I’m sick. Despite trying to convince myself all day that I’m really fine, the cold hath descended and I’m miserable. I’d be asleep now except I CAN’T BREATHE. Commence the pity party?
So… no post today. Not that I think I’m the center of anyone’s universe here but misery loves sympathy;) And also, if you’ve got any suggestions for how to clear out massive amounts of snot stuck in my sinuses – without using amphetamines (like ephedrine) since they make me super anxious – I’m all ears! I’ve already tried (and struck out with) the Neti pot, a hot shower, Emergen-C, vapo-rub and reflexology. Yes, I’m serious: I actually tried rubbing my own feet so get my snot to go away. It didn’t work. But that’s how desperate I am!
Boil water, pour it in a large bowl, stick your face over it, then cover your head in a towel so the steam can’t escape. Better than a shower, but be sure to take a break now & then, and resume. Then slather your chest in Vapo-Rub.
I’m so sorry your sick, hon! 🙁
((hugs))
we call it nass
My sympathies for your summer cold! When I was young and couldn’t breathe through my nose, I would prop my mouth open with a finger or my blankie and drift off from there. I’m not necessarily recommending this as the finger would eventually turn numb and the blankie, though it survives to this day, was definitely not the most delicious. I do recommend: tea and patience.
I would agree with Azusmom: “Boil water, pour it in a large bowl, stick your face over it, then cover your head in a towel so the steam can’t escape” – but I would add to the water a combination of menthol crystals and eucalyptus oil – both should be easily available from the pharmacy.
I personally find decongestant tablets help (called Sudafed in the UK) although I think scientific evidence is not conclusive. However too many can make you dehydrated.
Take care
Several years ago Vicks made shower tabs that dissolved in hot water with peppermint, etc oils. They stopped making them, but there’s a recipe floating around Pinterest to make your own. They’re not hard to make, and I’ve found they help. (Sort of combining the vapo rub and hot shower.)
Or maybe try sudafed without the amphetamine stuff? Or… There’s a brand they sell for people with high blood pressure that has no stimulants in it?
Best tips I’ve got:
1) HOT shower. It’s pretty much the same effect as the hot bowl of water; but it doesnt get less effective as it cools. (I know Azusmom said it’s better than a shower; to each their own!)
2) Saline spray. It’s annoying, but it surely works.
Good luck; feel better!
First, a dose of Tylenol Sinus. Second, take a Q-Tip, get some Vick’s VapoRub on each end, and put some just inside each nostril. I know it sounds weird, but it works. Plus, being inside your nose, it won’t get wiped away and the fumes will help with every breath. Repeat as necessary.
Do NOT put Vicks into your nose! Put it on the outside. When it is inside your nose, you can breathe the petroleum into your lungs, causing major health issues. Look it up.
Is this why you were asking about dairy and congestion a couple of days ago? For sure, stay away from dairy till you’re better. But ice cream made from coconut milk will be just fine; this is your magic excuse to get a pint of Coconut Bliss “ice cream” and eat it all by yourself while the kids are at school.
WASABI. Fresh paste with sushi is the best, but wasabi peas work, too.
Well if you can’t clear it out go for the opposite and see how much buildup you can get before you end up running in the streets screaming screeching mad.
Aren’t you glad there are helpful people in the world like me? You’re welcome.
My nose runs when I do, so if I don’t have a fever or chest congestion sometimes a short run will do the trick for me, at least temporarily. And for some reason it makes me think that I’m capable of doing a farmers blow, let me assure you that I cannot.
Oil or Oregano and Vitamin D3. I keep both on hand at all times. OoO is a powerful antibiotic and D3… well we all know the benefits of that. My dh just took was was looking like a bad summer cold and turned it into a 3 day event. Sucks for those 3 days, but beats the heck out of sucking for 7+ days! Take 3 OoO and 3 D3 (I use 5,000) at least 3 times a day. Once you feel better, stop the OoO and up your yogurt/probiotics for a couple of days. Works equally well for the flu – so stock up – flu season is just around the corner!
What is OoO?
I found the saline rinse bottles to be more effective at snot reduction than the actual neti pot. NeilMeD bottles and saline packets are at CVS. Serious chunks of nasty come streaming out of the sinus-infected face. It’s cathartic and disgusting. I usually use a whole bottle for each nostril when it’s really bad.
My Mom got me this menthol/eucalyptus inhaler thing. It looks like chapstick with a hole in the top. You close one nostril and inhale with it jammed in the other one. If you get a good whiff, that thing is super strong. It’s good for temporary relief. (This thing – http://www.vicks.ie/products/decongestants/inhaler/)
Kim chi or kim chi soup if you have a korean restaurant available. Hot & sour soup if you don’t. Works for us and soup if always good when you are ill! take care!
A giant vat of pho from Pho 95 with the spicy veggie broth. That will definitely fix you! Sorry you’re sick!
I hate not being able to breathe as much as throwing up! Being sick sucks 🙁 Sorry you feel that way.
They should make adult Nose Fridas…I wonder if we used it on ourselves, if it would work (saline in nose, suck the stuff out).
When pregnant, I remember having to use decongestants, and one day a couple weeks after delivering, all the driend stuff…well, maybe TMI, but it was funyn to pull out! (gross, I know)
My last ditch effort is to put some vicks in a vaporisor or a sink of hot water and lean over it with a towel over my head and breathe in the steam for a while. That and hot tea with lemon, a pinch of cayenne and honey are my only comforts…
Hope you feel better soon.
Real Sudafed works miracles for me. Not the phenylephrine crap — get the actual pseudoephedrine “you need an ID to buy this” stuff. That, and drinking lots of water, and not lying on your back, and also taking Mucinex.
Try acupressure. I’ve had some success with this–the best was when my chiropractor did it. http://www.acupressure.com/blog/?p=1748
damn. Im so sad my boyfriend the NETI didnt work for you.
I love I love.
Boil some pieces of ginger with a few cloves and star anise, if you’ve got them, for 5-10 minutes. When ready, ladle out the brew into a cup, add a squeeze of lemon, a squeeze of honey, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Sip while hot.
The steaming bowl with a towel over your head is also good – if you don’t have any menthol stuff, try adding some peppermint tea to the boiling water in the bowl.
Feel better!
Me too! Stupid summer colds. I was up every 20 minutes last night to blow my nose. Bleh. So annoying. Sorry you can’t take ephedrine. That’s the only thing that ever seems to even remotely help at all for me. It makes me jittery and kills my appetite (but I keep eating anyways, no worries!) but I find that acceptable for being able to breathe. Other than that, tons of hot tea (drunk while standing next to the air conditioner – stupid summer) and attempting to overdose on Vitamin C. Also Kleenex with lotion for the inevitable chapped nose.
Drink apple cider vinegar with some water. My favorite recipe is 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar + honey to taste + a mug of hot water. The apple cider vinegar loosens the mucus — it was the only thing that cleared up a month-long sinus infection I had a couple of years ago. Sometimes I’ll even just take a shot of it alone, even though it’s not good for your teeth, so you shouldn’t do it that often. Once you feel the apple cider vinegar loosening things up, you can try using the neti pot to see if you can get some of the gunk out.
Yoga. It sucks at first when you’re trying to breathe deeply, but it eventually starts to help…it’s not the most pleasant way to clear your nose, but I find it really does work–just make sure you have a loooooottt of tissues and take lots of breaks/don’t stand up too fast.
When I got sick in Japan I would always do a tempura and udon soup. It was hot, nutritious and the fried veggies and shrimp always gave me an energy boost.
Charlotte, Dr. Mercola recommends putting a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in each ear to clear up a cold very fast. You might want to look this up on his site.
I can give you a way to avoid colds in the future. In 2009 I came down with bronchitis that lasted three years (seriously), and worsened whenever I caught a cold, until I stumbled upon two things that I believe stopped it for good: bovine colostrum and Dr. Ohhira’s 5 year probiotics. I do take other supplements, and at the time I was taking astragalus and reishi mushroom, which I still take occasionally in the form of Now Vitamins Immune Renew if I feel any kind of tickle in my throat, and I swear I can feel the Immune Renew working, it’s so powerful. However, I do feel that it was the colostrum and Dr. Ohhira’s that boosted my very depleted immune system (I was injured in a bad car accident just prior to coming down with bronchitis, and the car accident was a nail in the coffin that was my marriage when I was injured so badly, I could no longer sleep in a bed).
The Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics were the first probiotics I’ve taken that I’ve felt any kind of difference with, and I will never, ever not take colostrum again, even though I am apparently allergic to dairy. I got an excellent reply from a colostrum company when I asked them about casein allergies and colostrum, I can send it to you or post it if you’d like. It reassured me that colostrum is actually a great thing to take if a person is allergic to dairy.
Originally I took Symbiotics colostrum from iherb, which I think is a great product, but more recently I bought Immune Tree colostrum from a different website, which is more expensive but is supposed to be better. Now that my immune system seems very strong (I never get sick anymore despite being in a house with people who have constant colds and/or pneumonia). I also have very compromised lungs having had asthma since childhood and the stupidity to remain married to a smoker for twenty years. If anyone needs a coupon for iherb, PEY 561 works.
I hope you feel better soon, I love your blog posts and wish you the best!
This: http://www.neilmed.com/usa/sinusrinse_isotonic.php
It is disgusting, it is uncomfortable, and it works. It’s more forceful than a neti pot, so it gets up in there and clears those sinuses out.
I just had this cold and it was terrible! Mucinex 12 hour helped and it was the only thing that helped me. Chicken soup always helps!
Have you tried a nasal decongestant spray? It is not a pill…and not a neti pot…but a topical decongestant that you spray up your nose. Only thing that works for the kid and I when we are stuffy. Like Afrin. try it. Doesnt make your heart race, and WORKS. Promise!
Chicken soup with lots of pepper. Steamy shower. Neilmed nasal rinse kit. NyQuil at night. Feel better!!!
Rub vicks vapo-rub on the soles of your feet and cover with socks. I know, I know – I thought it was nuts too. Try it. Feel better soon!!
Hope you are better soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I second a spoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water. I do this three times a day when I feel a sinus infection coming and it seems to work. Also cayenne pepper on all my food. And lots of rest.
Water, water and more water. Drink like there’s not tomorrow!
Yeah, I also go with the eucalyptus oil in a large saucepan of hot water, plus chicken soup or cups of tea.
I always get a chiropractic adjustment and can feel my sinuses start draining as I am walking out of his office. Feel better soon!
15 drops of potassium iodide in a glass of apple juice will do the trick, it fixed mine and I was chronic for years…Wait a day and then have three drops a day for a couple of days…You should shake it by then…
Larry
Oddly hanging my head upside down for a few minutes (like over the edge of the bed) helps to dislodge some of the stubborn stuff. You can feel it moving up then you turn right side up to blow it out.
Mucinex 12 hour, drink plenty of water, and eat spicy foods. Feel better!!
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Ephedrine HCL is one of the few things that ever worked for me to clear congestion and open my nasal passages. I also felt like it got rid of my mental stuffiness and brain fog and gave me a ton of energy. Try synephrine if you want a legal and safer alternative.
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Urine Therapy:
Drinking your own Urine and Also Using it in a Neti Poti and add some colloidal Silver to in the neti pot. Research it so that you do it correctly and understand urine is NOT a waste product but the bodies excess nutrients, sterile, and medicine.
I was very tired of chronic sinus infections and all of these miracle cures that actually made me sicker like Lauricidin or Colostrum that actually would make be very sick.
So I started using urine therapy, that and sovereign brand colloidal silver and also getting iodine in my diet via Lugol. Also make sure your Vitamin D3 levels are where they should be most people are deficient. I take 10,000 I.U. a day with Vitamin K. And I have not had an Anti-biotic or decongestant in over 5 years. when I do get sick it last about 48 hours or less.
The only times I have been sick is when I took Colostrum. It made me sick twice not doing it again.
I use colloidal silver. It breaks up the mucus and kills the bacteria. It does sting though. Place dry rice in a wash cloth, close with a rubber band. Microwave for 1 minute and place over infected area repeatedly. It relieves pain and it helps to kill bacteria and loosen mucus. Also, when you catch a cold, that means your immune system is down. Your body becomes allergic. Go on a hypo-allergenic diet and drink 8 oz of water every hour you’re awake. Google diet. That’s why chicken soup effective. No ingredients that trigger an allergic reaction. Don’t be afraid to use a simple decongestant as soon as you feel nasal activity. I have a green smoothie recipe that is great prevention, but any one consistently drank will help.
Peppermint herbal tea with a spoonful of honey usually helps. Drink/breath in hot water with lemon wedges or lemon juice. Also, eat chicken soup with LOTS of pepper (if you don’t mind spicy). Lavender or mint espsom salts or bubble bath in a hot bath works well.
Feel better soon!
Oh my all these sound sound so good,when I say I’m sick I’m sick,I’m so tired of this,head hurt,face hurt,can’t breath at all.nose drip,drip,drip.all night all day,going too try these remedies.i hope and pray some of these work,thank you all for your comments.