First of all, if there's no fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, its probably just a virus or allergies. Both of these have very similar symptoms and neither can be treated with an anti-biotic. A visit to the doctor, in my opinion, is not necessary since they would either want to prescribe something unnecessary or just tell you to rest and drink lots of fluids and send you on your way while cashing in on the expensive office visit.
Yes, I agree that fluids and rest are a must, but by incorporating some good old fashioned "granny treatments" along with that, recovery time is drastically reduced. They say that recovery from a virus should start to occur within 7-10 days of when you first experience symptoms. Its been five days for me and I'm already starting to feel better! Each case is different of course.
I think my symptoms started out from allergies and turned into a virus. My symptoms included sore throat, coughing, sneezing, congestion, and sore swollen glands. The intensity, type of virus and/ or allergies, and health background and restrictions are always different from person to person. For instance, right now I'm pregnant and don't dare to take something like echinacea because it can stimulate the uterus and cause contractions whereas it would be fine for someone who is not pregnant.
Here's a list of tips and treatments that worked best for me. Use all of it or none of it if you want. I happen to swear by it!
-Treat symptoms AS SOON AS YOU FEEL THEM!!
-Be absolutely consistent about treatment EVERY day.
-Continue multi-vitamin as usual
THROUGHOUT THE DAY:
Drink at least a gallon of purified water
This flushes out the bad stuff and provides the fluid in which your immune cells need to multiply and attack infection.
Wash hands when necessary... especially before eating or touching eyes, nose, or mouth
If you're like me and work around kids all day, this is a must! Wash often and remember to moisturize to encourage the good bacteria to stick around.
TWICE A DAY:
1000 mg Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an immune system booster and helps the body act like a sponge to soak up essential nutrients. Usually, the worst side effect of taking too much vitamin C is a stomach ache and diarrhea. If this happens, just cut back as necessary. The forms that work the best are a chewable tablet or fizzy drink like Emergen-C. They seem to be absorbed quicker.
BEFORE BED:
Flush sinuses with a neti pot
This can be found at any health food store. It looks strange, but trust me, it gets gunk out of your sinuses you could never get out by simply blowing into a tissue. Once you have the pot, mix 1 cup of warm filtered water with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Sea salt should be avoided because it can be too harsh. Place a nostril over the spout opening, tilt head to allow water to run through that nostril, into the sinuses, and out the other. Blow nose and repeat on the other nostril.
Drink some hot tea
This loosens mucus, provides relief to swollen glands and sore throat and just feels good!
Take a hot bath
Hydrotherapy is good for pulling out toxins by making you sweat, relaxing tissue which allows the immune system to do its job and provides relief to swollen glands, and clears nasal passages.
Turn on the humidifier
If you live in a dry climate or have been inside with the heat or a/c on to create an artificially dry environment, your system can get all dried up! Turn the humidifier on at night when the effect of a dry environment can be felt the most.
Aromatherapy with eucalyptus
Just a few drops can be added to the bath and/or humidifier. Eucalyptus has amazing properties that kill germs, open nasal passages, and provide soothing and cooling effects.
Gargle
This one can be hard to do especially if you don't like the old vinegar, warm water and salt recipe. Here's a recipe to gargle with that will provide even stronger relief and in my opinion, just tastes better:
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
Pinch of cayenne
I know that all of these remedies sound like a lot work and it would be way easier to take a pill and forget about it. That only gets you through the short-run of things and can be dangerous. When you just take a pill, you are telling your body to shut up and leave you alone, which causes a disconnect and makes healing difficult to impossible. Not only are you suppressing the symptoms, there is no support being given to the immune system so it can do its job properly.
I've done everything listed faithfully as I've laid it out and I swear its why I'm feeling so much better so quickly. Healing is not just about killing pain by popping a pill, its about a mind-body connection. This can be achieved by listening to your body and letting it know you care by taking the time to treat it right! Once you learn to listen to your body and give it what it needs and asks for, the better off you will be in the long-run.
