November 26, 2005

• ...the title on that was supposed to read "Sick and Miserable George"...
• sheesh! don't try so hard! that upsidedown stuff is just too much. I'd suggest a nice warm trip on the couch until Monday. Maybe a bit of camomille tea and some chicken soup wouldn't hurt. The main thing is just to stay warm and take it easy. There is no simple cure. Your body will take care of many things in time if you let it.
• Apparently bronchitis is caused by a viral infection, so doctors will only treat the symptoms, not the cause. Can you get over-the-counter cough suppressents? I know some states in the US don't dispense without a prescription because of there are people who are addicted to the medication. Plenty, plenty of fluids, because you're losing water very quickly. Don't stinge on the Robitussin, if it makes you feel better and cough less. Keep your airways moist; do you have any humidifiers? Soaking in a hot bath may help. Plenty of rest is very important. Try sleeping half-sitting up (propped up by lots of pillows, or against the headboard), as you're likely to cough less if you're upright, then if you're lying down. Take care, Weezel. *HUGS*
• Massive amounts of vitamin C. Garlic. Honey to soothe the throat. Do not get a cough suppressant, because then the gunk will build up in your breath boxes and you could get a secondary infection or it turns into something nasty. Use something to ease the soreness, but not stop the cough. I suffer from bronchial trouble too, when I get bronchitis I get it *bad*, so I feel your pain. But unfortunately there's not much that will kill it quick, from my experience. I had it a few months back. I suffered for days barely eating except medicine and ice cream. Then I finally managed to stagger to the kitchen and cook a 2-egg omelette with fresh eggs from the yard hen. Good god, the next day I was so much improved that I put it down to the vitamins and protein in the eggs. YMMV.
• I've found that some boiling hot soup works wonders. At least temporarily. (Chinese takeout wor wonton is my weapon of choice - it seems to stay hotter, without actually boiling, than anything else. Plus, the wonton, meat and shrimp chunks and veggies give your body things to help get rid of some of the inflamation.) On the other hand, the medical profession has this advice: "For acute bronchitis from a virus, you DO NOT need antibiotics. The infection will generally clear on its own within one week. Take the following steps for some relief: * Take aspirin or acetaminophen (Tylenol) if you have a fever. DO NOT give children aspirin. * Rest. * Drink plenty of fluids. * Use a humidifier or steam in the bathroom. * DO NOT smoke. If your symptoms do not improve, your doctor may prescribe an inhaler to open your airways. If your doctor thinks that you have a secondary bacterial infection, antibiotics will be prescribed."
• An expectorant will help clear your lungs. Rattles the stuff loose and helps you to hoark it up. Really, the best thing in the world is to take some kind of antibiotic, if you can get access. I have friends and family members who smuggle 'em back from annual trips to Mexico, and a couple of weeks worth of pills usually sets me right as rain. But if you don't know if you're allergic or can't get access to them, then that's out. If you can get them, keep taking them for a few days after you feel well, to keep the infection from coming back. If you can't get to antibiotics, stuff like Theraflu (yecch) and tea with lemon and honey will set you right. Also, tons of rest. The less active you are, the more effort your body can put into healing. I also find that hot toddies with bourbon, lemon and honey help, though that could just be the whiskey buzz and hot water relaxing me. Really, steam makes me feel worse if I've got a chest cold/bronchitis. I usually feel better if I take baths instead of showers.
• Try not to smoke. Anything with codeine in it helps. Don't use a cough suppressant for reasons mentioned above. You'll drown. If you are in real trouble go to the er and get an albuterol breathing treatment. And an inhaler and some prednasone. Do not fool around with this-bronchitis heads straight to pneumonia which is significantly worse. Spend the money. You'll also find that you get an awful lot done while taking pred. I painted a house with bronchitis once. Also, absolutely no more hand stands. Be sweet to yourself. You're sick.
• Thanks, everyone. The upside-down advice came from a doctor-friend. He's a chiropractor, and kind of a crazy old hippie. His advice is usually 70-80% good, but I've learned to take it with a large grain of salt. This couldn't come at a worse time. I just "moved" to Seattle, which means I'm sleeping on a friends' floor and trying to find work. Bleh.
• mct's antibiotic advice would be good if your bronchintis is bacterial, but if it's viral, won't do any better than waiting a few days for the infection to time out. I'd guess yuu would have to go to a doctor to find out whether it was viral or bacterial caused. Prednisone does take down inflamation, but you'd need a prescription for it. Same for arbuterol. On the other hand, napersan (Aleve), ibuprofen (Advil and others) do the same, if less efficiently than prescription strength whatever. Several years ago when I had a really awful sore throat, the doctor told me to combine one of those anti-inflamitories with Tylenol, which is really trusted for pain relief. The two types of drugs apparently do different things, and don't interfere with each other. I'm not a doctor, but I do sometimes listen to what they say.
• Yeah, sleep up against your friend's wall. I was laid up for...well, pretty long, when I was 17. On the up side, I did learn how to knit finally, during that. Get a lot of tissues, because you're going to hopefully be coughing up stuff by the bucketload. This is good, you want it out. Spicy food felt good. Besides that, lemon tea and horehound drops. No suppressant; like the others said, you want an expectorant, which is, lucky for you, usually cheap. (Guaifenesin is the generic name.) Don't take black-market antibiotics unless you *know* it's bacterial (mine was, but not all of it is.) The last thing you want is superbug in your chest. You might want to cut back on dairy, as it makes extra phlegm for most people.
• A Hot Toddy will cure most all that ails you. I recomend Makers Mark or Bushmills.
• If your throat can stand it, something with capsicum pepper in it, like Tabasco sauce, will get the crud moving. I like to drink tomato juice with a shot of Tabasco in it, for the vitamin C and expectorant benefits, or you can put a little Tabasco or cayenne pepper in some soup. Drink fluids until you feel like your eyeballs will float, it will help keep the phlegm moving. Hot tea with honey and cough drops or peppermints will help soothe your throat. If you're not running a fever a heating pad will help the sore chest muscles. If you really start feeling short of breath, go to the ER and figure out how you're gonna pay for it later. Pneumonia is serious.
• Ice water will soothe your throat and make the irritation/swelling less. A doc recommended to me that I alternate hot and cold beverages (as hot and as cold as I could stand, and soup counts as a hot beverage) to both soothe the throat and get the phlegm moving. Spicy foods can help, as can expectorant (you know those icky Musinex commercials? That's what you want, though you can go generic.). Hot baths are your friend, as is rest, rest, rest. When you're not in the midst of coughing, make sure that you take slow, deep breaths. (Doing so with steam is also good.) The more you make sure to breathe deeply, the more you'll help avoid pneumonia. Take it slowly or you'll cough, and do the best you can. Take care of yourself, and I hope you get better soon!
• There are OTC rescue inhalers (Albuterol equivalents) -- I used one for a while when my inhaler prescription ran out while I was travelling around the States. I think I bought it from Long's. You can also rent nebulisers from some pharmacies, if you feel really short of breath. Prednisone works very quickly to help you breathe easier, but yes, prescription-only. Drink a ton to keep your throat from feeling raw, stay warm and cosy. I used to be really prone to bronchial infections -- both viral and bacterial -- and ended up with adult asthma as a result. A good incentive to take good care of yourself.
• Anyone know how contagious this is? My friend hasn't shown any signs yet, so I don't think he's got it. But I'd feel terrible if he did, since he's been so kind. i'm learning so much today!
• The most common OTC inhaler brand is Primatene Mist, there are store brands, but they are harder and harder to find. (I think because Primatene is ephinephrine, which gets confused with ephedrine, and gets jerked off the shelves along with the cold remedies used to make meth. Or something like that.) Primatene also comes in tablet form. The inhalers will help break up the phlegm and ease any wheezing, but don't overdo them or you'll find yourself vibrating through the walls.
• Eucalyptus oil in the bath will help (or you can huff a little on a wash cloth). It's the combination of steam and eucalyptus that worked the best for me. Drink as much water, tea, or juice as possible. Also, take things slowly. Even after you start feeling better, make a conscious effort to slow down. Sleep as much as you can, and when you are not sleeping, stay quiet and warm.
• Bronchitis: Been there, done that... I've found guaifenesin, lots of tea, and recently, hot toddies do the trick. I was skeptical about the hot toddy but my wife made one with honey and whisky (may have been a different liquor, I'm not sure)... and it really surprised me. I've used Primatene experimentally with chest congestion, with mixed/ambiguous results. It has seemed to me that since it works on bronchial lining inflammation and doesn't really solve the issue of thick congestion, that it does little. I don't have any intentions of trying it next time.
• Also for future reference it's been about nine years since I've had any serious chest congestion. I think that's because nowadays, when I feel it coming on, I go nuts with liquids and tea to keep the mucous thin and controllable.
• When I had a lot of phlegm in my lungs, I found that a brisk walk of 30 to 60 minutes length provided hours of relief.
• What you want to do is follow Path's advice and get some wonton soup from a Chinese takeout, and eat it "Mexican" style, by squeezing a couple of lemon wedges into it and stirring in some chili sauce (the takeout should hook you up with the hot sauce, if you ask). There's also the infinitywaltz family cold recipe, which involves two parts tea, one part honey, and one part Scotch.
• I have a friend who makes a shot out of rum, honey, lemon juice and copious amounts of cayenne pepper. He then microwaves it until it's hot, wraps himself up in lots of clothing, pulls the covers up to his chin and sweats it out overnight. He used to swear by it until I saw him wuss out one night when confronted with actually taking his own remedy.
• This is what works for me--especially with the pain; whisky, spicy foods, hot/salty soups, ice water, and a butt-load of sleep. Also, take really good care of yourself during fall/winter from now on. Once you start getting bronchitis, you will likely continue to get it.
• Wheezy Weezel, you poor little fella. I've no ide what could help, but just take it easy and feel better dude. Oh, and put that ciggy out.
• Sorry to hear you're sick, Weezel. I'm very prone to all sorts of bronchial and lung problems, and I've developed asthma recently, too. I find a really hot shower helps immensely. The steam opens things up. Also, breathing in cold air will make things way worse, so if it's cold outside wrap a scarf around your mouth when you go out. Hot tea and lots of rest are good, too. I hope you feel better ASAP.
• Call a free medical advice number (many communities have "Ask a nurse" lines). What you have self-diagnosed bronchitis may be one of several illnesses (bronchiolitis, for one), and may be viral or bacterial. If it's bacterial, you need antibiotics. If it's viral, I believe all you can do is treat the symptoms. But there are some helpful things the doc can prescribe. Codeine-based pain killers (Vicodin, tylenol with codeine) are excellent cough-supressants, but also can be addictive and are strong enough that you should not drive while using them. As a frequent bronchitis sufferer, I recommend that you not self-medicate with these. Also, are you an asthmatic? Do you get bronchitis every year or two? If so, when you see your doctor, tell them. Asthma and other lung problems can trigger each other and sometimes lead to pneumonia.
• To answer some questions, I've got pink and healthy lungs (usually). This is probably the worst I've ever had any kind of chest ailment. I'm fairly certain it's viral, as it matches the symptoms I've read. I'm better today, not as wheezy. And the stuff I'm coughing up is much looser and nearly clear. I did some walking today (the Seattle downtown library is coooool), and I'm not as beat as I would have been yesterday. And the Hot Toddy means I can go out (briefly) and have a drink. Good call. A friend picked some Oregon Grape Root and I washed, chopped, and boiled it. It is the single most bitter, evil-tasting thing I have ever consumed. But it's supposed to be excellent, so it should help. Again, thanks for everything. You guys kick ass. hi Neddy! hi Kit! hi Uncle!
• Hi Weezel! I'm really glad to hear you're feeling better. Can you get these herbs? They're supposed to be either expectorents or soothe the symptoms of bronchitis: Anise Fennel Majoram (I'll always remember that Raistlin Majere used this for his coughs) This page has a few more herbs to recommend. Also, lemonade with honey helps. I had bronchitis late last year, and lemon juice with honey was a great comforter.
• Hot pepper -- as much as you can stand, and then some more. Salt -- You can get this from chicken soup. Lemons -- eat them raw. Garlic -- peel and swallow whole. Vodka -- gargle or swallow. Chase with plenty of orange juice, or unsweetened cranberry juice, if you can find it.
• Good lord, bh, I think you're trying to kill me!
• Some of the things you've already been doing are good: soup, Emergen-C, etc. Other good advice: the combination of Tylenol with an NSAID (ibuprofen or naproxen sodium). Guaifenesin (the best OTC version is Mucinex). Traditional Medicinals makes a really good tea called "Gypsy Cold Care". They make another called "Breathe Easy" but that one is basically just ephedrine. GCC is menthol-based and is always very soothing when I'm sick. Which has been relatively often throughout my life. Finally, try taking Bromelain (pineapple enzyme) on an empty stomach two or three times a day; it can be very helpful in kicking out phlegm. & try to get the best nutrition you can: if you can choke down a green salad or two or something along with all the soup, it would probably be very helpful. Make sure you're getting your RDA of vitamins; maybe try taking a little extra beta carotene.