Coping With a Virus
I managed to get by without having to go to Urgent Care last night.
We went out last night to see if there were any OTC cold medicines I could take, but since the pharmacy in the store we went to was closed we couldn't even get Claritin-D. I guess it's kept behind the counter.
I'm managing just fine with lots of help from DH, and a few simple remedies:
We went out last night to see if there were any OTC cold medicines I could take, but since the pharmacy in the store we went to was closed we couldn't even get Claritin-D. I guess it's kept behind the counter.
I'm managing just fine with lots of help from DH, and a few simple remedies:
- Lots of rest and fluids
- Tons of tissues
- Salt baths to help with the muscle aches (I'd use epsom salts, but I don't have any. So I've been using sea salt, which seems to work pretty well.)
- Ibuprofen. Thankfully I do have that on hand, compounded allergen-free.
- Hot beverages--particularly homemade honey-lemon tea. The combination of the hot fluids and breathing the steam probably helps more than anything else to break up bronchial and sinus congestion.
- Last night my lungs got the shock of going out into the ice-cold fog and standing there breathing the cold air for 5 or 10 minutes while DH maneuvered the kids into the van. Since the side door was frozen shut, he had to put them all into the back of the van through the front passenger-size door while I stood there shivering violently, waiting to get in. It was miserable, and it took me a long time to warm up, but the cold damp air did seem to help my congestion somehow.
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 1:12 AM[Permanent link]
6 Comments:
I'm back, I think I lost my other comment ::blush:: (((A))) I hope you're feeling better soon. It's awful being sick. The PGR blog looks very interesting, I'm going to read some of it now. I'm off of work for MLK day so I get to play and catch up ;)
Seriously, if you can tolerate it and don't have any contra-indications, irrigate your nose with a salt solution and get the humidity right for the air that you breathe in. By clearing your congestion, do you mean that you coughed after breathing the cold air?
Depending on the underlying reason, chronic coughing can inflame the airways and itself cause more coughing.
Good luck with the virus and I hope that it is as short-lived as practical.
Regards - Shinga
Wendy, good to see you. Thanks for commenting--I hope you have a great day off!
Shinga, thanks . . . I might see if DH has the energy to find the humidifier.
What would be contraindications to irrigation? I bought a little kit, but it says not to use if you have a new ear infection or if it creates pressure in your ears. I already have a lot of pressure and a little pain in my ears, so I'm not sure.
I'm going to post about it in a new post, but I'm not sure what I have would be considered "chronic coughing". I'd be interested to hear your opinion on that.
Oh, also I'm pretty sure I'm getting a sinus infection of some sort now . . . would the irrigation help that or be contraindicated by it?
Most of the research on nasal irrigation has been done on people who have sinus infections.
Chronic cough is a cough of 3 weeks duration. However, it seems as if episodes of acute coughing, if repeated and frequent, can also irritate and inflame the airways.
Little Blog of Phlegm offers an excellent and detailed guide to airway clearance through positional and other physical therapy techniques.
If you have a nebuliser, then some people get a lot of benefit from a nebulised saline solution because it thins and loosens the mucous.
Regards - Shinga
Dr. B used to say that cold foggy air was good for congestion in the lungs.
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