Submit your remedy here...
 

Dear Cold:

Why won't you leave? You are making my nose run, I'm coughing and I sound like some kind of icky frog creature. I took Robitussin, Dayquil and coughdrops - still, you persist, and I hate you.

No love for you,
Serena

SO, do you all have any suggestions for how to get rid of this vile cold?

whisky, lots of it.

;)

or move to mexico.

Pork, and pork products.

But I am a vegetarian...

EXACTLY!! That's why you have a cold....

Also, apparently, wearing Kleenex in your nose is not a preferred method of runny nose control.

Garlic and Hot sauce. Put it in whatever you eat.

Drink fresh squeezed lemon in water, heated up with honey and cayenne pepper in it.

Airborne and Zicam. TONS of water; avoid milk and sugar (i.e., don't pound the fruit juice or put lots of honey in tea - plain tea is better). Having said that, I find that hot ginger lemonade is bliss, in moderation - if you don't have a Trader Joe's near you where you can buy a bottle and just heat it up in the microwave, an easy way to make it is this:

1/2 lemon, washed
Fresh ginger
Honey
Water

Put a couple of cups of water in a saucepan. Cut off and slice about an inch square chunk of peeled ginger and place it in the pan with the water. Squeeze the lemon into the water, then add it to the pan. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in honey to taste.
You can expand this and make larger quantities if you're pretty sick. It soothes a sore throat and an upset stomach.

Feel better!

I have used a whole box of Kleenex today. A. Whole. Box.

And I can't cough anymore because my throat hurts so bad.

I am going to try some of your suggestions when I go home...

P. S. Sugary coughdrops and syrups are wicked bad and nasty for a cold. Get sugarless drops.

Try not to cough unless you have something to get rid of. If you feel a tickle, drink some water. Coughing irritates your throat and makes you cough more.

when you go home ???????

Do you share an office with anyone? They would probably be glad if you left early!!

Get lots of sleep if you can. Take care and good luck!

Echinacea tablets. 3000mg or above. 10000mg would be ideal. They have antibiotic properties and act directly on the throat and sinuses.

^i concur. echinacea. and vitamin c

The Rite-Aid version of airborne is like $2.99

Me, too.

Crack for sick vegetarians.

De-toxify. This really works.
 

(Be careful with this remedy if you are on long-term medication - it might flush it out and you'll need to build up the levels again).

Take a thumb-sized (or larger) hunk of fresh ginger, chop it up and boil it forever - 30 minutes to an hour or longer if you like, in lots of water.

Run the hottest bath you can stand. Remove a good-sized mug of the hot ginger water and add honey and lemon to taste. Pour the rest into the bath, Hop in and soak for half and hour, sipping the fresh ginger infusion until gone.

When you get out, wrap yourself in a sheet because you're going to sweat - a lot.
(the next part is crazy but my natureopath swears by it - something about what it does to pulling the "chi energy centers" lower or some such thing - so I finally gave up and tried it and I was shocked to discover she was right)

Okay. While you've been soaking in the tub, you've also been soaking a pair of cotton socks in a bowl of ice water. Wring them out, put them on, and pull on a pair of 100% wool socks over them.

Go to bed. Sleep. The socks will be completely dry in the morning, and you will feel better. I had to talk my husband into trying this and now he swears by it.

Does Airborne help after you've gotten sick ? I just heard about it tonight, believe it or not.

My only remedy for colds is actually a preventative measure. Vitamin C - I take 1000mg daily, and I hardly EVER get a cold. Even when I get one every few years, it lasts only a few days. I try not to take any medication during the day - just let it drain and break up on its own. Then I Nyquil it at night so I can sleep for a good 8 hours. If I must take any other medication, I am careful to take ONLY what I need. If I'm coughing "shallow", I take a suppressant, for those "deep" coughs, I take an expectorant. I only take antihistamine if I cannot blow my nose any more. And in the mornings, if I can't clear my nose and throat before it's time to leave for work, I STAY HOME. Better for me, better for everyone in my office.

The sock thing sounds fascinating - any idea what the actual theory is ?

1 gallon cold water
1/2 gallon cold orange juice (minute maid w/calcium)
1 box puffs plus
nyquil for the night
dayquil for the day
campbell's chunky chicken soup
rest. lots & lots of rest.

Although Airborne & Cold-EEZE are supposed to work great, too. :)

i'm sick right now. what i did was:

go home from work
drink liter of water
sleep
get up and pee
drink another liter of water
sleep
and now it's 9:16 am and i feel a bit better.. trying some jam on toast for breakfast now!

after breakfast im going to steam with some camomile flowers, helps the lungs!

get well soon! :)

stop fondling turkish chickens!
:)

i'm not sure if i dreamt this; but didn't they just prove that
vitamin c doesn't actually work?
:confused:

(whisky is proven of course)
;)

He's right you know....the only vitamin that helps the body overcome cold and flu is Vitamin P, which can only be absorbed by having sex with a Polish woman.

All I know is that before I started taking C regularly, I had normal colds like everyone else - 2 or so a year, and every so often a killer. Doesn't happen any more.

But I have heard the Polish woman theory..........

i just take some Nyquil before i go to bed.... knocks me out for at least 6 hours... seems to always make me feel better in the morning.

my friend swears that theraflu works well too. he says he takes it all of the time and it works for him every time.

of course, they both taste awful... but i guess if it makes you feel better.

Theraflu has those new strips now...melt in your mouth...

Greg swears by Theraflu. He takes it the instant he feels a cold coming on, and claims it prevents it from developing.

thats what my friend does too... even if im feeling sick, he is taking theraflu so that he wont catch it...

Will it work with a Polish man too??

I'm back!
 

You all are the best! Thank you for all these wonderful suggestions. I am finally back amongst the living here.

I do work in an office, but you pretty much have to be on your death bed to get off work. I supervise three and edit for about six different departments, so I'm expected to be here, coughing and disgusting or not.

Here is how the last week breaks down -

4 boxes of Kleenex
1 box of Dayquil
8 Tylenol Extra Strength
2 bottles of Robitussin
2 shots of whiskey
1 gallon of orange juice
1 small bag of sugarless Vitamin C Halls
1 small bag of Coldeeze lozenges
8 cups of hot tea, not sugar
4 packets of vegetarian ramen noodles
2 envelopes of Theraflu
100 gallons of water

Unfortunately, I was without a computer, so I didn't get all your lovely suggestions until now. And I can't really say which of my remedies did the most to get rid of this nasty thing. I can say that I only came to work for a short meeting yesterday, then went home and did the Theraflu and SLEPT.

Now I can taste and smell again, and I'm eating. Whoo hoo!

You all are gorgeous and lovely and amazing. xoxoxoxox

*hugs* Glad you're feeling better. :D

not enough whisky

Don't worry...I'm making up for it, now that I feel better!

I had about 6 cocktails last night and mmmmmmmmmmmmm, were they the best ever!

Ack, it made its way to Oklahoma and now I feel like a-s-s.

I think that was echinacia (sp?)

So sorry Gatsby...

Do try the Theraflu. I think it dried everything up and made me sleep, which I really needed.

I sure hope you feel better soon.

Hugs!