Frugal sickie tips

[jdp]

Not sure about you but I think mine was exacerbated by the dryness of the forced air heat in the house. I broke out bowls and dishes of water to put by the heating vents, ran a humidifier and started with putting my head over a steaming pot of water with a little eucalyptus in it. Didn't help much when I wasn't at home but it made going home at the end of the work day oh so appealing lol. Either that or time (its been like 10 days now) has worked.

[Kimmom]

Use sterile saline nose spray. It helps clear our your sinuses and relieves a lot of the pressure. You can use it as much and as often as you want. For some, it's the only treatment they need for a cold or sinus infection, along with drinking lots and lots of water. Oh! and try Celestial Seasoning Lemon Zinger tea, steeped till it's very strong. I swear that stuff has some secret medicine in it.

Feel better soon!

[lilac]

Ooh thanks a lot for your guys' input. I'm going to march down to the pharmacy tomorrow and get me some of that sterile nose spray. And find some (clean) bowls to place on top of the radiators

Unfortunately I'm not in the States anymore and I'm pretty sure they don't have Celestial Seasonings here. I do have some fancy Twinings Orange, Ginger and Honey tea though which may help.

[jkuo13]

I'll reiterate my vote for using a neti pot for clearing out extra mucus. A saline spray is probably pretty effective too in most cases, but I find actually flushing my sinuses with a neti pot gives me pretty quick relief.

[Miss Rosie]

Another vote for the netti pot! Ad 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp glycerin. Works wonders.

Rest. Warmth. Fluids. Miso soup is good, especially with garlic or green onions.

[lilac]

Miss Rosie and jkuo13: This is a silly question, but where did you buy your neti pots from? I hear an awful lot about them, but I've never seen them before in the flesh.

In the past I have bought a nasal rinse kit thing from the pharmacy, and it did work wonders, but I felt like I wasn't getting the full effect because I could never flush out my sinuses with the incredible amount of fluid that the packaging recommended.

Also, what is a ballpark figure that I should expect to pay when buying one? You know, for the sake of frugality, so I don't get ripped off

[jkuo13]

lilac,

I bought my last neti pot off of Amazon for around $13 USD. I guess that probably comes out to around 8 pounds across the pond? I did a search on www.amazon.co.uk and found a few that seemed to fall in this price range. You could also check out a local health food store or pharmacy. They might carry them, but you'll probably see a markup buying at a physical retail location.


BTW, I wrote up a little neti pot review a month back in case anyone is interested in reading it.

[lvngwell]

I am currently battling what I have been told is the flu. I have been drinking chicken broth and eating crackers - it helps. I was told to skip the gatoraid and do ice water instead - which is fine with me. Something about the sugars upsetting your stomache.

I HAVE to use a cough medicine with and expectorant as I easily get sinus infections. If I am correct I think the netti pot you are all talking about is something you rinse your sinuses out with? I have been tempted to try it but am afraid I would feel like I was drowning.

Other than that, lots of rest and some motrin for fever. Tea with honey for sore throat.

[Finally_Frugal]

Gee, wish I'd read this post BEFORE I got sick!! (-: I'm just coming out of a cold/flu thing, and ran out of OTC medications. Since I'm on an extremely frugal budget this month, I really didn't want to go out and spend $6 on medicine.

So, I spent yesterday drinking lemon tea with honey, using my rice-bag heating pad to warm up my chest a bit, and taking luxurious baths!

Also: must find out more about this 'neti pot'. . . . . never heard of it before. . . .

[jkuo13]

@lvngwell

Yes, you do rinse your sinuses with a neti pot, usually using lukewarm salt water. It is a bit weird feeling the first few times, and then you just get the hang of it. You won't feel like you're drowning. You breathe through your mouth while the salt water is streaming through one nostril, through your sinuses, and out the other nostril. It does occasionally sting (like snorting salt water would if you've ever gone swimming in the ocean), but not too bad.

Nasal irrigation with a neti pot is an Ayurvedic practice and is part of daily hygiene in parts of India and SE Asia.