This will be a quick, brief, snappy post. I have the dreaded lurgy. There is a red cross on my door, so all who step onto the drive with the intention of selling me windows, magazines, landscaping or whatever they hawk, they will know full well that they might well leave with the plague. I am assailed.
I have a cold.
My head feels like this ...
and sometimes like this ...
My nose like this ....
and I am leaving a trail of screwed up tissues wherever I roam.
The only thing for it, of course, is this ...
either neat, or in the form of this ...
A hot toddy is the only good reason to have a cold. I have several recipes, mostly including brandy, Manuka honey, lemon and hot water. In the days before I realized I was lactose intolerant, I would put brandy and honey into a mug with hot milk. That's a knockout and worth a few hours sleep.
I also make my own cold remedy from oranges and lemons I pick myself, a sort of sloppy marmalade to which you just add hot water and brandy - ok, that has a kick to it.
So, what's your favorite cold remedy? I intend to try any offered today from the humble readers of Naked Authors. And I promise I will do my level best to come back with something worth reading next week. This week I have the lurgy.
Here's to your health, this weekend!
I'm so sorry, Jacqueline. Hope you feel better, tout suite.
ReplyDeleteWhen I have the nose thing I get out the neti pot. And since I've been using it I've hardly had any illnesses at all; no colds for five years now.
It could also be the Vitamin D3, too, which I've been taking for about the same amount of time, 2,000 IU a day.
Echinacea really works, and astragalus. On my first writing-for-hire project my editor was due to come to Cincinnati to work with me for four days (non-fiction, process/project-related work). I got the Cold From Hell two days before she was set to arrive, and a friend suggested echinacea. Ran to the health food store for a supply and started taking it three times a day. The second day the editor was here the cold went away, which was nothing short of miraculous for me, the two-week cold queen.
To better health for all.
Be good to your soft tissue. Keep it clean & well hydrated.
ReplyDeleteFloss. Brush your teeth. Use one ounce of hydrogen peroxide as a mouth wash. Use two ounces of hydrogen peroxide to clean your brush. Make sure the lid is down on your commode when you flush; leaving it up creates a six foot plume of feces & urine that permeates everything in your bathroom and the rest of the house.
Drink hot liquids, toddies are nice. Get some orange juice or grapefruit juice in you.
Then, floss & brush your teeth, again.
Ugh! I also use a neti pot, which is also helpful when I have allergy symptoms that flare up when the Santa Anas blow. Airbourne helps when I feel a cold coming on but it doesn't work once the cold settles in. Nothing does.
ReplyDeleteAnd would somebody please clarify: is it "starve a cold and feed a fever" or the other way around?
Hi, Jacqueline,
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow Jacqueline who happens to also write mystery novels and is a fan of your fiction, I had to comment. I agree about using Manuka honey, lemon and hot water. Done so myself. For the sinus, try munching on some fresh pineapple. The bromlein in it is helpful. Also try some saline nasal spray. I find that it helps too. Hope you feel better soon!
from Jacqueline
ReplyDeleteOh wow, such a lot of advice - hey, we could publish a book, couldn't we? How To Slay The Common Cold. Seriously, I have been lucky - my first cold in years. I have gone through 10 book tours without sickness, which I think is pretty amazing. Now then, my husband swears by hydrogen peroxide mouthwashes, so I will definitely take that on board. I swear by Airborne, which was recommended to me by another author with whom I crossed paths on my first book tour - she had a gallon-size baggie filled with medication for her tour. I also swear by the strong Manuka honey, the type you have to order because it's not sold in the stores - that will kill bugs. My dad always swore by a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon in a little milk or water - now that worked, so I think I will get some fresh cinnamon today. I don't know about neti-pots though ... and I think it's "feed a cold and starve a fever." Whichever way it is, I have also heard that it doesn't work - but I have found that hot and sour soup is good to blast anything out of the system, especially the colon!!
You probably do not need another remedy, Jackie, but take it from me a good drop of scotch works better than brandy (and is better for you never mind what that big dog says). In glass pour a measure of scotch - you decide on the measure, juice of one lemon, honey to taste (a good teaspoon - or more)and fill with hot water. Go to bed with this, a hot water bottle and a good book. Guarantee you will be asleep before you open book. Oh, and don't forget the tissues. Trust your auntie, she knows best.RBB
ReplyDeleteForget the hot water bottle....you don't need it in CA do you!RBB
ReplyDeletefrom Jacqueline
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you Aunt Wooby! I will do all except the hot water bottle (though I had one last night), because today we're over 90f here in my part of northern CA.
The Quils -- Day-Quil and Ny-Quil. Dry a nose right up, let you sleep like a baby. Also an OTC nasal spray so you can breathe. This, of course, if, after the twice daily zinc and Vitamin C at the first sniffle doesn't shut everything down. I survived a week-long ski vacation with the zinc remedy -- Hubby swears by it.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm a big fan of scotch...
All your best friends in West Portal say: GET WELL SOON.
ReplyDeletefrom Jacqueline
ReplyDeleteIt's gone to my head - not the brandy (of which I have not partaken yet), but the cold. And Joan, thank you for mentioning the Quils. You know, I like to keep things natural, but suddenly, the thought of being knocked out by Nyquil seems very attractive. My husband also swears by zinc. And thank you Peter in West Portal - great bookshop there, as you know ....
Hoping you are feeling better today Jackie. Take it easy....rest is a great healer! RBB
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe. Usually for a cold I have hot lemon juice with honey and a tad of brandy. Kinda does the same thing.
ReplyDeleteSaline nose spray. The only brand Im aware of that uses real sea salt is Ocean. Neti pots choke me; the spray accomplishes the same thing without danger of drowning or blowing out an ear.
ReplyDelete