Colds don't last two months. Whatever you have is not caused by a cold virus.
SARS pretty much
Dreaded lakanooki disease.
Or is that a Polynesian thing?
I had a chest x-ray about four weeks ago, it was clear. I had a complete blood workup done, my WBC was high (obviously from my body trying to fight this thing.I don't think it's a cold virus because colds don't last this long. I just bought some tea, hopefully that will help a little. Maybe it's just the Korean winter air. Who knows, but I'm originally from Alaska, so cold winter air shouldn't bother me and never has.
Cold winter air is not the cause of an elevated WBC.
Understood, I was focusing more on the mutation aspect or bacterial infection of some sort.Originally Posted by Appalachian Tater
.....Someday, like many others who joined WB in the early years, I may dry up and dissapear....
If she had a bacterial infection her WBC count (differential) would have shown elevated neutrophils, usually young banded neutrophils (called a left shift) and her doc would have immeadiately started and antibiotic and searched for a source of infection. She said her WBC count was elevated, that probably means her monocytes of lymphocytes are elevated, this could indicate a viral infection, or it could mean something else. This is why med school is four years long.
Adenovirus 14 appears to be a growing threat. It doesn't really "mutate" to turn into pneumonia in some people. Pneumonia is a term for symptoms of inflammation and fluid collection in the lungs and it always has an underlying cause, which could be an adenovirus or another virus or bacteria or even having food "go down the wrong pipe". Usually it is described as "bacterial pneumonia" or "aspiration pneumonia", etc. You are correct that if someone has bright yellow or green sputum a visit to a doctor and antibiotics may be indicated.
Really I was responding to the O.P. but it would probably apply to you as well. A common cold doesn't last two months. On the other end of the spectrum, someone at work today said she had the flu. Not really, someone in the middle of the flu can barely stand up.
As a general comment, most of the "remedies" recommended in this thread are useless. Hot tea (or plain hot water, for that matter) and a hot steamy shower along with deep breathing and forced coughing to loosen and expectorate phlegm may be helpful. Honey and lemon in the tea provide psychological comfort and the assorted home remedies discussed may provide a placebo effect. There are medications to reduce the intensity of the flu but they need to be taken at the beginning of the sickness.
It's not nuts. The best advice I was ever given when I had recurrent sinus infections was from a physician: cup your hands in the shower and snort the warm water and then blow it out gently.
Last edited by Appalachian Tater; 01-04-2008 at 00:30.
The ginger tea does help alleviate symptoms of throat irritation and phlegm, just as something peppery opens the nasal passages of clogged sinuses.
I first recommended Zicam, but she said she couldn't get medicinal help.
That's why I recommended the ginger and cinnamon mixtures.....
And echinacea definately helps as well to boost the immune system....much more than vitamin C does, IMHO.
Will they cure a virus, no......do they help alleviate symptoms to allow for rest and help make coughs more productive....yes.
....and you really shouldn't knock homeopathic remedies until you've actually tried them.
I was having issues with my gall bladder about five years ago. Every time I ate beef or pork, about an hour after eating, I got severe cramps in my gall bladder.
Doctor said it needed to be removed, but someone told me to drink a mixture of 1 cup green cold pressed olive oil and 1/3 cup lemon juice and lay on my right side all night as long as I could.
Facing the knife, I said "what the heck".......almost vomited trying to keep down all that olive oil, and made me not want to stray far from a toilet for the next 24 hours.....but you know what.....still have my gall bladder five years later and can eat anything I want.
Since then, I've been studying other remedies very closely......and fresh ginger tea is something I've done myself......It does help with sore throat and chest congestion, much like mustard wraps on the chest do.
Nasal congestion first week: probably a virus. This is a good time to try all of the natural methods. BTW: "homeopathy" is not the same as "natural."
After a week, it's probably a bacterial secondary infection (acute sinusitis). Good time for an antibiotic like amoxicillin. I also get great results with taking one Aleve-D plus one regular Aleve 2-3 times per day. The decongestant brings down the congestion and the naproxen is anti-inflammatory and an analgesic. Much of the congestion and pain from an acute sinusitis is from inflammation. Naproxen used to be 500-750 mg by prescription but went to 220 mg when it went over-the-counter. Now THAT is a homeopathic dose.
The cough may be due to post-nasal drip from your sinusitis. Or just post-viral bronchospasm.
After a few weeks, you gotta wonder if you're dealing with an allergy. Of course, even sick people get sick so you could have more than one problem.
My son is in the Air Force and currently stationed at Osan. He called over the weekend telling us he was experiencing the same symtoms you described. He told us he was taking Zicam which he purchased at the base BX.
I have a good friend who is Korean. She tells me that cleaning out the nose is part of her normal daily hygiene. She basically snorts in some salt water and blows it out thoroughly. She taught me to do this, and while it's not part of a daily routine for me, I do this whenever I've been in germy environments, like this evening's cub scout meeting. All those little boys were oozing ick from their noses and coughing tonight. Yuck.
My Korean friend also makes a ginger tea when colds come on. She smashes up some chunks of fresh ginger, and boils it with a clove or two of garlic and some green onions. For me, she adds a few dried dates to sweeten it a bit, because she says, "Americans think ginger tea is too spicy."
On the other hand, my Irish mother-in-law likes to drink tea with a shot of whiskey in it "several times a day until the cold is gone." (Said with a brogue, dontcha know.) She seems to have a fair number of colds, but that would be another topic.
Yikes! That's pretty tough, snorting salt, a brave lot of women
Ewwww, dirty little icky nosed boys! You are amazing, they are so blessed to have you as a Den mother
ad astra per aspera
I got some ginger tea and tried if for the first time today, I almost threw up. It wasn't too spicy, it was just plain disgusting, but Ill keep dinking it to see if it helps. I have a friend who works on a base, I'll see if he can get his hands on some zicam or something from the PX. I know you can develop allergies at any point in life, but I have never had any allergies, so I just have a hard time believing it's an allergic reaction. Anyway, thanks for all your input, I really do appreciate it. Maybe in a week or two I'll be able to miraculously report that it's gone!
I've heard pollen allergies, it sometimes helps if you can include honey in your diet made by local bees from that pollen. Wouldn't hurt to include a significant portion of honey in your ginger tea -- mellow it out a bit.
Did anyone suggest to clean-up the little buggers?
Hand sanitizer for everyone who enters your classroom.
You said..."teacher...in South Korea...around little kids".
To break the chain of infection...eliminate the source of it first.
To treat it: rest, excercise, water, increase fruits and vegetables, tea, vitamins, saline nasal spray, Mucinex, Rhinocort[possibly], after consulting with your physician, all seem reasonable to me. Good luck.
"For me, it is better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."
Carl Sagan
I never said it tasted good!
Thanks. I agree on the Flu. (Having been very familiar with influenza vaccines for a decade) People with sniffles or colds complain about having the Flu. Influenza is something completely different. I had it once 20 years ago and was bedbound for the better part of 2 weeks. Usually symptoms are different than a common cold.
.....Someday, like many others who joined WB in the early years, I may dry up and dissapear....
Check out
http://www.doctoryourself.com/colds.html
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