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Wednesday, March 2, 2011

"Alternative Treatment"

When I'm sick at camp with my aana, we have several different "alternative medications" that we use...


Swallow Feathers to cure Thrush.


Stinkweed boiled in spring water to cure most ailments.


Porcupine intestines dried and sucked on to cure a stomachache.


A spoonful of Seal Oil for anything.


And now...I am MISERABLE at home. Miz-ER-uble. I have a horrible head cold. Or something.

Able

My right ear is plugged (although I did go to the hospital and I do NOT have an ear infection) and hurts like the dickens. My sinuses are so gobbed up it hurts to wake up in the morning. I have a fever, and my bones feel like I'm a brittle 95 yr. old woman who's never had milk in her life.

ER

It hurts to breathe. It hurts to talk. It hurts to sneeze, which I do ALL the time. And I've had several bloody noses for the past couple of days.

Mis

SO...what kind of "alternative medicine" would you recommend for this gunk that's junking up my life?!

Go ahead...tell me, I'll try anything, I eat undigested porcupine crap remember?!

:) Thanks.

20 comments:

basebell6 said...

LOL good luck! i've had a fever for 2 days and need a cure too!

Anonymous said...

Suryuk (stinkweed tea) and lots of vitamin C. Do you know about GSE (grapefruit seed extract)? Can't remember what all you're allergic to but that stuff is the bomb. I can send you some if you can't get it in OTZ. - Janice

Marianne said...

garlic. nature's antibiotic. preferably raw but home-made garlic bread will do. lots of it.
clear your sinuses by chopping onions and inhaling.
megadoses of vitamin C.
hot elderflower tea.
rest.
patience. it'll go.

gpc said...

So sorry. I think the only cure for that sort of stuff is sleep, bed rest, liquids, and more sleep. For someone like you who never stops, that's the hardest cure to face! Hope you feel better soon.

Julia said...

A glass of lukewarm water. A tiny bit of salt (the tip of your fingers, I don't know how to say that in English). (Alternatively, just buy saline.) A syringe, the largest you can get. Squirt the whole thing up your nostrils, with your head bend forward and sideways, nosetip down, in a way that the water going in through the upper nostril goes out the lower nostril. I have had sinus infections (two) so bad that I felt like my teeth were coming right off my face, and this cured me. Do it several times a day, or anytime you feel too clogged.

There is a kind of teapot they use in yoga specifically for this purpose, they call it "Lota" here in Brazil.

jen said...

Tea with honey. A humidifier. Vaseline on your feet, then socks on top. I heard that somewhere and it seemed to help a little with breathing...weird right? Get better soon!

Anonymous said...

Try a Netti pot. It's a little pot that you put warm water in and salt and rinse your sinuses out. I have had sinus infections for years and this is helpful. Also, another product is Alkalol. http://www.alkalolcompany.com/index.php
I had a friend who would get horrible sinus infections and he'd "snort" it out of his hands. I couldn't quite do that but I would swab out my nose with this. I also use OTC Mucinex.
Feel better!

Judy said...

You could try, Neti pot, for sinuses.(http://www.healingdaily.com/exercise/neti-pot.htm) Mullein and colts-foot tea for the chest.(1 TBSP each in 2 cups of boiling water, steep for 10 minutes, covered. I serve it with lemon and honey.) Dig out all those berries you gathered last summer and start eating them like M&Ms for vitamin C. Stick your finger in your ear, grab hold and pull the outer ear up and out while working the jaw, will open up the Eustachian tube so the ear can drain. If you can handle it, raw garlic will cure what ails you.(I think that is because no one wants you to breathe on them.:>)) Of course, Jewish Penicillin (chicken soup) is wonderful too. Oh, and you might want to stay away from dairy products because they increase phlegm. Don't know if any of this will cure you but it should help with the comfort level. Hugs!

Doin' It Myself said...

Hot tea with lemon, honey and a shot of whiskey. Sleep for two days and you'll feel a TON better. LOL
My fiance likes the "Bottle of nyquil and sleep" thing. He says if it doesn't kill you, it'll cure you. *sigh* Which is why I'll be watching him like a hawk once Peanut is born! LOL.
Good luck!

tuesy said...

green tea with honey might help, and certainly won't hurt. Do yuo have a humidifier? Might help with the nosebleeds.

I hope you feel better soon!

Anonymous said...

Is it 'feathers from a swallow' that cures thrush? Or could it be 'swallowing (any kind of) feathers' cures thrush?

Sabrina said...

Hot teat with lemon and honey always makes me feel better when I have the ick. As far as the ear, I know that pain and I soak raisins in hot water and then put them in my ear. The heat of the plump raisin helps ease the pain.

twobusy said...

Spruce tip or rosehip tea (high in Vit C), throw some cayenne in there for extra punch, and saline up the nose for the sinuses!

Anonymous said...

Home made cold cure that I love:

Grate an onion or pulverize in a food processor. Strain juice through cheesecloth into a small jar. Discard the onion keep the juice. Add honey in an equal amount to the onion juice and stir well. Take one or two teaspoons every four hours or so, works amazingly well. Sometimes I add some grated fresh ginger to the honey/juice mixture as well. This may sound disgusting but I actually doesn't taste as bad as you might think! Get well soon xo

Anonymous said...

Not natural, but have you tried Tamiflu? It sounds like you have a full-blown case of the flu. Stay hydrated and remember that you can pick up secondary infections like strep, stomach flu, etc. so go see your doc if the temp stays up, goes above 102 or hovers at 103 for more than a couple hours. I had what sounds exactly like what you have 3 years ago and it was horrible. Horrible. I ended up with influenza type A, strep, sinus infection, bronchitis and a something I can't remember that made that thingy in the back of my throat swell up so large it hung down my throat and gagged me every time I swallowed! Horrible. I hope you feel better soon. Oh, in my case the Tamiflu kicked in and within hours of taking it I started getting relief.

Teri said...

I use that saltwater method for sinus infections, only I mix it in my hand and slowly snort it up my nose. It does dry out the sinuses, even if you can't get much down the first time. I take vitamin C about every hour, a gram at a time, and sometimes goldenseal/echinacea capsules. I take honey in my tea to lubricate my throat. Hope you get better soon.

jen said...

Hot ginger tea. If you can get some fresh ginger, it works a treat. Finely grate about an inch of ginger directly into the mug you will be drinking from, making sure you don't lose any of the liquid that will start dripping out as soon as you grate. Add juice of 1 lemon, 2 large teaspoons of honey, and hot water to the top. Let it cool a little and then drink the lot - including all the grated ginger at the bottom (that bit is really important). Repeat at least 3 times each day until you feel better. Get well soon :)

jen said...

Oh I forgot... can you buy Olbas Oil in the USA? It has been shown that the manufacturing employees of the company never ever get colds. If you can get it, put a few drops in a bowl of boiling water, immediately throw a towel over your head, and inhale deeply. (MAKE SURE YOU SHUT YOUR EYES!!). When you go to bed, put a couple of drops on a handkerchief and tuck it inside your pillowcase. It is miracle stuff :)

http://www.herbalremedies.com/olbasoil25cc.html

Finnskimo said...

Thank you all so much for the "alternative treatments!"

I meant to suck on the feathers of a Swallow to cure thrush. :)

I've been trying several treatments, and downing ginger/hone/lemon tea like its going out of business! It seems like the only thing that is working is Afrin with Menthol. Ugh.

I'll keep on trying! My mom said that I'm sick because I let my kids drink out of my cups! And then she told me that I don't wash my hands enough. And THEN she said to drink a cup of hot water mixed with a tsp of cinnamon and a tsp of honey at night. But she's also the mom who makes us suck on Swallow feathers! haha.

Julia said...

Are you feeling better?

So now I know the thing is called the Net(t)i pot. That's it. I'm buying one for myself, the syringe is a pain.