I, (and my parents too, actually) have had a cold that just doesn't seem to
want to go away.  It will disappear, and then appear again, and there never
seems to be any indication, why.  This is very abnormal for me...I've never
been sick so often since i was about 5!  (and those were all allergy
related...).

At this point, i'm trying to avoid going to the doctor, mainly because I can't
afford it....does anybody have any ideas how to maybe get rid of it?

24 responses total.

If this is the respiratory bug that has been going around most of this year,
you're probably in for a long siege.  There is a particularly virulent and
resistant strain of "bugs" (maybe bacteria, maybe virus, maybe mixed) that
has hit many people this year.  From the cases I've seen (not my specialty,
so this is merely anecdotal) it usually comes on mild, gets bad all of a
sudden, then might even get _worse_, before it improves but lingers. 
Exacerbations are common.

Stay hydrated, eat/drink lots of chicken soup and wash your hands often,
e3specially when you touch other people or items others have touched (like
doorknobs, faucets, etc).

If this continues to linger, I suggest you see your doctor for proper
evaluation.  It may be nothing, but this is the kind of bug that landed my
friend in the hospital with over 3 weeks on a respirator in ICU, only for her
to die suddenly from an unrelated anyerism once the infection was resolved.

Don't take chances.

well, goig to the dr is out for now, mainly because i can't afford to.  i'm
pretty sure this is not respritory infected, but my sinuses keep swelling up.

A commonly made mistake is telling yourself, "it's just a cold" and going
about your business as usual. It may be a common cold virus, but you need REST
in order to fully recover from it.
Sounds like that may be hard for you, though, since it will cost you $$ same
as seeing your doctor would.

YOu could have also developed my problem...I have a deviated septum...which
is common.  I have had one operatin so far and it didn't take...So now I
suffer nearly year round...What happens or as I understand it from the doctor
is that my sinus area becomes infected and then because of improper breathing
The infection never gets dried up and then destroyed....I am not a doctor but
that is how i understand it..

eeyore, sleeping with a humidifier going can help.  Sometimes, your sinuses
can dry out and that can cause them to swell.  Before you say"it's just a
cold", evaluate your mucus (gros huh)  is it thick and yellow, or is it clear?
if it is thick and yellow, you really should see a doctor.  Check in your area
to see if they have a free health clinic.

Yes the humidifier works wonders..also try taking a band-aid and stretching
across the bridge of your nose.  Simulating one of those "Breath-Rights"

I always had a humidifier in my room as a child. Back then, it was this
drum-lke thing that rotated while it put steam in the air. Was very loud and
roared, so whenever I was sick, I also didn't sleep. :/

I saw some humidifiers recently and they were all small and totally quiet.
I was in awe of this... my friends were like "Why are you so excited over
this?" and I was like "But they're so... Little! And ... quiet!!"

Mine is great!!!it is a 13 gallon humidifier.....Not too noisy, but I can't
hear it over the fan...

We had steam humidifiers when I was a kid - breathing steam with some
added Vap-O-Rub, under a blanket...yuch. There are now the mist humidifiers,
so it is worth mentioning to a) use distilled water, and b) sterilize
frequently as you don't want to "mist" bacterial cultures (that's how
Legionnier's Disease was spread).

when i was having problems, i was literally boiling pots of watero nt
thestove!!! :) it helped.  :)


i new that i was pretty sick, but things seem to vbe slowing down a bit...:)i
do wtill have a slight sniffly nose, but i can survive that  :)

glad you're feeloiing a little better eeyore.

so am i!  :)  (giggle)

Is it just me or has anyone noticed how "wierd" the colds and flus have been
ever since the troops came back from desert storm? We blew up Sadam's
biowarfare research facility sending "who nows what" up into the atmosphere.
Many american soldiers have chronic illnesses and some have died as a result of
what they were exposed to. The official statement says that these illnesses
were probably caused by the mixture of vaccinations that the troops recieved. I
personally know some people that went over there. They said that
biological/chemical warning systems were going off many times a day. The
commanding officers told the troops not to worry, that the devices were
malfunctioning. My friend new several specialists whose job it was to ensure
that the devices were working. They checked these devices many times a day, and
never found any to be malfunctioning. I even read a story were a serviceman who
came down with illnes actually passed something on to his childern before he
died, and now his children are struggling with a chronic illnes that doctors
cannot identify. Am I paranoid?

Probably, somewhat, but maybe not totally. The obfuscation of facts by the
military, in regard to exposure of troops to chemical agents, is not very
reassuring. I do not know if the effects reported are real or just hysteria,
but a clinical investigation is justified (IMHO). 

It would help your posts if you turned on word wrap. There is a command for
doing that, but I just looked for it and did not find it. You can also
copy a recent .cfonce from someone, which would have it. You could
do this with the command   !cp /a/v/g/vgoel/.cfonce .cfonce
which will replace your .cfonce file with a recent one that has word
wrap and other features.

I believe the command is/was    use_gate    .

Sir,
   I have a regular colds ie I suffer from cold after every one month.
Initially I took tablets but from later on wards i stooped. It cures
automatically. But it again comes and stops.I consulted lot of doctors
but it did not help.When I have cold, my life becomes very hard because
I can not concentate anything.Please help me out.

Nsri, maybe you should explore the possibility that you have allergies rather
that a recurring cold. 

There has been sufficient research on the use of large doses of Vitamin C
to confirm that the *symptoms* of a cold can be lessened and the duration
shortened if you take 1,000 mg or more every day.  Since the body is
self-regulating for Vitamin C (it secretes the excess, and your stools
become looser when you are getting too much), self-dosing is not risky. 

I have also found that if I am catching cold frequently, my immune system
is not up to par, and Vitamin C also has a positive effect on reducing the
frequency with which I get sick.  

Experiement a little, and you will probably find a daily dosage of Vitamin
C in the 1,000 mg+ range that will keep you feeling healthy most of the
time.  

Unless, of course, it is allergies, which are a whole different story.  

I have not used any of the methods described above, for preventing or
ameliorating colds, but haven't had one for more than a year. In March
both my daughter and wife had bad colds, but I caught neither (much to my
surprise. I can't say for sure why this is, but I ascribe it to large
intakes of fluid - tea, in particular - for lack of other explanation.

I don't know how, but I overdosed on Vitamin C once *and* I was sick at the
time.

<birdy is sticking with her
nighttime-coughing-sniffling-sneezing-wake-up-on-your-kitchen-floor medicine>
<eg>

Give eeyore the credit for that one...

why give me credit for  that medicine?  (
*meg wonders what medicine it is....:)

Carson told me that that's your line about Theraflu or NyQuil...  I can't
remember which one.  =)

actually, i think that line was probably marc's...i don't ever remember saying
anything like that, but it DOES sound like something shepherd would say....:)

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