can help a lot - they can be found at most health food stores. No drugs needed, and very healthy - it was recommended by the ENT who did my sinus surgery. Doing the neti wash after steaming over a bowl can really be helpful.

*edit* Looking at the link, it's a bit more detailed than what I learned - I've only followed the instructions that came with my Neti pot (what that site calls Stage 1), so I can't vouch for the other stuff there.

Just a thought - I used to get what my doctors thought was bronchitis every year - I would cough my head off day and night until my lungs & throat got so irritated I'd end up with pneumonia. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I was finally properly diagnosed with 'cough variant' asthma and found treatment for that horrid cough. If the bronchitis tends to come at the same time every year, you might want to see an allergist or respiratory doctor to see if you might possibly have asthma - having a sinus infection, cold, or allergies can all aggravate asthma symptoms.

Hope you feel better soon!

I'm with you there, solaritybengals! I'm a complete health nut! I usually mix vitamin and minerals with herbal tea blends. I swear by the EmergenC vitamin/mineral drink packs (I pour them in sparkling water) for when I'm feeling under the weather!