Hello. I have the worst cold ever! I never get sick. I just finished a 10 day rx of augmentin (antibiotic) that had the dose pak of steroid for the first 5 days (or six cant remember). Well the chest thing is gone but now I am stuck with this serious cold. I have one good nostril and the other is well lets just say it is doing its own thing.

I have taken thera flu extra strength cold. But it only puts a dent. Ate chicken noodle soup. and still feel like crap. Also took alkaselzter extra strength, and it helped me sleep today.

Getting ready for work now, we dont have sick time. I work from 10p to 630 am.

Will I have to just suffer for a few days, or does anyone have any magic?

There is an old saying in Germany: "Treat a cold it will last a week, leave it be and it will take 7 days." Sorry you got sick. Are you sure it's not the flu? Don't allow yourself to get dehydrated, take lots of "C" and get as much rest as you can. Too bad you have to go to work.

Cyberhugs from CA

I think I had the same thing you do! I think I slept the better part of 2 wks! 5 days ago I finally got antibiotics for the sinus infection part of it. I still sound bad, but I'm finally feel'n better.

Hope you feel better!

I forgot about the vitamin C. Ill have my kid make some oj for me. I think I am out of tablets.

I figured I'd have to suffer.

thanks for the reminder about C!

My brain is broken and forgot.

A big hug may help, since online you can not give me your cold.

Feel better.

awwww thanks for the hug! it is a little betteR! ;)
Well, I better get in shower. Hot steam sounds good. I wil checka again before I leave.

I heard "oil of oregano" helps. You can get it at a health food store. A few drops in water (not too much it will burn). Ask at the store, they can tell you the ratio. Tastes awful but apparently it works. Touch wood I haven't been sick enough to take it, but my friends swear by it.

Take care.....

Hope you are feeling better soon! If you just had a cold, those antibiotics were not a good idea. If you had an infection, the meds should have cleared that up and what you might have now is a cold virus. Antibiotics won't help.

Vitamin C, zinc, water and rest should help with the common cold. Antibiotics are useless. Please don't abuse antibiotics. You may really need them some day and they won't work if you took them for the wrong reason. Unfortunately, our bodies become resistant to antibiotics, so you want to hold out taking anything like that unless it's really needed. Doctors throw those drugs at patients because patients whine and think antibiotics cure the common cold. They don't.

A little education goes a long way. I know most doctors don't want to explain if you're not willing to listen and comprehend, but if you're curious, engage them in conversation. They're really quite informative.

Sorry I'm so preachy, but just had a friend's son contract MSRA this week. Thank goodness he didn't abuse antibiotics or he might have lost his foot or leg. I'm going to spread that word!

The anitibiotics were for my chest infection. I have a tendency to get pneumonia (4 tiimes in last 5 years) so the anitbiotics were for something else.

This was just a little present on the side.

And no you aren't preaching. Antibiotics are abused. I only take them once a year, maybe twice at the most. I worked with a woman whose husband had MRSA and it was just awful. She finally had to quit because he didn't take care of himself and she had to be home with him so much. I think he finally has it managed but will never be the same.

I am going to fill up on C and Zinc. and get as much rest as I can.
Thanks to everyone for the help and kind words!

Hugs to you and lots of hot liquids. Stay away from ice as it increases your phlegm output. Try a nasal wash. Walmart sells them. Works wonders.
Lots of mommy advice coming your way.
Oh, I forgot. My family calls this the mommy bath-1 cup of epsom salts to 2 cups apple cider vinegar. Run bath water as warm(hot) as you can stand, pour in the ingrediants, get all the way down as far as your body will allow, soak a wash cloth in the water and place over your face. After you dry off, jump in bed, cover up, and sleep away. This helps rid your body of toxins. Good for sore achey muscles and just relaxing.

I love your bath idea. I'm going to try that next time I get a cold. I just take zinc and hope it goes away soon.

LOTS of fluids, little or no caffeine, breathe in a LOT of steam and stay away from meds that dry up the mucus... it is better to take a product like mucinex that keeps it moving. When it gets dried up and sticky you are more apt to get an infection. Since Doc told me this 20 years ago, I have only got bronchitis once :wink: and we get over the colds faster without sinus infections too :D:D:D

That Mommy bath sounds wonderful!! I'll try it out when I need it.
Zinc works amazingly well for me.

My Dr. gave me a prescription for pills to clear up nasal congestion. They worked the first day. I don't remember the name of it, it's been a few years ago. It was the worst head cold I ever had. Dr. put me on 10,000 units of Vit D a day and I can tell a big difference in how better I feel everyday.

Do you take that much Vit D everyday???

Cold-Eze, those suckable tablets containing zinc, are supposed to work, but relief isn't instant.

To get the mucus flowing out, here's an Indian soup recipe. It's very tasty, and it sure does make the mucus flow! Of course, if your nose is very sensitive right now, you may not want to do this.

2 rounded Tbsp. grated fresh ginger root, with any juice that comes out with the grating
4 cups water or chicken broth
3/4 tsp. salt, or to taste
1 Tbsp. cumin seeds, toasted in a dry skillet & ground (right. I just used a small amount of ground cumin)
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 fresh lemon
cilantro leaves for garnish (or flavoring)

1. Bring the ginger and broth or water to a boil.
2. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. The liquid will reduce to half.
3. Add the salt, cumin, pepper; simmer for 2 more minutes.
4. Squeeze in the lemon juice and garnish with the cilantro.

Serves 4-6.

I also find that drinking 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar in 1 cup warm-hot water a few times a day will get rid of a cold fast, like within 1 - 2 days. Yes, it's nasty, but it works.

That's what I was going to say. DH andI take 4000 a day on a Dr.'s recomendation. He siad all adults could take that much because we don't get nearly enough sunshine. So far, knock on wood, so good. I know here in WI we dont.

I know this sounds weird but grease the bottom of your feet with Vicks and cover with socks before you go to bed at night. Mr great grandmother shared this with our Mother when we were little and I still do it. Vicks also helps to get rid of athlete's foot.

I was just going to suggest the Vicks on the bottom of your feet and then cover with white socks. We always do that and it works! That came from my Swedish grandmother.

Thanks so much--was going to take a bath tonight to help out my cold as well--luckily I haven't done so and will try your method.

We have always rubbed the vicks on our chest and throat area and cover it with a soft cotton cloth, old diaper or piece of flanned. Helps open the nasal passages and the heat penetration from the vicks feels good but will not burn the skin.

This is something that was always done to us too and I still do it. I always tie a bandana style handkerchief round my neck at night too. Sometimes, to be on the safe side I wear a turtle neck and keep the bandana on all day. It seems to keep the nose open a little better. Hope that you feel better soon. HUgs :D

great advice so far! Hot bath, keep warm, fluids and rest is the best. Eat only if you feel like it and things like hot soup.
Hot tea with honey and lemon, sip as hot as possible as often as possible. Hot water bottle on chest or back.
These are things that work for us.

Since I've had a couple of pretty jarring falls in the bathroom, I bought a shower chair. I don't dare get down in the bathtub (I live alone) for fear I'd fall & break a bone or two. Martina, MadQuilter screen name on Personal Diaries & Announcements, just fell in her tub, hurting her shoulder real badly. Guess I could have a container of epson salt & vinegar stirred up in a container & pour over myself while in the shower, sitting on the chair. Does that make sense? Vinegar is good to cleanse all the soap & conditioners from your hair, so that would help more than the cold. Wonderful idea. Thanks everyone for the advice.

Yes I take that everyday sometimes more. When you are out in the sun for 20 minutes you get over 20,000 units of vitamin D. Imagine how much you get at the beach or working outside all day? If you aren't getting at least 20 minutes of sun exposure over 30% of your body every day you need a lot of vitamin D. I take the 1000 unit small gel tabs. A blood test will tell if you are Vit D deficient but if you stay inside you probably are.

Get a NETTIE pot to clean the sinus out. You can fine them at drug store or Wal-mart in the nose spray section. Nettie pots look similar to a magie gennie pot. Several of my friends use their's daily and swear by how good. My doctor said take Vit.C 2000 milagrams for 3 days(only 3 days).This give the body a extra boost,when you feel a cold coming on.

I live in NY but I had a cold where I had sneezing for three weeks and went through boxes of tissue, I felt awful afternoons and nights. I was good a few hours in the morning. My ears and glans hurt. The skin peeled off my very red nose and my vision was blurry from watery eyes. When this was done I had to cough a bit and clear my throat. This was the worse virus in a long time. My son caught it and my grandson...there's only lasted 10 days. Nothing much helped. I took benedryl and nose spray and tylenol. remember keep washing those hands I already take multi vitamins and calcium with extra c and d

See if your doc will give you that shot for pneumonia. My parents have gotten & it has sure helped. I know this is gross but my sister sweares by flushing your sinus with saline water. You can buy a kit at drug store to do it. May help with the breathing. OK, what does the Oil Of Oregano do open up your head? I will remember this. God forbid you don't want MRSA. It is awful. DH & DS have both had it. Dh had to have surgery twice & so has DS.

put a thick layer of vick on the soles of both feet, put on socks at betime. This is also supposed to be good for calming a cough in both adults and children. I also use a neti pot to irrigate my sinus cavities. Can get pot at Walmart, also this solution can be bought in sqeeze bottle. Hope this helps. Bernadine

Am into the 3rd week of a cold and sinus infection. Other than the cold remedies and antibiotics for the sinus infection one thing that helped a great deal was using Sinus Rinse twice a day. It washes out the sinus's and helps lessen the inflamation. You can find it at any drug store I believe.

Try Echinacae. It boosts your immune system and it is over the counter from Walmart or the grocery store.

I have chronic bronchitis, COPD, and all those awful things that happen to people who smoke.
Last December, I was going down for the count again, and I went and bought ZICAM ...
The swabs are good for opening your sinuses, and they have quick melt tablets that so helped that night time coughing that is irritating and costs us sleep.
ZICAM also has cough drops that I haven't tried, since I can't stand cherry, but maybe next time <g> ...
It is now February, and I should be going down again, and I still might, but I am loaded up with ZICAM ... someone told me that it is zinc and calcium ... ZINC is absolutely a cold buster. <wave>

no cold for 2 years. took the seasonal flu shot in October and have had very bads colds in December, January and now February. No flu shot next year!!

Please be careful with Zicam. There is a lawsuit out because of it. My sister lost her sense of smell from using it & taste for some things because of Ziacam. Doctor told her that is what caused it. Just a word of warning.

If you go to Snopes.com, you will see that the lawsuit is a small part of the ZICAM story. As I noted, there are more than just nasal swabs as forms of getting the minerals and vitamins into your system. I happen to be one that can use the swabs, and since recommending this to many people, none of them have had a bad reaction. As far as losing sense of smell and taste because of ZICAM, the article at Snopes.com points out that many people lose those senses as a side effect of having a cold.
At one point, ZICAM pulled their swabs, but they are now back on the market, so the "lawsuit" has no merit, or the company was able to disprove the point. <wave>

I have had a cold for the past couple of days I find that Suphedrine PE (sinus & allergy) has been a great help.

Hope you feel better soon

speaking of which! SInce I developed asthma about fifteen years ago, and an allergy to PINE pollen (pretty sad for a girl born and raised in the Pacific Northwest) ... I wonder how many "colds" are really allergies? ... I thought at the time that you had to be born with asthma to have the problem, but apparently not! And, I shouldn't have been surprised that I would develop allergies later in life, when I had a brother born with allergies and my mother had suffered from allergies off and on all her life ... did I miss my point?
That sometimes, our "colds" are not colds, but allergies, and when we don't move to stop the histamines from building up, then we get infections ... (not a DR, but I play one from time to time <g> ... but, just sort of thinking ... food for thought)

I have had a cold for the last two weeks and it's finally going away.

The Neti pots, squeeze bottle and saline solution are all part of the same thing. This process works wonders! You fill up the Neti pot or the squeeze bottle with warm water, put in the granulated saline and pour/squeeze into one nostril letting it fall out the other. It is amazing how much "stuff" you get out by doing this process. My doctor says you can use it as many times as you want to.

Seems this is the winter for colds! Hope everyone is feeling better soon. :D

You poor little thing, so sorry you are feeling bad. I know lots of people feeling the same way. My dad being one of them. It must be a bad cold virus this year. My sister swears by rubbing Vick's Vapor Rub on the bottom of your feet. It is supposed to really help your symptoms. Wear socks though!!! If you try it let us know if it helps you and I sure hope it does. Don't forget the chicken soup and lots of rest. Lots of hugs from Tennessee.

A few years ago, they said that the reason the chicken soup helps so much is because of the garlic in it. Not only that, but the soup, with its salt and broth are great system builders, while being mild on the digestive process. I didn't read the recipe back at the first of this thread, but if it has ginger, a bit of horseradish, and I saw some Indian food ingredients ... all perfectly natural things that will help your immune system, no doubt! And, did anyone mention that honey is an antiseptic for your throat, which is why a couple spoonfuls of honey, followed by lemon juice does such wonders for helping someone with a sore throat. I think the lemon cuts the phlegm that so often comes with colds.
I think it is just wonderful the way everyone has come forward with all these natural, simple aids to help you heal up from your cold.
Another thing my hubby taught me when we were first married is: Get a bottle of Eucalyptus (sp?) oil. Put a few drops on a handkerchief, and hold it over your nose, it helps promote drainage and clears airwaves - - interestingly enough -- the oil is a primary ingredient in Vicks. *** edit: it doesn't clear the airwaves (not even Vicks will tame Howard Stern!) but it will clear your AIR PASSAGES. <g>
Mother also used melted Vicks on a cotton swab for the earaches we developed during the mumps. INSTANT relief!
I have decided that the reason you want to stay really covered up when you are using Vicks is because it opens up all your pores, which is good for allowing the bad stuff out of our systems, but not so good for allowing our systems to be susceptible to cold weather.
Didn't the Indians use a sweat bath to get rid of toxins in their systems when they were sick? I think the Vicks is a different method of the same issue ...
And, lots of fluids ... clear (if nothing else <g> you can DROWN the bad germs! LOL) <wave>