28 replies to this topic

[Live Forever]

I have a bit of a cold or something and it is giving me a sore throat. Someone told me I should put cayenne pepper in warm water and gargle with it. (perhaps adding some apple cider vinegar)

Anyone else have any suggestions?

[Shepard]

I like Extra Strength Cepacol.

[Matt]

Crushed garlic every few hours, lots of green tea and ginger (together). Maybe some Manuka honey.... I don't know, but these worked for me last time i felt i was getting a cold.

[niner]

It may be too late in the process for this cold, but I like zinc gluconate lozenges. They seem to reduce the symptoms somewhat and shorten the duration.

[christines]

Gargling is very beneficial for sore throat, as it soothes the throat and wash out the infection. Drinking warm drinks may be also very soothing and helps to keep the throat hydrated.

[Grail]

Just watch the tea, as the caffeine can leave you dehydrated, making it worse. Be sure to drink lots of water. It should go away soon enough, but make sure it isnt strep throat or you should see a doctor (if untreated, complications can be nasty).
gargling salted water, or aspro clear can help too, as well as paracetamol.

[woly]

i thought the caffeine dehydration thing was a myth?

[niner]

i thought the caffeine dehydration thing was a myth?

Well, it's a diuretic, though not a particularly strong one.

[Live Forever]

Thanks guys, I am better now, but keep posting stuff if you have it, as it could come in handy in the future.

[Shannon Vyff]

more water, and extra sleep!

[wayside]

I was just reading on someone's blog (Sardi?) that at the first sign of a cold take 50,000 IU of D3 per day for 3 days. It stimulates your immune system.

[Grail]

Well, it's a diuretic, though not a particularly strong one.

True, but with the amounts of tea some people drink around here...

Did anyone simply mention sucking on cheap throat lozenges?
Once you have a cold (assuming it is a cold and not a bacterial infection), you can't really do anything but treat the symptoms (i.e. cold and flu tablets). Every cold is different, so duration and severity will vary anyway.

[Matt]

Garlic apparently speeds recovery for those with colds.

Garlic 'prevents common cold'

...People who take a garlic supplement each day are far less likely to fall victim to the common cold than those who do not, research suggests. Although garlic has been traditionally used to fight off and treat the symptoms of the common cold, this is the first hard evidence of its medicinal properties...

The study found that a daily garlic supplement containing allicin, a purified component of garlic considered to be the major biologically active agent produced by the plant, reduced the risk of catching a cold by more than half.

It also found that allicin-containing garlic supplements were effective in treating infections caused by the hospital superbug, MRSA.

Experiment

A total of 146 volunteers took part in the experiment, which was led by Peter Josling, director the Garlic Centre in East Sussex.

Half took one capsule of Allimax, an allicin-containing garlic supplement, each day, while the remaining volunteers were given a placebo.

Over a 90-day period during the winter when most colds occur, just 24 colds were recorded among those taking the supplement, compared to 65 amongst those taking the placebo.

The study also found that those taking the supplement who did catch a cold were more likely to make a speedier recovery than those taking the placebo and the chances of re-infection following a cold were significantly reduced.

http://news.bbc.co.u...lth/1575505.stm

[Matt]

Yes high dose vitamin D stimulates innate immune system!

[lucid]

Well, as to actual sickness... I had a strep infection a while ago. I tried using lots of zinc and salt gargle. The salt gargle definitely helped with the symptoms, but I couldn't beat the infection. The ticket for that is penicillin. If you have a very sore throat without conjestion i would go get a strep test.

Mono is another option and it has similar symptoms to strep. Or it could be the flu which frequently has congestion associated with it.

Zinc and salt are good though.

Edited by lucid, 26 October 2007 - 01:03 AM.

[ajnast4r]

i thought the caffeine dehydration thing was a myth?

it is a myth

[cyborgdreamer]

Maximum strength throat spray is a lifesaver if you don't mind your throat being numb. I also use it to numb those painful swollen tastebuds you sometimes get for no reason.

[Live Forever]

I also use it to numb those painful swollen tastebuds you sometimes get for no reason.

Luckily I have never experienced one of those. I have burned my tongue before (and the roof of my mouth) and that certainly wasn't any fun. :(

[cyborgdreamer]

I also use it to numb those painful swollen tastebuds you sometimes get for no reason.

Luckily I have never experienced one of those. I have burned my tongue before (and the roof of my mouth) and that certainly wasn't any fun. :(

That's weird; I thought every one got those things from time to time.

[ajnast4r]

[hulahoop]

i've gargled with oil of oregano (a few drops) plus some water. its antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, etc. Also, superlyseine in the drop format is quite good for the immune system to fight colds, etc.

[sentinel]

I had a viral sore throat that was so bad it actually brought tears to my eyes (much to my wife's sadistic amusement) and all the pain killers, throat sprays and Vit C didn't even dent it.

It was (finally) suggested that I gargle soluable aspirin (asproclear or similar) but don't swallow so it doesn't interfere with your other Ibuprofen/Paramacetamol (acetaminophen)etc for keeping your temperature under control.

Natural remedies are great but sometimes you just have to hit these things with a hammer.

[quarter]

Hmmm..... never tried hitting my sore throat with a hammer before, I'll keep it mind. ;-)

[eternaltraveler]

Well, as to actual sickness... I had a strep infection a while ago. I tried using lots of zinc and salt gargle. The salt gargle definitely helped with the symptoms, but I couldn't beat the infection. The ticket for that is penicillin. If you have a very sore throat without conjestion i would go get a strep test.

Mono is another option and it has similar symptoms to strep. Or it could be the flu which frequently has congestion associated with it.

Zinc and salt are good though.

if you have strep throat you need antibiotics or you risk rheumatic heart disease and glomerulonephritis, though the later is more common with streptococcal skin infections.

rheumatic heart disease is not an infection of the heart, but an immune attack of the heart because antigens present on strep. pyogenes (that cause strep throat), are similar to proteins found on cardiac myocytes, and generate cross reacting antibodies.

[eternaltraveler]

i thought the caffeine dehydration thing was a myth?

it is a myth

umm, no it isn't

caffeine is a diuretic. The affect might shrink over time as a tolerance to caffeine develops, and green tea doesn't have much caffeine so you'd be fine there.

[Shepard]

i thought the caffeine dehydration thing was a myth?

it is a myth

umm, no it isn't

caffeine is a diuretic. The affect might shrink over time as a tolerance to caffeine develops, and green tea doesn't have much caffeine so you'd be fine there.

I think he was probably refering to caffeine in something like coffee or tea. That the diuretic effect isn't strong enough to overcome the hydration effect of the liquid.

[eternaltraveler]

it certainly wouldn't be as hydrating as water without caffeine.

But yes. There are people I know who would be dead if coffee actually dehydrated them more than the volume they drank from the coffee.

[kurdishfella]

infection starts in throat via tickle for me and works it way up my ear then brain and I get intense headache. Only way to prevent it is at least taking 1000mg of vitamin c 3 times a week spaced out. otherwise i also get depression.

Edited by kurdishfella, 17 December 2022 - 08:19 PM.

[shp5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambroxol

 

takes the edge off.