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ADomDoc -> RE: Caring for Your Sick Dom (9/13/2007 10:54:42 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: psudodrew
My Sir left work early today with a bad sore throat. I was wondering if anyone would share with me ideas on taking special care of a Dom who is ill?
Seems to be lots of old wives tales going around here! (Though the blow job shouldn't be ruled out! :-)
2 major causes for sore throat (that are common & not tragic)
1) pharyngitis (such as a strep throat)
2) post nasal drip from any upper respiratory bug (most commonly rhinovirus)
Both respond to the following (although #2 responds best)
1) decrease post nasal drip w/ Benadryl OTC or Chlortrimeton
2) decrease congestion w/ Sudafed (the OTC replacements work but the old one that is now behind the counter is my old reliable)
3) get rid of the gunk that is piling up w/ the expectorant: guaifenisin (Robitussin is common, cheaper work ok). You have to drink lots of fluids for this to work. It gets rid of congestion in sinuses AND the chest.
4) Chicken soup DOES work ... but not out of a bowl ... only out of a cup. Research by the National Institutes of Health in the 70's proved it. It's all about the steam. SOOOOOO. Either fire up the pot of hot water OR ... spring for a $20-30 facial steamer (Respirizer is an expensive equivalent) and suck steam up your nose for 5 min. Research showed that it kills the hatched virii in the nasal pharynx.
5) THEN drink a BIG cup of the hottest fluid you can tolerate ... this kills the hatched virii in the oral pharynx.
6) Virii hatch out of cells approx every 10 min. Soooo ... 10 min after you stop sniffing steam ... do it again. Followed by a hot drink ... Keep repeating til symptom free OR almost.
7) For the 1st HOT drink, consider Theraflu. It supplies lots of the drugs you need (#1, #2) that you need ... BUT has a horribly high dose of Tylenol. So ... if you do Theraflu (or copycats), you can't even look at a picture of booze, or you'll kill your liver.
8) For following Hot drinks ... consider teas, tea w/ honey, tea w/ lemon & honey.
DO NOT DRINK CITRUS or DAIRY PRODUCTS, they'll make you MORE snotty & make the sore throat worse.
9) No problem w/ gargling w/ either A) salt water or B) Hydrogen Peroxide diluted 50:50 w/ warm water. The Peroxide tastes like shit, will make you foam at the mouth, burns ... but will work well. Salt water is for sissies ... or for the 1st time or 2 when you feel your shittiest.
10) For coughs ... it's hard to do better than Riccola Cough Drops (NOT Throat Lozenges ... they won't get the cough as well). Other brands of cough drops don't compare.
11) For only sore throat, different lozenges work in different ways. Chloraseptic numbs your throat but doesn't fix anything.
Ok ... so 3 hrs later the sore throat is back ... Just keep repeating the steam + hot drink & keep your benadryl loaded up. Repeat the Theraflu according to label instructions.
In the morning, the sore throat will be back. Just do it again 2 or 3 times. I take the steamer to work ... along w/ some teabags. You can do 1 or 2 steams on a 15 min break. It might look stupid BUT it works & you'll be healthier much faster.
Repeat the steam & hot drink anytime the sore throat or stuffiness or post nasal drip recur.
As I said at the top ... this is less effective for a strep pharyngitis ... BUT it still works ... just slower & not such a high level of relief. It also works for the common cold, flu, and just about any common upper respiratory infection that you might encounter. If you do this once or twice, you'll LOVE that facial steamer ... the best investment you can make!
IF you do this the night before ... when you feel like shit and you 'just know' you are gonna be sick in the morning ... you won't get sick.
IF you wait til you have a full-blown upper respiratory infection, this will minimize your symptoms (to almost nothing) and shorten the cold by 50%.
Finally ... for most colds, visiting your Dr or ER is a big waste of your time and your $$$, and antibiotics are rarely any better than just getting thru the cold. And, in 99% of cases, this regimen is more effective, faster, and a hell of a lot cheaper than anything your Dr can tell you. (He didn't read the research from the 70's)
BTW: Research has repeatedly shown that Vit C & Zinc don't do shit for a cold. And they might actually make them worse.
FWIW: Just about all viral infections start with upper respiratory symptoms ... so your "cold" COULD be polio, meningitis, or a biological attack ... but if it is ... this can't hurt ... and ain't anybody in ER gonna figure out you got tagged by a terrorist until MUCH later. So sniff steam, and if you don't die, figure you ducked another bullet.
NB: IF you are one of the unlucky 10-20% who have a G6PD deficiency and react badly to Benadryl, Tylenol, Beans ... and LOTS of other things, then you are S.O.L. with most of the drugs I've listed BUT you can still do the steam & gargles. G6PD deficiency is also known as Favism.
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