since I'm now hitting the 6th week of being sick (first a proper common cold, then a sinusitis, then slight bettering, then worsening, then coughs, then a tracheabronchitis and after a full set of antibiotics and "cough repressing meds" (i don't know what they're called in english), i'm slowly getting better
I know I very easily catch colds and have a closed nose almost half of the year (narrow nasal airways, polyps, should get surgery but am too scared) but these last year or two, I noticed that I catch infections more easy and they seem to take longer to get rid of.
right now is extreme, but I heard of a few people around me that they're suffering long-lasting colds atm, so i guess it's just a nasty, persistent little germ.
I read that a lot of fibro sufferers have issues with their immune system and infects like that. Do you share that experience? Is it something I need to get checked?
Is any of you taking anything to boost your immune system? Homeopathic things or actual medication? I'm considering starting with homeopathic meds, but I'm not even sure they work or if they're good for me. (Like... as someone with a giant hypochonder streak, I'm always scared of trying new meds or substances, because I'm scared I'll react badly to them. The same applies to everything, including new foods. I'm a wuss.)
I don't want to risk taking something and offsetting my own body with it.
Hi Dwaggie , I’m so sorry your having such a hard time right now . I do have agree it takes us so much longer to recover from anything , I think because our immune system is always in over drive …
For me the day I start feeling a stuffy head or sore throat I take ecchinicia , zinc and vit c , it always seem to help … Although I take vit c daily , I do start the ecchinicia and zinc
I also understand about being afraid of having the surgery, I to have nasal polyps and a deviated septum , and alot of bad reactions to meds… We are all just hyper sensitive
I hope you feel better
Hugs & blessings
dee B
Hi Dwaggie, I'm so sorry! My FIL had to have that surgery...twice I think. My husband takes after him. He got horrible sinuses infections and bronchitic multiple times a year. We've had to watch him for walking pneumonia (he had that five years back - scared us to death). He's done much better going completely off dairy. It was hard in the beginning, but it's done a great deal for him!! I have to agree we get sick easy and it takes longer to get "well" again - if we're ever really "well." LOL =/
As far as herbs go, personally I'd say go for it! They can interact just like regular meds, but the extra vitamins are great!! I do that even when someone in my family gets sick - I find it's easier that way. But the Homeopath as in an extract of Tarantula and other such stuff are far more "snake oil" stuff then effective treatment. There are things like essential oils, some you smell others you ingest, I've not gone too much into it - stuff makes my brain hurt I'm so sensitive! But have personal friends that use that first and have had great success with it. It's an option too.
Yes! I use the nasal rinse as soon as I feel something coming on. I know I have prevented many infections and cut the duration of colds. They not only rinse away mucous, but they also rinse away germs. I had a friend with a lung disease and her husband was instructed by the doctor to come in the back door and go straight to the nasal rinse every day. It prevented the spread of germs. (He also did a clothes change and hand wash).
But I really really recommend the nasal rinse. I can't stress enough how well it works. Don't be shy about it and try not to let it scare you...just use it throughout a cold...every shower, once a day.
actually, I've done the nasal rinse thing before, but the last time i did, it hurt so very bad I didn't feel like trying it again (it was an isotonic kind of mix, specially made for it.... felt like sniffing wasabi up my nose @__x )
at first, it was fine, i had little pre-mixed packages of salts and stuff, but when i tried making it myself, it became bad. and these salts are quite expensive
but then again, i might have been doing it wrong. I'll give it a try ^^
oh, do you have a tip for me, concerning the rinse and a closed nose? I try not to use too much spray stuff, because i quickly develope an addiction for it (but i do use it to help ventilation and getting rid of all the goo in my head XD )
I've heard the same thing about the sprays and stay away from them too. I'm not sure what to do if one side is plugged and water won't flow freely through. I guess getting the one side rinsed and introducing it to the plugged side is better than not.
To be honest, I don't use salts anymore. I know, I know, I'm bad. ph balance and all. But my daughter worked for an ENT and she told me "no big deal, her husband does it every day in the shower." He is healthy so I have just used the warm shower water and it's worked for me. I know where my water comes from and it's pretty darn good water.
But here is what wiki says about the salt. Sounds cheap enough. Good luck with this. I hope anyone trying it has as good of luck with it as I have. xx Kitty
Daily nasal irrigation with salt water solution (a mixture of 0.9% non-iodized sodium chloride and either purified or filtered water warmed to around 98 degrees F/ 37 degrees C, with or without inclusion of a buffering agent such as sodium bicarbonate) has been recommended as both an adjunctive[8] and primary treatment[9] in such cases and is preferable to the use of corticosteroids except in the most serious cases of acute bacterial sinusitis which should be immediately referred to an otolaryngologist.[10] Irrigation should be used with caution in infants, as nasal drops are not widely tolerated.[11]
Flushing the nasal cavity with salt water has been claimed to promote mucociliary clearance by moisturizing the nasal cavity and by removing encrusted material, although there is no clear evidence to support this.[9] In proper proportion, nasal salt water solution with slight acidic pH functions as an anti-bacterial irrigant. The flow of salt water through the nasal passage flushes the dirt, airborne allergens (dust and pollen), pollutants and bacteria-filled mucus.
