Okay, so one of my main motivations for starting this blog in the first place was that I get sick a lot. Nothing too terrible, just obnoxious sinus infections and their side effects (it moves to my lungs and gives me a bad sore throat on the way).
Since September (I'm going back to there, since the move created a marker by which to gage time better) I've had to take antibiotics twice (once for sinus infection, once for ear infection), and I've been sick more days than not. Each month has brought its own onset of sinus fun, and each bout takes me about 10-15 days to get over. October and December delivered twice the fun.
So, HELP! What can I do to stay healthy?!?!? I've been taking pro-biotics (though not religiously), and used cranberry pills once I get an infection (plus neti pot, musinex, decongestant, etc.), but does anyone know how I can avoid the problem in the first place? A few years back (pre-kids) I had some extensive allergy testing, plus a visit to the ENT (complete with CAT scan), and all they told me was that I have "non-allergic rhinitis." Yea, thanks for that. In plain English--an infection in the nose that is not produced by a histamine response to a known allergen. I've pretty much given up on traditional medicine helping me prevent the problem (that's not really their specialty), though I'm not opposed to trying meds.
Any suggestions?
Sincerely,
Desperately Congested
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6 comments:
I wish I could help!
When I feel like I'm getting a cold, I take Echinacea. I'll take it and Dave won't and then he'll get sick and I won't! I used to take Cold-Eeze which helps, but leaves a bad taste in the mouth. My mom likes Immune Fizz, a drink mix, but I've never tried it. It sounds like I don't get sick as much as you do, so I don't know if these will help, but good luck!
Okay, here's what worked for me: when I lived in Seattle, I had a constant sinus infection, so I finally gave up on drugs and went to the Bastyr Clinic, an Naturopathic Med School. They took me off sugar and dairy for three months and gave me magic herbs (I don't know which), and it worked, and I got skinny.
When I moved to Utah, the problem started again, and this time it was allergies. I started on singulair and nasonex and again the problem left.
So, 1) do a sugar/dairy fast for a few months, 2)go to a good Chinese herbalist (I've heard of one here in Provo, and also know a Naturopath here who went to Bastyr) and 3) try claritin and nasonex/flovent (be sure to take the claritin at night--it can make you groggy and foggy).
Also, I think little kids make you sick--they're always getting sick and passing it on.
Hope that helps. It's miserable to be drained and draining all the time.
I have a friend from my mission who does homeopathy, and she'd probably tell you to eat according to your blood type. I can give her your email if you want. She's a little loopy but she's helped a lot of people. If you're O like me, she says to stay away from dairy, chicken, white flour, and of course sugar. The best is brown rice, broccoli, and red meat. That's the only one I know though. And I definitely don't follow it as much as I'm supposed to. I'm chowing M&Ms right now. Maybe it'll give you something to ponder though?
Good luck!
Do you snort warm salt water through your nose and spit it out your mouth when you first start to get a cold? I can't say it's always worked for me, and it isn't pleasant, but I really do think I've nipped some colds in the bud that way.
Also, in your other blog you mentioned being interested in some of us being involved with this blog. I'd be interested in posting recipes if you'd like. I tried making a coconut cream pie from scratch yesterday, actually making my own meringue (which wasn't nearly as difficult as I'd imagined), and I found it most yummy. Of course, that's the WRONG kind of recipe for this blog, but, as you know, I like to cook healthy stuff, and I like cutting down on meat.
I used to get sinus infections all the time in UT. But I found that humidity solved a lot of my problems (lucky for me, we just moved to a humid area). But you could try sleeping with a humidifier.
Snorting salt water also helps me A LOT (but I never spit it out my mouth). Actually, even just trying to keep your sinuses moist will be helpful. Just make sure you're not squirting anything dirty up there. :)
Finally, my former supervisor told me about an ingredient to look for in sinus meds. It helped me nip infections in the bud. I'll ask him and email you about it.
Hmm...sounds as if you have tons of good advice already....I think the diet, humidity, nasal lavage and chinese herbalists are great suggestions....the challenge is figuring out which one works.... but as your problem is going to continue ad infinitum, you have time to do some specific field testing of each. Good luck!
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