Flu / cold

[Smithy]

I have the flu, it's given me a really banging headache and a sore throat, dry nose but this is the first day I have had the flu it normally lasts for 5-7 days with me and then a horrible tickly cough for 2 weeks.

What do you recommend to help with the flu?

 

[Krystal]

Oh no, Smitty. Hate to hear you are sick. Drink lots and lots of liquid; water, chicken broth, and tea with lemon and honey. Also, a spoonful of honey is helpful for coughs and sore throats. Acetaminophen (tylenol) can help with headaches and body aches. Get plenty of rest. I'm sure others have ideas as well, but it is usually time and rest, and maybe a big bowl of homemade chicken soup. Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

If I think I am getting some kind of a cold, I start with putting drops of hydrogen peroxide in my ears. If you hear it fizzing, then it is killing infection in there, and that can help stop a cold before it gets started.
Salt and vinegar help a sore throat, so I slowly munch a dill pickle if I have a sore throat.

Cayenne and other hot peppers will also help fight off a cold, so I will have chips and salsa if i feel up to it, and I sleep a lot. As Krystal mentioned, hot tea or water with lemon and honey are good, too, and of course the chicken soup.

I don’t like chicken soup, so I usually don’t have that, and unless I have a really high fever, I don’t take any kind of aspirin or Tylenol, because the fever will kill of any invading germs or viruses.
I just bundle under the covers and let it burn itself out, for the most part. Fighting off the flu also helps give the body a natural immunity , so that is a beneficial thing.

I take lots of vitamin C (500mg every 4 hours) anlong with a B-complex capsule until I am feeling better. Also, every day I have 50 mg of zinc, and D3 to help prevent any flu bugs, as part of my vitamin regimen. I very seldom even get sick, so I don’t get any of the vaccinations for that.

 

[Marie Mallory]

My mother and aunt didn't stop the fever either @Yvonne Smith , they used it to fight the infection, and like you we got bundled up and literally sweated it out, no fun but guess it worked.
Honey, lemon and whiskey was our cough syrup.

 

[Krystal]

My mother and aunt didn't stop the fever either @Yvonne Smith , they used it to fight the infection, and like you we got bundled up and literally sweated it out, no fun but guess it worked.
Honey, lemon and whiskey was our cough syrup.

Yep, a hot toddy! My grandpa would also add some horehound candy in the drink.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

My mother and aunt didn't stop the fever either @Yvonne Smith , they used it to fight the infection, and like you we got bundled up and literally sweated it out, no fun but guess it worked.
Honey, lemon and whiskey was our cough syrup.

Having the temperature go up enough to kill the invading germs is natures natural defense, and people who take something to keep from getting a fever are just prolonging the illness, because as long as you are not running a fever, the nasty little bugs just keep on multiplying. And they live on sugar, so drinking orange juice or eating anything sweet feeds them and helps them to multiply faster.

Starving them and cooking them out with a high temperature helps a lot.
When we went to the fitness center every day, I would sit in the hot tub for a while first to raise my body temperature, just as a way of prevention, and then into the cold swimming pool, hoping that what the heat didn’t kill , the cooler temperatures would.
That is why you can only culture yogurt or kefir at certain temperatures, too hot or too cold and the bacteria die, and the same thing applies to bacteria in our body.

 

[Dead2009]

I usually cover up with like 3-4 blankets and then eat soup all day. Sometimes it helps.

 

[Mary Stetler]

I have not been sick in years but visiting hubby in the hospital, I picked up an annoying cold. They say there are more illnesses to get in hospital than in the general population.

 

[Nancy Hart]

I have not been sick in years but visiting hubby in the hospital, I picked up an annoying cold. They say there are more illnesses to get in hospital than in the general population.

Yep. That's where I got the flu last time, in 2015, visiting a relative. Tried an experiment---did NOT take any fever reducers, and kept warm all day, like @Dead2009. It seemed to shorten the duration.

 

[Mary Stetler]

Yep. That's where I got the flu last time, in 2015, visiting a relative. Tried an experiment---did NOT take any fever reducers, and kept warm all day, like @Dead2009. It seemed to shorten the duration.

You are right. I did that last time I had the flu. I don't take that stuff anyway as it is bad for the liver and kidneys.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

Yep. That's where I got the flu last time, in 2015, visiting a relative. Tried an experiment---did NOT take any fever reducers, and kept warm all day, like @Dead2009. It seemed to shorten the duration.

Our body heats up when we are sick to a temperature that can kill invading bacteria or viruses, so a fever is the body’s natural defense for healing. Unless the fever gets high enough to damage the brain, it is an important part of getting well faster. When a person takes medication to stop the fever, you slow the body’s ability to kill the virus.