I have in my home four little dwarves:

Sneezy, Coughy, Whiny and Grump.

And then there’s me, leaning far more to Evil Stepmother/Big Bad Witch than Pretty Princess today.

TGIF

I’m still not hitting 1000 words a day. There. I said it. Right up front. I’ve got this ridiculous cold/cough/feel like I’ve been hit by a truck thing happening and it’s been, as the hipsters in Oakland say, hella hard to write. I know I sound like at 10th grader who can’t seem to remember her homework, but it’s all I’ve got.

I have, however, been writing every day. And that’s more than I can say for myself a month ago. Also, I’ve been averaging about 400 words a day, which is, as you might remember, a lot more than I was doing before on the days that I said I had written.

I’ve also been meditating every day and even used my Wednesday “night off” last night to go to a meditation group over in San Rafael I’ve been wanting to check out. It’s run by this guy Rick Hanson, who just published a book I’ve started to read called Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love & Wisdom. Rick is a clinical psychologist and considers meditation to be “for mental health what aerobic exercise is for physical health.”

Rick gave some nice “instruction” during the first part of the 30-minute meditation, which is different from all the group meditation I’ve done in the Shambhala tradition; in Shambhala, you basically come in and sit down when the bowl rings and stand up when it rings again.

The more interesting part came after at the start of a 45-minute discussion about practice. Before we even got into the topic of the night, an older woman asked him a question (paraphrased here): “When you talk about having compassion for yourself, or self-love, what exactly do you mean? Because I think self-love is a bunch of crap. I wasn’t raised that way. You do things for others, maybe, but you certainly don’t waste your time loving yourself.”

Let me just say Rick Hanson is a more evolved human being than I am because after she spoke, he smiled—genuinely—and nodded and said, “That’s a really good question and comment.” He then went on to cite three recent neurological research studies that show how having compassion—that is, the desire to end suffering—actually helps to rewire your brain to make you better able to respond to adversity.

And while it would be great if we had a big group of people around us all the time giving us tons of compassion and building our brains, most of us don’t, so it’s good if we can learn how to be compassionate toward ourselves.

Interestingly, the theory is that when your brain stem “hears” a message of compassion, it can’t tell whether you or Johnny Depp or the Dalai Lama is the one giving it—it’s all the same to the brain stem, and every bit it helps this rewiring process.

The takeway from all of it was if you can take just a second or two when you’re feeling sucky to say to yourself, “Wow, this sucks. I really hope I feel better soon,” then you’re making it much easier for your brain to have the juice to help you take action that will help you get out of your sucky place.

   We it has been seven days today since my cold set in.  As of this morning I finally felt back to 100% normal.   Monday and Tuesday, still waking up with a plugged nostril, but a handful of kleenex lasted the whole day.  Yesterday was much better, though I did have a piercing head pain that would not go away.  By head pain, I do not mean a head-ache.  This was a pain, starting on the left upper side of my head, which drove like a nail right into the insides.  Not sure what a migraine is supposed to feel like, but maybe I now do?

   Today, one full week from last Thursday, I felt very much back to normal, with the exception of a minor head-ache that seemed to come and go throughout the day. 

   So, how long does a cold last?  Well, this one was bad for four and better for three days.  But regardless, this cold was still better than coming down with a flu bug.

   May yours be non-existant.

… did you ever cough so hard that you pee’d yourself?

Yea.. that just happened

Yea.. SO not fun!

So now I am finally going to address this latest hysteria. I have been watching the development and the debates with raised eyebrows, wondering what all the drama was about. I also watched two of my children having the swine flu, and I must say I don’t get the fuss. It is an influenza, that’s all. There are other flues that hit a lot harder and kill a lot more people. I am now suspected of having it – the swine-flu; I have an insistent cough, sore throat,  muscle-ache and tiredness. I am told that I must not see people and that I am for the coming days a pariah to society – a walking killing-machine! I have seldom felt this healthy when I was sick. I had the bird-flu some years ago – now that’s what I call sick! That was the last time I was sick, so maybe I just pick up animal-diseases? I do not believe in vaccines, and I outright refuse the N1H1 vaccine. I believe that if you live according to health, you can handle disease such as flues. Besides which, I read a report that one of the side-effects (very small % mind you, but I wouldn’t want to be that %) is irreversible respiratory muscle collapse. On top of which, the company that has created this vaccine (and markets it after a less than minimum trial period) has been granted relief from all responsibility if there are negative side-effects – no law-suits for them! Now why would this be done? I leave it to you to figure it out. Please comment if you wish.

Today I would like to share with you my aromatherapy usage during this illness. It all started with a slight tickling discomfort in my throat that I recognized as that of an infection in the brewing. I quickly started my gargle-routine with 2 dr. of Tea Tree (melaleuca alternifolia) in luke-warm water. I did this morning and night for the first day, a bit more often for the second day and realized on the third day that I had been lazy and nonchalant in my self-treatment (being busy enjoying myself instead). So the third day I increased the gurgling to every 2nd hour. I also massaged a blend of oils on my throat: Red thyme (thymus vulgaris), Benzoin (styrax benzoin), Lemon (citrus limon) and Niaouli (melaleuca viridiflora) = 6 dr of each in 20ml vegetable oil. This blend is very soothing to an infected respiratory system. During the night I would wake up from coughing (3 times during the night); then I took 1 dr of Eucalyptus (eucalyptus globulus) straight; I put the drop on the back of my hand and lick it, washing it down with some water. This gave me wonderful, instant relief during my 12 hour sleep.

I have an aroma-fan in which I diffuse oils of; Eucalyptus (eucalyptus globulus), Cloves (eugenia aromatica) and Lavender (lavandula augustifolia). These oils are calming, anti-bacterial and cleansing in nature. The scent of cloves reminds me of Christmas so it does double duty as season-enhancer.

For my achy muscles I use a blend of Marjoram (origanum majorana), Black-pepper (piper nigrum) and Roman Chamomile (chamaemelum nobile) = 10 dr of each in 30ml vegetable oil. I use it in the morning and before bed at night.

As an all-round “pick-me-up” I use Orange (citrus sinensis) for the warm, light and happy feeling it induces.

I eat plenty of garlic, vegetables and fruit. I drink masses of water and herbal teas such as mint, fennel, chamomile, rose-hip and green tea. I rest a lot, read a lot, study texts I didn’t have the peace to study earlier and I use this time to focus myself on how I want to live my life. Except for this really irritating cough, I can’t say I am suffering.

Before your sniffles morph into a nasty sinus, chest or ear infection, here’s how to fight back.

By Sari Harrar

Mugs of tea, a bottle of ibuprofen and a truckload of tissues won’t get you through every case of the sniffles. Too often, the common cold turns into something more serious, zeroing in on your personal weak point to become a sinus infection, a sore throat, a nonstop cough, an attack of bronchitis or an ear infection. And if you’re prone to a particular complication—thanks, perhaps, to an anatomical quirk (such as sinus obstructions), an underlying medical problem (early asthma, for example) or a history of a particular illness (childhood ear infections)—your odds of getting sicker, faster, can skyrocket.

But complications aren’t inevitable, new research shows. “With the right strategies, you can cut your risk significantly,” says Gailen D. Marshall, Ph.D., M.D., director of the division of clinical immunology and allergy at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

The trick: Act quickly. “The problem isn’t the virus replicating in your respiratory tract. The congestion and thick, trapped mucus that lead to complications are caused by the immune system’s response to the infection,” says pioneering cold researcher Jack M. Gwaltney, M.D., professor emeritus in the department of internal medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. “It all begins within 10 to 12 hours after infection starts. You should take action the minute you feel the first symptoms of a cold—the scratchy throat, runny nose and sneezing.”

If you’re prone to sinus infections

Once a cold virus latches on to cells in your respiratory tract, immune system responders cause blood vessels in your nasal passages to swell and leak fluid. They also boost mucus production and slow down cilia—the microscopic hairs that normally sweep secretions out of your sinuses, ears, and lungs. “This sets the stage for a sinus infection, because viruses and, to a lesser extent, bacteria thrive in trapped mucus,” says Dr. Marshall. The best approach is to keep your nose open. “I preach to my patients all the time: If you can breathe through your nose, the likelihood of developing secondary complications will be much, much lower.” Here’s how:

Use a decongestant. Sprays containing phenylephrine (Neo-Synephrine) or oxymetazoline (Afrin) shrink swollen blood vessels in the lining of your nose, allowing mucus to drain. “Sprays work almost instantaneously,” says Dr. Marshall, “but you can’t use them long-term. After three to five days, they can cause rebound congestion—stuffiness returns just a few hours after each dose, tempting you to use the spray more and more frequently.” To avoid this, spray for no more than two or three days, then take two to three days off, he advises. “You’ll be able to use it safely for another two to three days if necessary.”

Try a pill. If you hate sprays, decongestant tablets can also clear your stuffiness, a recent Australian review of cold-remedy research has found. And they can work fast, reports a British study of 238 women and men with stuffy noses: Those who took 60 milligrams of pseudoephedrine (brand name: Sudafed) reported a 30 percent drop in congestion after just one dose. The downside is that decongestant pills make some people very jittery and they can keep you awake, so you shouldn’t take them late in the day. (Sprays don’t have these side effects because they’re topical—only a little is absorbed into the body.) Ask for pseudoephedrine at the counter: Because its ingredients can be used to make the street drug methamphetamine, federal law requires stores to keep pseudoephedrine-containing products behind the counter or locked in a cabinet. Choose one that’s just a decongestant to make sure you get the recommended 60-milligram dose—combination remedies may contain too little decongestant for maximum benefit.

Consider an antihistamine. In recent studies, antihistamines (the old-fashioned kind, like Chlor-Trimeton, not the new non-drowsy formulas) reduced nasal secretions by about 50 percent, says Dr. Gwaltney. The less gunk in your nose, the less there is to become trapped in your sinuses. He suggests taking antihistamines for up to a week; if these make you sleepy, be careful about driving and similar activities.

Thin that mucus. As a cold progresses, nasal secretions grow thicker and thicker because they are carrying away viral particles and sloughed-off respiratory and immune cells. To keep things moving, try an over-the-counter mucus thinner that contains guaifenesin (such as Mucinex), Dr. Marshall advises. “You’ll know within 48 to 72 hours whether it’s helping you,” he says. “Your mucus will be thinner, and it’ll be easier for you to blow your nose.” It’s OK to take one along with a decongestant.

Honk with finesse. Vigorous nose blowing propels nasal fluids up into your sinuses, which can actually cause an infection, Dr. Gwaltney’s studies have found. Hard blowing also triggers “reflex nasal congestion”—more nasal-passage swelling. It sounds silly, but “fewer than half the people we see know how to blow their noses the right way,” says Dr. Marshall. Here’s how: With a tissue over your nose, close one nostril and gently blow the other side for three to five seconds. Switch sides. “It may take several blows, but it works.”

Sip chicken soup. In one lab study from the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, researcher Stephen Rennard, M.D., discovered that his grandmother-in-law’s chicken soup recipe might help relieve some of the inflammation behind cold symptoms. In the test tube, the soup inhibited movement of white blood cells called neutrophils by 75 percent; researchers suspect that in your upper respiratory tract, this curtailed movement could translate into a reduction in cold symptoms.

Warm your sinuses. Placing a comfortably hot washcloth on your cheeks or drinking a cup of hot tea—or doing both—feels good if sinus pressure is building. Warmth may also nudge cilia, which become sluggish when you have a cold, so they sweep back and forth more briskly to whisk mucus along. Inhaling steam in a warm shower also helps, or drape a towel over your head and a basin of very hot water and breathe deeply.

Try andrographis paniculata. This herb is less well-known than other botanicals purported to fight colds, but in one Chilean study of 158 cold sufferers, nasal secretions dried up significantly for those who took 1,200 milligrams of andrographis extract daily for five days. It’s available at natural foods stores; if you try it, follow package dosing directions.

Call the doctor if you have a fever; your face or the area around your eyes is red, swollen or painful; you have a severe headache or neck pain; or your symptoms (sinus pain, pressure, yellowish discharge) haven’t improved after a week’s time.

If you’re prone to acute bronchitis

A few days after cold symptoms appear, you may notice trouble brewing in your lungs. “Upper respiratory tract infections develop in the—no surprise—upper airways and then spread to the lower,” notes Ron Eccles, Ph.D., director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University in Wales. That’s why you start coughing two or three days after a cold begins—a sign your windpipe and the tiny tubes in your lungs are becoming inflamed. These steps can help protect against infection:

Steer clear of cigarettes. Smoking and inhaling secondhand smoke weaken your ability to fight off viruses and bacteria. At the same time, dozens of nasty chemicals in tobacco smoke may cause inflammation in your airways, further slowing the cilia. The result: more coughing, as you try to clear globs of mucus.

Don’t curl up in front of the fire. Breathing in the tiny particles in wood smoke can be especially irritating to airways when you have a cold, says Melvin Pratter, M.D., head of pulmonary and critical-care medicine at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J. One report estimates that emissions from wood fires (as well as coal-fired power plants, cars, and other sources) cause 20,000 cases of acute bronchitis a year. If you use a wood stove for heat, be sure it burns efficiently; best is one certified by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Skip spray cleaners. Aerosol and pump-bottle products contain chemicals that can irritate lungs, says Dr. Pratter. “When you have a respiratory infection, take a brief holiday from cleaning.”

Try ivy-leaf extract. In a German study of 1,350 children and adults with chronic bronchitis, more than 85 percent of those who took this botanical remedy had less pain, coughing and mucus production. Several varieties of the extract are sold in natural foods stores.

Call the doctor if you have a fever, shortness of breath, or a severe cough; you have asthma, emphysema, or COPD; or you get bronchitis often.

If you’re prone to ear infections

They’re not just kid stuff: About a third of adults with colds wind up with negative air pressure in the middle ear caused by swelling or congestion of the eustachian tubes. These tubes normally let air into the middle ear and, if necessary, drain fluid from it. A blockage or swelling can create a vacuum so that when the tube opens up again it may suck in virus-packed secretions from your nose—and lead to an infection.

To prevent it: Start decongestants—stat! Sprays and pills that shrink swollen nasal passages can help keep your eustachian tubes open, says Dr. Marshall. Don’t waste any time: Those tiny tubes can become blocked quickly—within two to three days after a cold begins.

Don’t pop your ears. Taking a big breath, then forcing the air back into your ears while you close your mouth and hold your nose is a good trick to try when your ears need clearing on an airplane. But it’s best not to use that technique when you have a cold—you may push infected mucus into the ears.

Avoid smoke. In laboratory studies, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that repeated exposure to tobacco smoke (cigarettes, pipes, cigars) slowed down cilia in the eustachian tubes. “That’s not helpful if you’re trying to move mucus down the tubes and away from your middle ear,” says Birgit Winther, M.D., of the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville.

Call the doctor if you have a fever, severe headache, dizziness, worsening pain or hearing, or there’s swelling around your ear.

Help your body heal

Give in to sleep. When you have a cold, high levels of immune system chemicals called cytokines make you sleepier than usual. Don’t fight it: Shorting your sleep for even one night blunts the body’s immune response. If a cough is keeping you up, try Advil, Aleve or another NSAID, says Dr. Gwaltney. These block prostaglandins, which experts suspect trigger the cough reflex.

Avoid intense workouts. They can make symptoms worse. But moderate activity like a 30- to 45-minute walk won’t hurt—and, by boosting immune function, could help you fend off your next cold.

Eat lightly. Your immune system dials back appetite during a cold, presumably to conserve energy and body heat for the big fight against viral invaders. Just be sure to drink plenty of fluids—they help thin mucus.

Relax. In a study of 55 people experimentally exposed to a flu virus, those who reported more stress developed more severe symptoms and released more of the immune system chemicals that cause inflammation. The same happens with cold viruses, say the researchers.

At-home Rx: Sinus Trouble: The Saline Solution

A daily saline rinse may reduce sinus symptoms by as much as 72 percent and even cut the number of infections for those with chronic sinus problems, researchers from England’s Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital concluded after reviewing a series of studies. This ancient remedy softens and removes crusty mucus, thins nasal secretions, and helps wash away viral particles, bacteria, and irritating immune system compounds. You can purchase a sinus-rinsing tool called a neti pot at a natural foods store, get a special attachment for electric water-jet irrigators (like Water Pik), use a squeeze-bottle sinus rinse (such as NeilMed rinse), or simply cup your hand to deliver the saline solution to your nose.

The recipe: Mix 1/2 teaspoon non-iodized salt, plus 1 pinch baking soda, with 8 ounces warm water.

Rinsing directions: Lean over the sink with your head down (some neti-pot instructions advise tilting your head to the side slightly). Gently squirt the saline into each nostril (or inhale, one nostril at a time, from your palm). Breathing through your mouth at the same time will help keep the solution from entering your mouth. (If it does get in, spit it out.) Gently blow your nose. Repeat until you’ve used the 8 ounces of salt water.

Click on the image to make it bigger.

A bit of trivia:

• This is my first use of a thought bubble.
• This is my first attempt at hair.

So, I’ve been coughing for four days.  On day #3 my wonderful husband located and purchased the famously horrible Canadian cough syrup, Buckley’s.  It’s been at least 6 years since I’ve tasted that putrid concoction.  Man, is that creamy white liquid potent.  It’s a cross between drinking Pinesol and Vick’s vapor rub.  It certainly cleans you out.  But sadly, I’m still coughing.  Enough about me.

Then new ICBF waitlist for adopted children just came out!  It is the Colombian government’s official list of the ages of those kids who went to their forever homes.  It does my heart good to see movement and know those 10+ kids will be home for Christmas.  However, it is truly sad how long these families have waited.  The shortest was 4 months.  That’s just a plain fluke.  Most were between 40 and 52 months.  And that is from the time of their accepted referral.  So add on all of their paperwork, homestudy and fingerprint time!  Wow!  We are at 23 months currently. For the last 5 and 6 year olds that went home, the families waited 12 and 30 months.  So we should be sooner, rather than later.  Whatever that means.  I’m hopeful.

Last night we did the family thing and put up the Christmas tree together while Christmas music serenaded us LOUDLY.  I had not been out of the house for three days and was donning my pink fuzzy jammies and wild bed-head, so I made many threats to those who insisted on videotaping the occasion.  I know they got me when I wasn’t looking… and they’ll pay for it.  Not that I’m into retaliation, but a moms gotta do what a moms gotta do.  We put up the slender Jenny Craig tree in the living room with all the blue and silver ornaments, ribbon, lights and beads.  It’s quick and easy, doesn’t take up much room and looks festive through the front window. 

As I was digging through the ornament box looking for white, blue or silver ornaments, I vaguely remember leaving 60% of the ornaments in the box last year… the red ones… brown ones… green ones.  So, I made an official decision, followed by an announcement that we would have two trees this year.  A fake, skinny blue and silver Jenny Craig tree in the living room and a real, fresh, full pine tree grown in Oregon with all the other colored ornaments in the family room.  My relations were elated.  They begged to head off to Home Depot RIGHT NOW!   Alas, it was too late.  And they don’t have vivid memories of dead pine needles in the shag carpet…. I know the value of waiting until Dec. 19th to buy the real tree!  Freshness is where it’s at, baby.  Plus Rick and I are going away for 5 days, and who would water the tree???

There is much more decorating to be done.  The opened boxes are all over the downstairs staring at me.  But I coughed too much and needed a nap.  They can wait until tomorrow.

As long as I don’t move too fast, or laugh, and stay as still as possible for as long as I can, I don’t cough or wheeze so much.

Half of my day is spent worrying,
a creep through my ribs into my chest
each time I hear a cough
worried it might not be stoppable,
each time I can’t hear a wheeze at night
worried maybe the breathing has stopped altogether.

Worry forces my eyes to snap open
with the slightest bump.

Worry should just be a person
perched heavily on my shoulder
taunting me with scenarios of the scary.

Worry might be a companion,
annoying and depressing at best,
definitely not a friend.

And there he goes again.

I am taking an expectorant, a cough suppressant, an antibiotic, and an inhaler.

Yet I am still wheezing up a storm.

This cough has lasted over 2 weeks.

This bullshit needs to end.

But at least I spent my Thanksgiving with my grandparents.  My grandfather was a surgeon, my nana is a nurse, and one of my aunts who was there is a doctor.  So within 20 minutes of arriving, there were rummaging through drawers and cabinets looking for medicine to give me and calling the pharmacy for more.  It’s great having relatives who can get you prescription drugs.

Okay, so you have probably heard the hype and fear broadcasting about the Swine Flu.  Schools are being shut down and you hear Swine Flu everywhere.  The Swine Flu is just another influenza.  Symptoms include: body aches, fever, cough, runny nose or congestion, sore throat, headache, chills, fatigue, diarrhea or vomiting.   This sounds just like the run of the mill flu that hits every year around this season.  What medical health experts are saying is that the difference is that we do not have immunity to this flu because it is a new flu.  I think I hear that every year.  This is the reason that flu vaccinations are pushed so much. 

Here are a few things that alarmed me when I saw what was in vaccinations:  Vaccinations still have mercury in them, some have lower dosages than others, but still mercury remains.  Vaccinations have MSG in them!  MSG!?  Why would vaccinations have MSG in them?  Vaccines also have chicken embryos.  This is why you are asked if you are allergic to eggs.  There is some information circulating that says that the H1N1 vaccine can make people sterile.  Whether this is true or not, will remain to be seen. 

The N1H1 flu attacks the kidneys.  In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the kidneys and lungs are connected.  This connection is why you hear about the wheezing and coughing that people affected by N1H1 go through.  The lungs are the outward manifestion of the attack on the kidneys.  If you know how to naturally deal with a kidney and urinary tract infection, then you will easily know how to deal with the N1H1 virus. 

In my wellness center, I concentrate on making immune systems healthy and strong.  If your immune system is healthy, you will not get sick nor contract a disease even if you are exposed to something. This is important to remember.  A vaccine never offers guarantees as viruses, bacteria, diseases and microbes are always mutating.  The only guarantee we have to stay healthy is a strong immune system.

But let’s say you have some added stress in your life.  Stress has been proven to weaken your immune system.  You start to feel a little sick.  Here are the steps you can take to stop the flu dead in it’s tracks before it has a chance to take hold of your body.  If you do wait and find you are in the midst of full blown sickness, these tips will still work, but will take longer. 

10 Ways to Stop the Swine Flu (or any flu)

1.  Cranberry and Elderberry

 2.  Take Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda.  I use and recommend Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar and Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum Free Baking Soda.  Arm and Hammer has aluminum in it.  You can find Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar and Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum Free Baking Soda at most health food stores.  This alkalinizing drink will help to keep your internal environment in a state that viruses, bacteria, and microbes cannot live in. 

        Mix 2 Tablespoons Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar and

        ½ teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum Free Baking Soda

         in 6 oz of Pure Spring water.  Mix and drink right away. 

         Repeat 2-3 times per day.

 3.  Spicy Hot lemonade will help sore throats and thin mucous congestion

          6 oz of pure spring water.  Squeeze 1 lemon for the juice.   Add

          enough raw honey to cut some of the sour.  Add 1/8- 1/4 teaspoon

          Dried Cayenne Powder

          Sip.  Kids love this too.

 3b.  For a sore throat, you can also gargle with ¼ teaspoon of Dried Cayenne Powder and water.

 4.  Chew Honey Comb.  You can find Honey Comb in honey at many health food stores.  Take a teaspoon of the wax and chew like gum for 20-30 minutes.  This also helps with headaches and honey will also thin mucous. 

 5.  I’ve always felt so many supplements fell short, but there is a company, Premier Research Labs, that is sold through Doctor’s offices that has the purist and most effective formulas I have ever seen.  They are an excipient free company. Excipient free means what you see on the label is what you get; there are not any added chemicals or fillers.  They do not have any hidden ingredients or flow agents that the FDA does not require a company to put on the label. Call 1-800-325-7734 and order directly from the lab. 

        You will have to take higher than average dosages when you are not feeling well.  4 or 5 capsules of each.

        You will want the Quantum Turmeric.  I found out that most Turmeric sitting on the store shelves is rancid and has lost much of it’s power.

        And you will want the Nucleotide Complex.  I think this should be a part of everyone’s medicine cabinet.  The supplements are priced reasonably and work like magic.  They are also safe for kids too. 

        Take these 2-3 times per day.

 6.  Baths are one of the best remedies. 

         For a good detox bath:

         Add 1 cup Epsom Salts and 1 cup of Baking Soda. 

         Add in a half of container of dried ginger. 

         Soak in a hot bath for 40 minutes.   

         Get out and lightly mist 3% Hydrogen Peroxide on your skin. 

         Wrap yourself in a warm robe and get under multiple blankets to continue sweating. 

 7.  In cases of High fever and severe coughing at night, especially in children, before bed:

       Take 2 whole garlic cloves and smash them. 

        Lay gauze on the bottom of the feet and place the garlic on top of that. 

        Wrap the garlic with self adhesive bandage or tape. 

        Put on socks.  Remove in the morning.  You may see a red area on the bottom of the feet where the garlic was.  This is just an example of the power of garlic, and this will fade in a few days. 

 8.  Do not overeat.  Overeating stresses your system.  A liquid diet is great when you are not feeling well.  Make sure you get some garlic in those liquids! 

 9.  If your body requires sleep, get good sleep.  Do not turn on the tv for a few nights and get some sleep.

 10.  Drink plenty of Pure Spring Water to flush the viruses, bacteria, and microbes out of your body.

Getting sick is your body’s way of telling you to slow down and look at something.  Use this time to look at areas of your life that are not working very well or where you are the most stressed.  Find simple solutions where you can improve your situations and be happier. 

You will be feeling normal very quickly if you adopt these 10 steps.  These are proven to work in my clinic and also in my own home.   Print out this list and keep it on your refrigerator and keep a copy on your computer for future reference. 

This article is not intended to replace medical care or advice.  This article is my opinion and is intended to be used as information only.  This is not intended to imply a natural cure of Swine Flu/N1H1.  If you have any questions concerning your health or the health of someone you are caring for, seek the advice of your health care provider. 

 Kelly Colby/AyWellness ©2009

 aywellness@aol.com

http://www.aywellness.com

http://www.kellycolby.wordpress.com

 Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/aywellness

   Should have known better than to write anything about catching a cold without tempting fate.   For a nice Thanksgiving treat, I am being treated to a good old fashion head cold.  So after a couple nights of sinus head pressure combined with a good case of post nasal drip, drip, drip, I am starting to feel a little bit better on day three.

   Though still better than coming down with the flu, I really wish this could have held off until after Turkey Day!  Food is not as good when you are constantly interrupted with a blowing your nose, and or coughing.  It also tends to place you down at the far end of the table from the other family members.  Not that I blame them of course. 

  So, if all predictions are correct, I can perhaps look forward to getting my first good nights sleep tonight.  So far, no problems with chest congestion, so hopefully this on will not morf into an infection battle. 

  So, just like everyone else, I really do not like colds!

Okay being the operative word here. Putting it in perspective people have had worse months, I acknowledge that. But for me this one has been pretty grotty. My last post was about London. That was around 4 and a half weeks ago I think. When I was down there I got a bit of a tickly cough. You know the kind that sounds pathetic and doesn’t actually seem to clear anything? It soon grew into a big daddy cough and within a week my nights were so bad that I was banished downstairs because I was waking everyone up, including our one year old girl, Roo. I have to add here that we have a sofa bed, Rob wasn’t sending me to the floor.

After two weeks of having the cough and everyone saying ‘ooh you should get yourself to the doctors’, I went and was given anti biotics for Bronchitis. I hadn’t even realised I had a high temperature.

A week later I was still coughing just as much and had started to get tight pains in my chest, but the receptionist said I couldnt come down to the surgery because I was displaying ‘cold and flu like symptoms’. I won’t even go in that one…

So the doctor was kind enough to agree to speak to me over the phone. said ‘ooooh yes I hear you still have a nasty cough, you need much stronger anti biotics’. That night the pain in my chest spread around to my left and was horrendous and I couldn’t breath properly. By 8.30 the next morning I was vomitting from the pain, couldn’t move but somehow how got to the GP surgery with the help of my mum-in-law, and straight into a sideroom. The next bit is a bit hazy, but the two GPs that saw me were saying things like ‘pulse….120……..pleurisy…..left lung not working properly….hospital…..stronger pain relief…..check for any other complications…’

Staff at hospital were great and I was a brave soldier for having blood taken. Tests ruled out pneumonia and blood clots and so I was able to come home with strong pain relief. Honestly, shake me and I’ll rattle.

That was a week and a half ago and I’m starting to lessen the strong pain relief and its manageable, just tight when i take a deep breath. When I stop and think what it was like, even last saturday, its a million times better. I do feel as rough as a badger’s bum, as they say, tired all the time and really congested but apparently thats to be expected. I have tablets to counter act the dizzy feeling but my hearing is really muffled (like when you put your head under water, your own voice sounds really loud and anything else is really blurry?). So I’m apparently talking too loud and can’t hear anything anyone says to me. Rob said it’s like living with an old man. I have explained that its’ his low voice and I’d hear him better if he spoke in a higher pitch… And I don’t know why I couldn’t just be like an old woman at least…

Hello Loves!

So I have this horrible cough right now. After two days of struggling, I went to Google.com and typed in “Cure a Cough at Home”. This is what I found. (They work!)

<3 Shelbie

Honey when taken with black pepper will loosen the mucous and make you spit the mucus. This will be helpful in throwing the irritating substances of the trachea and help you in treating cough. This is one of the effective cough home remedies.

Another effective natural remedy for cough is that if you have cough due to cold then just drink tea made of ginger 3-4 times a day or just eat raw ginger, this will subside your cough.

Drinking red raspberry, honey suckle, or liquor ice tea with honey is helpful in treating cough in 2-3 days. This is one of the effective cough treatment.

Take 2 tablespoons of honey and mix it in one cup of orange juice and drink it. This is a good cough remedy.

Prepare a cough syrup from baked onion juice, comfrey tea, and honey. Drink it daily and your cough will subside.

Another effective cough treatment is to before going to bed just take a spoonful of honey with few drops of vodka or brandy in it.

Mix 1-2 tsp of pure home made turmeric powder in warm milk and drink it twice a day for coughs of a bacterial origin. Within 2 days your cough will be gone by using this method. This is one of the useful home remedies for cough.

You may also gargle with warm water to which lot of salt is added as many times as possible during the day. This will help you to clear phlegm caught in the throat.

Mix 5 ml of onion juice with 10 ml of pure honey. Take this mixture at least twice a day. This will relieve your cough and will also help in soothing throat. This is one of the best cough cure.

Take 5ml of fresh tulsi (Ocimum sanctum, Holy Basil) and mix it in 10 ml of pure honey. Consume this daily at least twice a day.

Add turmeric to a vessel filled with boiling water and inhale the fumes. It is also beneficial for controlling cough. This is a good natural remedies for cough.

Prepare a paste using ¼ teaspoon of red pepper, ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger, 1 table spoon of apple cider vinegar, 1 table spoon of honey, and 2 tablespoon of water. Mix them well and take 1 teaspoon of this mixture whenever you have cough. This is one of the simplest home remedy for cough.

In case of severe and chronic cough, crush 2-3 garlic and some cloves. Add this to a glass of milk or water. Then boil the mixture till it reduces to half the original content. Filter this and add a little sugar to it for improving the taste. Drink this twice a day and continue this treatment for at least a week to see visible results.

In a large vessel just simply take plain water and boil it. Now inhale these vapors of steam by covering your head region with the towel. Taking deep breaths in between is advisable. You may cough in the beginning and every thing will be fine in 10 minutes, it will help you later to throw out the waste (phlegm).

One of the useful home remedies for cough is to take 1-2 gm powder of black pepper, long pepper, and dry ginger in equal ratios. Take this mixture of powder with honey, 2-3 times a day.

Cough cure – Take some garlic and boil them in water, and drink it. You can add sugar to improve the taste.

Crush some black pepper and eat them with honey.

Chop up an onion, and pour honey over it. Let it be on a sauce pan on low flame for few minutes. Now take some honey from it and allow it to be in your throat. Do not drink water for at least half an hour of this treatment.

For dry and frequent cough take 1-2 gm powder of fried turmeric with honey, thrice a day. This is one of the useful cough treatment.

Take 2-3 cloves and fry them in butter or ghee, and chew them.

Take half a gram of powder of long pepper and mix it with rock salt, twice a day, with hot water. This is one of the simplest cough remedy.

Take some garlic pieces and then boil it in water, add some sugar, lemon and honey to it and drink it.

Take equal parts of black pepper, dry ginger, and sugar mixed in ghee or butter two times a day.

This home remedy for cough is one of the most useful ones. Take some water in the pot and put it to boil, after the water boils, put three cloves of garlic, one spoon of oregano and leave water for boiling around 4 -5 minutes. Take this water in cup and drink directly or add it in milk and then drink it.

Take little water say ¼ cup , to this add 2 teaspoons of honey, half a lemon, cinnamon and one eucalyptus leaf and drink it.

Take some eucalyptus and mint leaves and boil them in water. Now inhale its vapors while the water cools. It will help you in curing your cough. This is an another natural remedy for cough.

http://www.natural-homeremedies.org/homeremedies-cough.htm

Cough is a symptom of any kind of obstruction in the respiratory tract. Actually, it is not a disease. Coughing is a reflex activity to clear your airways of phlegm, mucus and irritants. It can be caused by viral infection in your upper respiratory system. Viral infections include; influenza, laryngitis, popular cool, and bronchitis. These viral infections can too disperse to the lower respiratory system to induce a coughing.

Home Remedies for Cough

Grapes: Grapes are helpful in toning the lungs and act as expectorant. Simple cough is relieved through its use in a few days. Mixture of honey and grapes are very useful home remedies for cough.

Turmeric: The root of turmeric plant is very effective in dry cough. The turmeric plant root should be roasted and powdered. This powder should be taken in three gram doses with milk or water twice daily in the morning and evening.

Aniseed: It is useful and safe home remedies in hard dry cough with difficult expectoration. It breaks up mucus. Aniseed tea should be taken regularly for treating cough and cold naturally.

Almonds: It is very effective home remedies in dry coughs. It should be soaked in water for about 2-3 hours. It should then be ground well to form a fine paste and 25 grams each of sugar and butter added to it. This paste should be given in the morning and evening to treat cough and cold.

Onion: It is very valuable herb in treating cough. Onion should be chopped fine and juice extracted from it. This juice mixed with honey and kept for 4-5 hours will make an outstanding cough syrup. It is also helpful in removing phlegm. Take onion juice and lime juice in equal quantity and boiled with one cup of water and add honey for taste. This is very effective and safe home remedies for cough and cold. It should be taken two or three times a day.

Useful Tips for Treating Cough

• Drink plenty of water
• Use a vaporizer
• Take steamy shower
• Don’t smoke and stay away from smoking area
• Cough drops or hard candy
• Inhaler

Note: Antibiotics should not used to handle coughs because they are not killing viruses, they simply efficient in bacterium killing.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on any health program.

Copyright © Ryan Mutt, All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your website or in your ezine, make all the urls (links) active.

Read more Home Remedies for Cough to get natural relief. Also find easy and effective Home Remedies for Common Cold.

I feel like it’s been so long – and that’s because I haven’t felt well for two weeks! I still haven’t been able to work out, despite my last bright idea. Every time I move at all, I start coughing and coughing, and it takes a good ten minutes to settle down. I feel much better than I did before, and I’ve been going to work and school, I just cannot seem to get rid of this cough! I’ve had plenty of time to sit around and plan and think about my next big event, though, so that’s a plus. Here are my options so far:

1. Disney Princess Half Marathon- This race is kind of soon – March 7th. My coach ran this half marathon last year when she was getting ready to run the Boston Marathon, and she said it was really fun. It’s women only, and the course runs right through Disney World – the map looks kind of magical, I must say. Plus, Disney World in March; I bet the weather will be perfect, and definitely not too hot! The only cons are expense related: the flight to Florida, hotel, registration, it all adds up, and this looks like it might be expensive.
2. Vermont Marathon- There are a couple of options here. Run Vermont hosts a half marathon on April 10th, and a full marathon and relay on May 30th. While I don’t think I’m really ready to do a full marathon, the idea of a relay sounds like it could be really fun! The down side to the half marathon is that it is limited to 500 runners; I’ve really enjoyed running with as many runners as possible, thousands! It means there are a lot of spectators and fans supporting all the runners.
3. Providence Marathon- I’m from Providence, and I think it could be really fun to run the May 2nd half marathon. I bet all my friends and family would be able to come out for this one, and I’m pretty sure I’d feel like a rock star. Plus, it would be kind of cool to run in familiar territory – I could even go to Providence on the weekends to train on the real course! As far as I can tell, there aren’t really any serious downsides to running this race.

Ok, so those are the options up for consideration now. I guess the other thing is that I could probably do more than one of these! The race dates are all close enough that it would be hard to stay in half shape for a week or two, and then just run another one.

Maybe I should just focus on one event at a time!

-Hannah

Have you run any of these events?

It’s been two weeks since I’ve had this cough and it’s beginning to bother me. It’s not getting worse, and it’s not getting better either. At least I don’t have a cold, so it’s not that tiring. x]

This week is passing by so slooooowly. I want Saturday to come.
PS; It’s my Dad’s birthday on Friday and I still don’t have a gift for him. Any suggestions?

Fixing healthcare as a system, forget that debate. Let’s talk about those on the frontlines of healthcare.

For the past two months I’ve been in this sick-cycle. I must take it back to the beginning: my first trip to the pulmonologist.

I was running late.

“Traffic,” I explained, calling a half hour before my appointment. A courtesy call.

“No problem,” the receptionist told me.

“I’m here,” I announced, which I followed with my seal-bark cough. I was five minutes late.

“Sorry,” the receptionist retorted coldly. “The doctor can’t see you anymore. You’re late.”

I had just battled my way through traffic with whooping cough, and I was a whopping five minutes late. I even called and this is the thanks I get.

“Can you check with him?” I asked.

She glared at me heartlessly, but finally pushed away from her gatekeeper position to ask the pulmonologist. He happens to be a good guy and told the embittered receptionist he would see me. (By the way, he was taking patients even after I left).

But he didn’t cure me. Two weeks later I went back. A different doctor, though.

I displayed for the new pulmonologist my month-long coughing spasm, described the medicines prescribed to me by his partner, and detailed my enormous tea-intake. This doctor stood straddling the floor between the doorjamb: one foot in the room, the other out. He was reading my file without looking at the pages and glanced down the hallway where his other “patients” waited.

Then, for the first time, he walked fully into the room. He pressed the stethoscope against my back and very nasally said: “Breathe.” With each mouthful of air, I coughed. I felt like an auditioning actor pouring out his heart for a sleeping director.

“Here.” He handed me a prescription with the worst chicken-scratch that even a pharmacist would scoff at it, and like some superhero, one who had saved the day, he flew off into the night. Except he was really more of a villain who had just robbed me blind and he was prancing down the fluorescent-flooded hallway to overcharge more fools like me waiting for miracles. My co-payment for that two-minute visit was $15. That’s $450 an hour, not to mention the thousands per hour he’s billing my penniless insurance company.

I want doctors to make me feel like they earned that money. Shove a few tongue depressors in my mouth; take some blood without reason. For Chris sakes, test for a hernia to rationalize the bill. This was no doctor’s office; it was a healthcare assembly line. I was that poorly inspected car being rushed out to the market.

A few weeks later, I crashed. Convinced it was swine flu, I called my girlfriend’s doctor. They had Sunday office hours.

“I think I may have the flu,” I told the receptionist. “Can the doctor see me today?”

“The doctor’s very busy,” she snarled. “The earliest I can do is one month from now. Does that work?”

Taken from www.nightterrors.org

“Sudden awakening from sleep, persistent fear or terror that occurs at night, screaming, sweating, confusion, rapid heart rate, inability to explain what happened, usually no recall of “bad dreams” or nightmares, may have a vague sense of frightening images. Many people see spiders, snakes, animals or people in the room, are unable to fully awake, difficult to comfort, with no memory of the event on awakening the next day.”

You don’t want to be that person but we all have been at some point in our awkward, less than perfect lives…

You know,

-    That A-Hole who forgets to turn off their cell phone and it rings during a groom’s wedding speech.

-    Having a tickle in your throat and beginning to cough during a small, intimate theatre production.

-    Crying during a movie, in the cinema on your first date.

-    Being the nose sniffer during a crucial final exam. You can feel the people around you, staring, sighing, wishing an asteroid would land on your face.

-    Falling asleep during a work meeting. Not necessarily “full on” sleeping but your eyes are opening and closing at an abnormally slow pace.

-    Tripping as you walk into a house party… or a club.

-    Talking exceptionally loud at a party because the music is blasting but then it suddenly turns off. You’re still talking at that volume. Here, it never really matters what you’re actually saying, it’s always embarrassing. But usually whatever you are saying… is embarrassing.

-    Eating something and it’s so hot you have to spit it out. Only to look around and realise you’re in company.

I suppose we can take comfort to know that we’re not alone. It happens to everybody… unless it doesn’t and it’s just me! Oh no! Oh no! Don’t say it to be true!