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a.k.a.
02-22-2003, 09:10 AM
So the weather’s moderate, the sun’s shining, it’s the weekend and I’m stuck at home with the flu. It happens to me almost every year — right around this time. Eleven months out of the year I never have any health problems, then just as spring peeks around the corner, I get some kind of killer flu bug from hell.

Last night I wanted to die. Guess I’m a wuss, ‘cause I just can’t handle the body aches, the congestion, the chills, sore throat... I know people that can go to work with this bug. But I can barely lift one foot in front of the other. And everybody seems to irritate me. It’s always been like this for me, so I know I don’t have malaria or something really serious like that.

I know there’s no cure, but does anybody know of something that makes you feel good while the virus has its way with you? (Maybe I’m asking too much.) I think I’ve tried every over the counter remedy and knock out medicine on the market, and haven’t found one that works for me

This time I’ve been sucking on zinc lozenges and all it got me was an INCREDIBLE, ROCK HARD ERECTION. (Fat lot of good it does me in this state.)

I’ve also tried hot toddies in the past, and they just make me want to puke. Miso soup kills the chills for about 15 minutes, but that’s it. Any other ideas?

bivonic
02-22-2003, 09:26 AM
If I feel that bad I see the doc & he gives me some antibiotics & cough syrup if I need it, seems to do the trick, I know it\'s probably not the advice you were looking for, if not try drinking a half a glass of water through a napkin! /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif Ooops that\'s the cure for hiccups.

a.k.a.
02-22-2003, 10:19 AM
About twenty years ago, I had a bad case of bronchitis and the doctor gave me cough syrup with codeine. What a beautiful thing!

But antibiotics don’t seem to help and I haven’t found a doctor that would prescribe codeine for the flu.

Sexyredhead
02-22-2003, 02:48 PM
Cold rag on the head is good to keep you from feeling nauseous. Hot rag across the face if your sinuses hurt. Take some ibuprofen and just go to sleep. Find some movies you like and just veg on the couch til it\'s gone.
Jello, crackers, and sprite are good too--sprite is the miracle drink, so my mom says. lol
Drink hot tea or hot apple cider if your throat hurts bad. I\'m not really sure which flu you\'ve got, so it\'d help if you told us what the symptoms are. Oh, and BTW, even if people irritate you, be NICE. They don\'t have to stay around and take care of your sweet self while you\'re sick.

Sexyredhead
02-22-2003, 02:50 PM
But they\'ll prescribe hydrocodone, which is synthetic codeine, as a cough medicine. Good stuff. Also, when I was sick and couldn\'t talk for three weeks in Jan, the doc gave me Tessalon pearls. They look like vitamin E capsules, and you swallow them whole. As they dissolve in your stomach, they let off a gas that numbs your throat for about 7 hours. Wonderful things! Non-narcotic too. /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif

Bruce
02-22-2003, 03:12 PM
AKA,
I can beat your \"20 years ago\" with a popular kids flu remedy of 50 years ago. Anyone guess what it was? I can almost see my dad pull down the Paragoric from a very high kid-proof spot. Sure to give your kid lots of sweet dreams and assure everybody in the house a quiet nights sleep. Contains morphine as I remember. You could pick it up at any pharmacy. Parents were spooning their sick kids full of the stuff to get them to sleep the night thru.

Bruce

Sexyredhead
02-22-2003, 03:59 PM
I remember that stuff from when I was little. We still compare all horrible tasting things to the flavor of Paragoric! lol Blecccchhhh! And that was late 70\'s.

Bruce
02-22-2003, 04:51 PM
Yeah, the taste issue comes back to me. I\'d fogotten that part. Late 70s? Wow! I figured that stuff went out with cocaine in Coca Cola.
Bruce

Blackwidow_Woman
02-22-2003, 05:01 PM
(Paragoric!) yuck that stuff use to make me puke when i was a kid..eeeeeeewwwww... as for the flu there are many diffrent types. you should be taking lots Echinacea and goldenseal, and vitamin c to boot.. st johns wort might help you to relax and sleep. then theres Camomile tea soothing to your body and throat.. you can try a alchol wash for reducing fevers and chills by adding 3 cap fulls of alcohol to a bowl of luke warm water and then taking a wash cloth and rubbing your whole body down with it,, it does work go to..or a cup of honey tea with a shot of whiskey. if you have congestion then take a spoonfull of vicks vapo rub and put it into a open bowl of boiling water let stand for a sec and then hold a towel over your head and in hail the vapors , make sure you close your eyes as it will burn them but it will not only open you up in seconds flat but your nose will be clear as well..I have found that Alka-seltzer plus flu taken as three tabs insted of the 2 will not only make you feel better but will make you zippy.... for a sore throat try rubbing vicks vapo rub on there and covering it with a wash cloth wraped around your throat over night and it also helps stop the coughing.. Hope you feel better soon.. its going around no matter where ya live, my kids got it.

Sexyredhead
02-22-2003, 07:00 PM
Watch that St. John\'s Wort. A lot of people are allergic to it. No need to have an allergic reaction AND the flu.

As for Paragoric, I was born in \'75, and my mama used to give it to me and my sister when we were little--no later than \'82-\'83, though, I\'d say. Nasty stuff. Maybe it went out when New Coke came in. lol

belgareth
02-22-2003, 09:16 PM
A friend of mine, an MD, swears that the general blah feeling and lightheadedness from the flue is dehydration and can be cured with lots of gatorade. I\'ve tried it a couple times and it seems to help me. Of course it could be because I believe it will.

Blackwidow_Woman
02-22-2003, 10:04 PM
well theres a drink thats alot better tasting than gatorade its called Power Ade, it comes in many diffrent flavors and is really good.. and yes it will help you feel alot better as it does rehydrate you quickly.. belgareth, you have a real good point there.. /ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif

DrSmellThis
02-23-2003, 06:15 AM
Only in America do we bicker over Gatorade vs. Powerade.
/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif
Actually I like Gatorade, for a junk food drink that is, and get the powder in bulk. Most other \"thirst quenchers\" have too much sugar (e.g., Powerade), which actually dehydrates you. I don\'t trust the red kind due to the toxicity of most red dyes. I think Knudsen makes an all natural, low sugar thirst quencher.

Sexyredhead
02-23-2003, 07:00 AM
Well, if you\'re gonna get really picky, why not Pedialyte? Works the same, but it\'s for kiddies and very sick dogs. /ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif

a.k.a.
02-23-2003, 09:22 AM
Thanks for all the recommendations everybody. The warm rag really did help my sinuses, but I couldn’t bring myself to try the Vicks. (Too many bad childhood memories.) I ended up taking Tylenol PM with a whole lot of Valrian & Poppy extract, and feel much better today (just congested and a bit sluggish).

Now I’ve got a powerful craving for Jell-O.
Cheers.

nonscents
02-27-2003, 01:16 PM
Important notice: your mileage may vary. With all this stuff, what works for me may or may not work for you.

A company called Swedish Herbal Institute makes something called Kan Jang. It\'s a standardized extract of Andrographis paniculata (leaf) with 4% andrographolides. It helps with colds, flu and sinusitis.