Medicine

I went to my doctor the other day - it had been 2 weeks since I originally got a cold and I still had it. Or at that point it was sinusitis - a bacterial infection. The cold had the sore throat - but both shared the symptoms of low-grade fever, fatigue, and congestion along with the resulting headaches.

Outwardly I looked pretty normal - but inside I felt (and still feel) fairly lousy - sometimes more than other times.

So I get to the office (it was a new office) with my 1pm appointment. And here are 4 pharmaceutical reps all waiting to get in. I listened to their banter as I waited.

I asked the nurse what was up and she said that 4 reps are allowed in in the morning and 4 are allowed in in afternoon. They tend to get there as soon as they are allowed (for some reason). There are rules like they aren't allowed to approach the doctors - I guess the doctors have to approach them. They have a certain place for them to be.

It seems like a pretty stupid way for doctors to get info on new products.

As I'm in the exam room - I can hear the doctor talking to one of the reps. Then she comes in and I tell her about my symptoms.

She orders an anti-biotic and decongestants. She doesn't suggest anything else.

So later on I'm home and at first I'm just thinking that these medicines are going to do it.

And then I decide that I really needed to look into this - and I find that my condition could go on for weeks or even months. So it was time to get serious.

I looked up herbal remedies in my herb book - and it recommended eating leeks and garlic and taking a foot bath with dry mustard (soaked in water).

I recalled what my mother would have suggested - gargling salt water - and drinking lots of fluids.

It seemed that I drank pretty many fluids - but I got more serious and after reading various recommendations online - I dropped the coffee and wine and turned to teas exclusively (for the most part). And I try to keep them hot - warm when I drink them. Usually my hot drinks get pretty cold by the time I'm done with them - but no more. I developed a system where my teapot is resting over a candle - and it stays plenty warm that way.

Other recommendations including putting a warm, wet washcloth on ones face. But it doesn't stay warm very long - so I used one of my snakes (material sewn with rice inside) - heating it up in the microwave and it stays warm for quite a while.

I made leek soup for lunch and I'm making fairly hot chile for dinner - in case capsicum is helpful.

I've been inhaling lots of steam, and gargling, and I've also been trying to clean out my sinuses with a warm saline solution. I got pretty much gook out - but I still feel plenty congested.

This afternoon, I read online about Essential oils 'combat superbug'. I figure if they can help with the "superbug" - maybe they can help with whatever I've got. (I think it's rather ridiculous that they have a video entitled "Machine may kill MRSA microbes" - when it's really the essential oils dispersed by the machine that does it.) The authors of the articles are reluctant to reveal much (I don't see what it would harm) - but tea tree oil seems to be one. Others oils that people mention are Grapefruit seed extract, Eucalyptus, and Lavender. I'll have to look into it more - but I'm willing to try some of those. It can't hurt.

One thing that occurred to me that might be a contributing factor to my sinusitis is that the anti-depressant that I take seems to dry things up a bit. I think that part of the problem with my recovery was all of this stuff was too stuck in there. So the problem may have started with a pharmaceutical to begin with. I've had a suspicion that there would be complications from those pills that would not have been anticipated.

Meanwhile - all of the old time tested remedies need to be revived. Chinese Medicine is looking better all the time. The idea of low-tech practitioners who spend time with patients - with low-tech charges that regular people can afford (or at least that's supposed to be how it's worked in China).