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| Hosted by a woman with a cold |
This is a last-minute open thread, and I apologize for that. I wanted it to be something cool and interesting, but I have been hijacked by sick - not even a cool interesting sick (does that exist? I'm going to pretend it does), just the mundane kind of sick where your face melts off and your brain tries to escape through your sinus cavity and it feels like you're trying to swallow a mouthful of burrs.
So instead, you get an open thread about the common cold! Whee!!! Fun fact: did you know that the common cold was already kicking around making people miserable in the 16th century BCE? Yup! It was first described in the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, the oldest known medical treatise. And now you know!
Interestingly, Wikipedia's whole exhaustive list of possible cold treatments, both medical and traditional, pretty much boil down to one big "...Maybe? *shrug*"
Anyway. Open thread! Remember how sick days were fun as a kid? Wouldn't it be nice if it were like that again? What's the weirdest home remedy anyone's ever recommended you try for the cold? Did it work? Are there any lesser-known treatments you and your family swear by? Do you tend to deal with minor illnesses by powering cheerfully through them, or do you (like me) hole up in a comfy chair with a box of tissues and some tea and glare at the world until you feel better? I would ask more questions about being sick, but all the ones I can think of are gross and probably shouldn't be answered. Come up with better questions! Then answer them! Do my work for me, mwahahahaa!!!
...no, I'm not on cold meds, why do you ask?
~Kristycat
Wednesday Reminder! Open threads are meant to be fun, chatty places to discuss anything that doesn’t “fit” into a deconstruction or other regular thread. This can be something totally off-the-wall and random, or it can be something interesting that a deconstruction prompted you to think of, but which would be derailing to get into in the deconstruction thread. When in doubt, move it over here - that’s what it’s for!
53 comments:
Warning for emetophobes.
I despise sinus washes, but (assuming they don't make me horf) they work.
I am currently getting over the 'snotty doom' stage of a cold. My personal favorite remedy as a whole bunch of fresh, grated ginger root in pretty much anything - the powdered stuff isn't strong enough. If it isn't enough to make my eyes water (and that is a lot of ginger - it's pretty much the one hot spice I can eat with impunity) it also isn't enough to clear my sinuses. I also bought an herbal 'steam tea' from someone in this area, that has mint and licorice root and... some other stuff.. in it. Tastes vile (but clears the throat), but the steam opens my sinuses up wonderfully well.
It's cool that other people use crackers to scrub the mucus off one's throat, too. I have done that for years, to the point that salted crackers are high on my list of cold care supplies.
Warning for emetophobes.
I despise sinus washes, but (assuming they don't make me horf) they work.
I am currently getting over the 'snotty doom' stage of a cold. My personal favorite remedy as a whole bunch of fresh, grated ginger root in pretty much anything - the powdered stuff isn't strong enough. If it isn't enough to make my eyes water (and that is a lot of ginger - it's pretty much the one hot spice I can eat with impunity) it also isn't enough to clear my sinuses. I also bought an herbal 'steam tea' from someone in this area, that has mint and licorice root and... some other stuff.. in it. Tastes vile (but clears the throat), but the steam opens my sinuses up wonderfully well.
It's cool that other people use crackers to scrub the mucus off one's throat, too. I have done that for years, to the point that salted crackers are high on my list of cold care supplies.
As it turns out, the best thing for me to do when sick is sleep. The more sleep I get, the quicker the problem goes away. It's been affectionately dubbed "Magic Sleep" by my significant other after a few times where I went to bed with an ailment and woke up feeling quite fine. So medicines that help with the symptoms and encourage me to sleep work really well.
Hopefully, you get Magic Sleep, too, Kristycat.
As it turns out, the best thing for me to do when sick is sleep. The more sleep I get, the quicker the problem goes away. It's been affectionately dubbed "Magic Sleep" by my significant other after a few times where I went to bed with an ailment and woke up feeling quite fine. So medicines that help with the symptoms and encourage me to sleep work really well.
Hopefully, you get Magic Sleep, too, Kristycat.
When I was a kid I found sleep to be the best thing for sickness too. I had the idea in my head that it was like the gargoyles in that cartoon. I would think to myself, "Just become stone and in the morning you'll be fine," while I was trying to fall asleep.
When I was a kid I found sleep to be the best thing for sickness too. I had the idea in my head that it was like the gargoyles in that cartoon. I would think to myself, "Just become stone and in the morning you'll be fine," while I was trying to fall asleep.
A thing to add, as part of the open in open thread: Upon the election of a new pontiff, I thought the following question and answer from Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series (usually classed YA) was appropriate:
How do I (questioner) reconcile my moral beliefs (which teach that being gay or having premarital sex are wrong) with the fact that, as a writer, I will want/need to write LGBT characters?
The answer is very good.
For me, neti pots have been the best thing ever. When I start feeling sniffly, I get extra sleep, eat some chicken/hot and sour soup (good recommendation), and drink a lot of tea--all of which more or less helped, but the gross parts of the cold used to last 4-5 days anyhow.
These days, I do all of the above plus flush my sinuses with warm salt water (boil it first to get rid of brain amoebas) every four hours or so. In about a year, I haven't had the snotty-death stage of a cold for more than a day.
...off to knock some wood, now.
For me, neti pots have been the best thing ever. When I start feeling sniffly, I get extra sleep, eat some chicken/hot and sour soup (good recommendation), and drink a lot of tea--all of which more or less helped, but the gross parts of the cold used to last 4-5 days anyhow.
These days, I do all of the above plus flush my sinuses with warm salt water (boil it first to get rid of brain amoebas) every four hours or so. In about a year, I haven't had the snotty-death stage of a cold for more than a day.
...off to knock some wood, now.
My dad always tries to make everyone gargle with salt water when we have a sore throat. I never noticed it working but I may not have been able to make myself gargle with sufficiently salty water. I've witnessed the congestion clearing effects of very spicy food: a HEAPING tablespoon of chinese 5-spice on a small bowl of food at a Mongolian BBQ joint. It was scarily effective.
I find that herbal mint tea with honey is very soothing. Specifically I use Morocan Mint from Todd & Holl because it actually tastes like mint (even through a cold) instead of just smelling like mint. Plus the vapor from the mug helps clear the sinuses a bit.
I second the hot shower application, unfortunately the effects don't last long enough.
My dad always tries to make everyone gargle with salt water when we have a sore throat. I never noticed it working but I may not have been able to make myself gargle with sufficiently salty water. I've witnessed the congestion clearing effects of very spicy food: a HEAPING tablespoon of chinese 5-spice on a small bowl of food at a Mongolian BBQ joint. It was scarily effective.
I find that herbal mint tea with honey is very soothing. Specifically I use Morocan Mint from Todd & Holl because it actually tastes like mint (even through a cold) instead of just smelling like mint. Plus the vapor from the mug helps clear the sinuses a bit.
I second the hot shower application, unfortunately the effects don't last long enough.
Mr. Son: I found a steady intake of ramen broth (chicken flavored) helped me.
Boil water, mix dry broth packet into a large glass with the hot water, start sipping as soon as it cools enough to not burn your mouth.
Does it actually taste like chicken soup? Because I don't like chicken soup, but if ramen!chicken broth is actually good it would provide a use for the flavouring packets I currently throw away. (I prefer my ramen olive-oil flavoured.)
Kristycat: blech, that's an aspect of homeschooling I hadn't considered.
Well, the relationship between homeschooling and colds is somewhat complex. On the one hand, you don't get days off school just for being contagious. On the other hand, you don't spend several hours a day five days a week in close quarters with dozens to hundreds of other children, so you don't get sick as often in the first place. On the third hand, my dad spent a large percentage of his childhood sick, and--as best we can figure it--this means he has antibodies towards more or less every strain of cold that existed in the 1970's. He seems to have very nearly run out of colds; he only rarely gets sick these days (presumably having encountered a newer strain). I don't have anywhere near that level of built-up immunity, and thus during the period in my early-mid teens when I had a very active offline social life I got sick a lot. (Probably didn't help that I'd recently moved a few hundred miles and had a new microbial milieu to contend with.)
Mr. Son: I found a steady intake of ramen broth (chicken flavored) helped me.
Boil water, mix dry broth packet into a large glass with the hot water, start sipping as soon as it cools enough to not burn your mouth.
Does it actually taste like chicken soup? Because I don't like chicken soup, but if ramen!chicken broth is actually good it would provide a use for the flavouring packets I currently throw away. (I prefer my ramen olive-oil flavoured.)
Kristycat: blech, that's an aspect of homeschooling I hadn't considered.
Well, the relationship between homeschooling and colds is somewhat complex. On the one hand, you don't get days off school just for being contagious. On the other hand, you don't spend several hours a day five days a week in close quarters with dozens to hundreds of other children, so you don't get sick as often in the first place. On the third hand, my dad spent a large percentage of his childhood sick, and--as best we can figure it--this means he has antibodies towards more or less every strain of cold that existed in the 1970's. He seems to have very nearly run out of colds; he only rarely gets sick these days (presumably having encountered a newer strain). I don't have anywhere near that level of built-up immunity, and thus during the period in my early-mid teens when I had a very active offline social life I got sick a lot. (Probably didn't help that I'd recently moved a few hundred miles and had a new microbial milieu to contend with.)
I don't think chicken ramen tastes like real chicken soup, but it might be close enough that you wouldn't like it. Though, if you're just throwing the packets away anyway, you might as well mix a cup up and take two or three sips to see what you think. It's very salty however, so if that's a flavor you don't like, it won't be any fun.
I don't think chicken ramen tastes like real chicken soup, but it might be close enough that you wouldn't like it. Though, if you're just throwing the packets away anyway, you might as well mix a cup up and take two or three sips to see what you think. It's very salty however, so if that's a flavor you don't like, it won't be any fun.
In my mind it's a comfy room full of slightly shabby furniture, friendly people and potted plants.
That's a lovely image!
TRiG.
In my mind it's a comfy room full of slightly shabby furniture, friendly people and potted plants.
That's a lovely image!
TRiG.
Poor you! I get really sick so infrequently that I plot out my sick days at work on my calendar so I don't forget to take them. Don't take that as a brag though; I get plenty of low-level sick that leaves me miserable. I'm just rarely sick enough that I feel justified taking a sick day for it.
I just want to say how much I appreciate this site. In my mind it's a comfy room full of slightly shabby furniture, friendly people and potted plants. It's wonderful to drop into such a welcoming and thought-producing space in the midst of all the hectic crap of my day. So thank you everyone!
Poor you! I get really sick so infrequently that I plot out my sick days at work on my calendar so I don't forget to take them. Don't take that as a brag though; I get plenty of low-level sick that leaves me miserable. I'm just rarely sick enough that I feel justified taking a sick day for it.
I just want to say how much I appreciate this site. In my mind it's a comfy room full of slightly shabby furniture, friendly people and potted plants. It's wonderful to drop into such a welcoming and thought-producing space in the midst of all the hectic crap of my day. So thank you everyone!
I use Thunderbird, which is also a mail client. I find that when you give it a lot of feeds, it doesn't always update them all until you tell it to. But most browsers actually have feed readers built into them these days. So does Microsoft Outlook.
Meanwhile, here's another suggested remedy:
- hot water
- honey
- lemon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- a handful of cloves
- crushed red chilies
- a couple of drips of chipotle tabasco
- a dose of mustard seeds
- cumin
- cinnamon
- half a tsp of peppercorns
- a hint of crushed garlic.
Source: KB, h2g2. (He says the remedy was a victim of its own success: "by the end of the mug I was starting to be able to taste it".)
TRiG.
I use Thunderbird, which is also a mail client. I find that when you give it a lot of feeds, it doesn't always update them all until you tell it to. But most browsers actually have feed readers built into them these days. So does Microsoft Outlook.
Meanwhile, here's another suggested remedy:
- hot water
- honey
- lemon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- a handful of cloves
- crushed red chilies
- a couple of drips of chipotle tabasco
- a dose of mustard seeds
- cumin
- cinnamon
- half a tsp of peppercorns
- a hint of crushed garlic.
Source: KB, h2g2. (He says the remedy was a victim of its own success: "by the end of the mug I was starting to be able to taste it".)
TRiG.
Thank you, guys, for well-wishes :) And yeah, I do know about the stomach bug/flu/neurovirus/plague thing that's going around, SpouseMan had it not too long ago and it was awful.
The ramen thing - actually, yeah, a couple days back when my throat was at its absolute worst, the only thing I could swallow was cup after cup of chicken bouillon, so I guess that must do something!
TRiG - oh man, I have been SO GOOD about severely cutting back my alcohol intake since the first of the year, but goodness that sounds tempting...
Brin - blech, that's an aspect of homeschooling I hadn't considered. No bueno.
At this point I seem to be on the mend, yay! I'm just hoping I can come out of it WITHOUT getting the baby sick, then everyone in the household will be healthy at once! And I'll faint from sheer shock! (Ever since Christmas, we've pretty much just been taking turns being sick...)
Thank you, guys, for well-wishes :) And yeah, I do know about the stomach bug/flu/neurovirus/plague thing that's going around, SpouseMan had it not too long ago and it was awful.
The ramen thing - actually, yeah, a couple days back when my throat was at its absolute worst, the only thing I could swallow was cup after cup of chicken bouillon, so I guess that must do something!
TRiG - oh man, I have been SO GOOD about severely cutting back my alcohol intake since the first of the year, but goodness that sounds tempting...
Brin - blech, that's an aspect of homeschooling I hadn't considered. No bueno.
At this point I seem to be on the mend, yay! I'm just hoping I can come out of it WITHOUT getting the baby sick, then everyone in the household will be healthy at once! And I'll faint from sheer shock! (Ever since Christmas, we've pretty much just been taking turns being sick...)
We grew up on the lemon-and-honey version as kids. I don't get colds as often these days (and don't keep alcohol in the house either) so I've not had the lemon-and-honey/hot toddy combination nearly as much. It is nice, though.
I've never tried it with rum, Amarie, but I suspect it's worth the experiment.
TRiG.
We grew up on the lemon-and-honey version as kids. I don't get colds as often these days (and don't keep alcohol in the house either) so I've not had the lemon-and-honey/hot toddy combination nearly as much. It is nice, though.
I've never tried it with rum, Amarie, but I suspect it's worth the experiment.
TRiG.
So, can anyone here in the open thread recommend me a replacement RSS reader? Google Reader just announced they're shutting down at the end of June, to give people time to prepare.
So, can anyone here in the open thread recommend me a replacement RSS reader? Google Reader just announced they're shutting down at the end of June, to give people time to prepare.
I just remembered, a couple of people from my college were brought in for contracting tuberculosis of all things just a week ago.
Strange things...
I just remembered, a couple of people from my college were brought in for contracting tuberculosis of all things just a week ago.
Strange things...
Harry Turtledove has a short story which is about the common cold and why nothing cures it.
Spoilers:
Na nyvra enpr pnyyrq gur Sbvgnav jnf pbzzvggvat trabpvqr ntnvafg n fyrj bs nyvra jbeyqf ol zrnaf bs n ivehf gung jnf rkgerzryl pbagntvbhf naq qrnqyl naq unf ab pher. Gur ivehf vf gur pbzzba pbyq.
I've found that turning the shower up as hot as is comfortable and applying point blank at my throat helps (or at least works as a placebo).
I have found Altoids pretty effective for clearing sinuses. I suspect that spicy things would have the same effect, but can't test that because my tolerance for spicy is pretty much zero. I've been told that I miss out on a lot of good foods that way. :-(
Other than that, anything hot and liquidy makes me feel better - soups, tea, etc.
I recommend hot and sour soup. It won't cure your cold, of course, but it generall makes me feel better - clears the sinuses a bit and (weird as it may sound considering it's a spicy soup) helps sore throats.
Of course, it helps if one likes hot and sour soup to begin with.
Thank you. :)
Hmm, this new blog format has been growing on me. It reminds me of the Santoro Gorjuss calender I didn't manage to get and are now apparently sold out everywhere.
In the "nice consolation" sense, mind.
A warm, steamy environment is the best thing, for me. When I lived in a studio apartment I'd just put a pot of water on the stove and let it boil until it was all gone. Not great for any posters I had hanging but I felt so much better. (The next place I live will have a sauna, dangit.)
I used to power through colds, but now I take a sick day, rest, blow my nose as much as possible, and drink gallons of water. I really do start feeling better sooner.
The number one absolute best thing I did for respiratory illnesses in general, though, was quit smoking. Not only do I get sick less often, but when I do it's not nearly as gross. Blech.
Mysterious brown stuff potentials:
Molasses
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Those are the brown things I have in my kitchen at any given time.
Smart mom!
Mystery brown stuff could have been Worcestershire sauce, or soy sauce. I seem to think there was a salty element besides the actual, you know, salt... I'll have to ask her the next time I get a chance...
It was super SUPER gross, but there are a few parts that are supposed actual remedies. I c ant swear by how effective it actually was, and I by NO MEANS recommend trying it.
Because eewwww.
Tea always, always makes me feel better when I'm sick. Would chai help?
Also, Ana, thanks for recommending The Handmaid's Tale; I've started reading Margaret Atwood's sci-fi dystopia books. I downloaded the Claire Danes audiobook and just finished reading Oryx and Crake, which is excellent. (So is The Last Man by Mary Shelley, which is one of my favorite books. Oryx and Crake reminds me of it.)
~Lily~
An interesting sick... well, there's always the Wild Cards virus: it'll probably kill you, but if you survive you might get superpowers...
I am not getting sick. I can't. Doesn't matter how run down or stuffy I'm feeling, I absolutely cannot be sick. It's spring break, and both the boys are home. If I take off from work, they will jump on my head. Therefore, I must not be sick. Q.E.D.
CN: vague discussion of illness, gross description of home remedy
Oh man. Having a cold is (relatively speaking) better than the kind of sick that's been going through my place of work. I think "stomach flu" is too mild a way to describe it. Let's call it "blarghhurgleburgleharfbluh".
And it feels about as good as it sounds...
My mother's tried and (sort of) true method of curing a cold, cough, sore throat, or allergies:
1 giant teaspoon (biggest you can find that still fits in your mouth) with the following ingredients all mixed up in a disgusting mix:
1/2 the spoon should be liquid cold medicine of your choice
Then add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
A squeeze of honey
A pinch (or three) of salt
A pinch (or less) of sugar
Plus mystery brown substance*
Swallow it down, even though it tastes like a butt. It'll cure all your ails**.
* I don't remember what the brown thing was. I just remember the colors: red, gold, and brown. Who knows...
** it won't cure your ails. But it'll make you quit faking sick (as my mom was suspicious of) really quickly!
Edited to add content note!
Remember how sick days were fun as a kid?
No. Homeschooling means that you only get sick days if you're actually too sick to work, rather than merely contagious. Not worth it.
Are there any lesser-known treatments you and your family swear by?
Mom thought it was really weird and kind of counterproductive when Dad and Brother had a cold recently and I recommended crackers for a sore throat. I can kind of see why that might sound backwards if you haven't tried it (and Mom rarely eats crackers, well or sick), but they're great for scrubbing the mucus off your throat.
Mom swears by elderberry as a preventative, but I don't believe it and of course it's much harder to make a treatment work if you don't believe in it.
or do you (like me) hole up in a comfy chair with a box of tissues and some tea and glare at the world until you feel better?
Roll of toilet paper (why bother buying separate tissues) and Cheez-Its (see above, and I've never met a leaf-water I liked), but definitely glaring.
Paul A: Well, you know what they say: with proper treatment, a cold will be gone in as little as seven days; let to itself, it'll hang around for at least a week...
You know that Ninth Doctor episode where the guy's been collecting salvaged alien tech and using it for selfish ends? And some of it lets him figure out a cure for the common cold, but he says he won't admit it publicly because "why sell a cure when you can sell a thousand palliatives", as if that's part of his evil. And I'm like "Unless maybe you're immunocompromised, a cold you can't feel is no different from a cold you don't have. For the vast majority of people, an effective palliative basically is a cure. This isn't nearly as evil as you seem to think it is."
Ice: Having a cold is (relatively speaking) better than the kind of sick that's been going through my place of work. I think "stomach flu" is too mild a way to describe it.
May you be fully recovered in less than a month! (If you manage it, you'll have done better than I did.)
And now, having said all this, I am going to go back to pretending that illnesses don't exist. (Two colds, plus the previous paragraph, plus that cold that Dad and Brother had but I didn't, equals being way over quota on even thinking about sickness for the semester. (Implications of school-based timekeeping word fully intentional.)) I probably will check back at some point.
No. Homeschooling means that you only get sick days if you're actually too sick to work, rather than merely contagious. Not worth it.
Yep. That would be me as well, at least for second to fourth grade. Online high school was much more fun.
~Lily~
The last couple times I came down with a hideously sore throat I found a steady intake of ramen broth (chicken flavored) helped me.
Boil water, mix dry broth packet into a large glass with the hot water, start sipping as soon as it cools enough to not burn your mouth. While drinking, the soreness was partly eased. It wasn't gone for good, just during and for a short time directly after sipping. As the pain came back, I drank more. When the cup emptied, I mixed another one.
I presume the main helpful components to this were "hot" and "salty". Chicken ramen was my choice because it was fast, cheap, and I already had it on hand. Once I knew it worked, there was little reason for me to keep seeking new treatments. Of course, this only really works on the 'sore throat' part of the illness. Though drinking hot broth might also help sinus congestion.
This treatment is not recommended for anyone forced to leave the vicinity of a bathroom for extended periods of time.
Edit for WHOOPS DOUBLE POST!
Sorry!
Not just lemon juice: an actual slice of lemon. And a nice big spoonful of honey. Put them both in a cup. If the remedy is for an adult, add a splash of whiskey. Top up with hot water. Wonderful. And it actually helps, too. Soothes a sore throat wonderfully.
TRiG.
Interestingly, Wikipedia's whole exhaustive list of possible cold treatments, both medical and traditional, pretty much boil down to one big "...Maybe? *shrug*"
Well, you know what they say: with proper treatment, a cold will be gone in as little as seven days; let to itself, it'll hang around for at least a week...
Hey there, Mr. TRiG! Do you agree with adding a splash of rum instead of whiskey for some? I'm 21 and have never had alcohol, but I've heard that tastes and feels wonderful for the throat, as well...
And Kristy! I offer you my cuddliest-loviest-wonderful-est CareBears for your sickness. *offers all of them to you* Get better, missy! :)
For throat ailments, my family always used a drink of hot water with lemon juice and honey mixed into it. For comfort food, chicken and noodle soup (with lots of ginger and garlic) always made me happy(er)
For throat ailments, my family always used a drink of hot water with lemon juice and honey mixed into it. For comfort food, chicken and noodle soup (with lots of ginger and garlic) always made me happy(er)
*offers hugs and tissues*
Almost everyone I know is sick or is recovering from being sick (self included). I don't know if this is a sign of the apocalypse or what, but it's kind of scary. Take care of yourself and get well, Kristy. :(
"not even a cool interesting sick (does that exist"
Does lycanthropy count? I'm gonna say lycanthropy counts.
"not even a cool interesting sick (does that exist"
Does lycanthropy count? I'm gonna say lycanthropy counts.
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